Randall Hyde Testing

Sounding as glorious as ever under Director of Music Daniel Hyde, the Choir of King’s College celebrates Easter with a wide-ranging and beautifully assembled program recorded in King’s College Chapel. Starting with an anthem by the late English composer, conductor, and musician George Malcolm, complete with an attention-grabbing introductory fanfare by Matthew Martin (Director of College Music at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge), the musical journey runs from William Byrd to Maurice Duruflé with some well-known hymns along the way. There are numerous highlights: the high drama of Rossini’s “O salutaris Hostia,” Samuel Sebastian Wesley’s very Victorian “Wash Me Throughly,” Antonio Lotti’s resonant “Crucifixus à 6,” and the gentle poise of John Ireland’s “Greater Love Hath No Man.”

Roots’ is an exploration of the music written by Black composers and inspired by Black culture. A homage to the pioneering musicians who paved the way for Randall and his generation. Looking to the future with a specially commissioned piece by young Black composer Xavier Dubois Foley. World premiere recordings of music by Florence Price that was rescued from an abandoned house over half a century after her death. The Perlman protégé celebrates his own journey and shows young people that music can inspire regardless of background. Produced by 2021 GRAMMY Producer of the Year, David Frost.

Rameau’s secular chamber cantatas are early works, written before he got his longed-for chance to compose for the stage. While they are clearly the works of a talented and skilled artist, it has to be admitted that they only hint at the powerful personality and individuality of the operas. Yet even that is something to be valued from someone like Rameau, and we can be glad that London Baroque have made them the subject of one of their relatively rare excursions into French repertoire.

The album joins the label’s other critically and commercially successful recordings, which continue to be streamed by thousands of listeners around the world, including In The Bleak Midwinter which was released in 2021. Rutter Orchestral Carols includes beautiful orchestral arrangements of well-known favourites such as Silent Night and Sans Day Carol as well as Rutter’s original carols All bells in paradise and All the stars looked down, which is dedicated to the late Sir Stephen Cleobury. “It was a pleasure to record a handful of John’s carols, some old, some new, in these colourful orchestrations… hopefully these new tracks will add a bit of magic to people’s Christmas this year,” said Daniel Hyde, Director of Music, King’s College

A man with as much experience as he has ingenuity, Randall Bramblett has been a singer-songwriter, a session musician, and a hired gun for legends such as Gregg Allman and Steve Winwod. Bramblett’s latest release from his more than thirty years in the business, Devil Music, delivers the expected level of virtuosity, and surprises with a deep-fried, novel twist of Southern darkness. “Dead in the Water,” the album’s lead single is equally fulfilled through evocative lyrics, well-timed and managed effects, and instrumental superiority; a narrative of nowhere, the track is populated by dead-end characters and lowly living; fitting, for a track that Bramblett claims is inspired by William S. Burroughs. While immersing itself in the wonderfully weird, infinitely spiraling darkness of whimsy that exemplifies some of Tom Waits’ best work, “Dead in the Water” sees a guest appearance by storied axeman Mark Knopfler.

The legacy of the celebrity castrato Senesino has endured for centuries. He is known to us today primarily as Handel’s leading man for 13 seasons in London, and he was recognised the world over for his moving dramatic interpretations, fiery singing, and singular, over-the-top divo personality. Yet, Handel’s music for Senesino only shows us a fraction of the numerous virtuosic roles written for the castrato. Here, for the first time, are arias by seven overlooked composers who also wrote showpieces for the (in)famous Senesino. All but one of the arias on this album are modern-day premieres and heard together, they illuminate the talents of an 18th-century operatic icon.