Home » Stories » VOCES8 artistic director; Barnaby Smith talks with classical radio about 'Enchanted Isle'

Stories for May 23, 2019

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    Igor Levit draws a throaty collective bark of appreciation from Wigmore Hall audience / theartsdesk
     
    Posted At : May 23, 2019 8:54 AM

    You seldom hear a Champions League-level roar of approval at the Wigmore Hall. Last night, though, Igor Levit drew a throaty collective bark of appreciation from the audience after (for once) an awed hush had followed the final dying cadences of the aria's return in Bach's Goldberg Variations. Had he earned it? Absolutely. This recital was first of three devoted to the idea of Variations. Friday will see Levit play Beethoven's Diabelli set, and Frederic Rzewski's mighty deconstruction of the revolutionary anthem "The People United Will Never Be Defeated". On 27 May, the Russian-born Berlin pianist will take his regular explorations of lesser-known music further with the enormous, post-Shostakovich Passacaglia on DSCH composed by the Scottish-Welsh Lancastrian Ronald Stevenson in the early Sixties.  Yesterday, though, the universally acclaimed Levit showed his paces at the familar core of the modern piano repertoire (albeit with a work that Bach conceived in 1741 as exercises for the two-manual harpsichord).   READ THE FULL artsdesk REVIEW

  • Bill Frisell to perform in Vietnam for first time / Vietnam +
     
    Posted At : May 23, 2019 8:34 AM

    Guitarist Bill Frisell, widely known as one of the most versatile players in jazz history, will perform for the first time in Vietnam at the "Bill Frisell: Summer on Guitar" concert which will take place on May 26 at the Soul Live Project Complex in Ho Chi Minh City's district 3. The concert features Thomas Morgan on bass, Rudy Royston on drums, and Bill Frisell on guitar. The audience will experience a musical space of jazz full of improvisation and romance, as natural as breathing. They will be treated to an interesting conversation of the three instruments on stage, as well as the creative musical approach and expression of the trio. Frisell said: "I'm very excited to come to Vietnam. Music is such a mysterious, magical and wonderful thing. Music has the most extraordinary power to connect and bring people together." READ THE FULL Vietnam + ARTICLE

  • On this episode of Performance Today, harpist Yolanda Kondonassis and the Rochester Philharmonic play Jennifer Higdon's Harp Concerto
     
    Posted At : May 22, 2019 4:28 PM

    American composer Jennifer Higdon won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for her Violin Concerto. Now she's written a new piece for solo harp and orchestra. On this episode ( MAY 22, 2019 ) of Performance Today, harpist Yolanda Kondonassis and the Rochester Philharmonic play Jennifer Higdon's Harp Concerto. The Higdon's Harp Concerto is the centerpiece to the Azica Records release; American Rapture and was written for and dedicated to Yolanda Kondonassis. Featuring the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Music Director Ward Stare, the album also includes; Samuel Barber's Symphony No. 1 in One Movement, Op. 9; and the world premiere recording of Patrick Harlin's Rapture. The album is designed to highlight three generations of American composition and, as defined by Harlin in the context of his work, to depict rapture not as a religious event, but as an experience of extreme human emotion.

  • Ten reasons why you shouldn't miss Yo-Yo Ma's Athens Festival concert / tornosNews
     
    Posted At : May 22, 2019 12:00 AM

    Athens is but one of 36 cities in Yo-Yo Ma's Bach Project world tour. The internationally acclaimed cellist will perform The 6 Unaccompanied Cello Suites at the Odeon for a single spellbinding evening on 30 June, in his first ever appearance in Greece. Why is this concert one of the unmissable music events of the summer? Read here everything you should know about Yo-Yo Ma, and his rich body of work as an artist and an activist.  "Bach's cello suites have been my constant musical companions," says Yo-Yo. "For almost six decades, they have given me sustenance, comfort, and joy during times of stress, celebration, and loss. What power does this music possess that even today, after three hundred years, it continues to help us navigate through troubled times?" The Athens Festival audiences will have the chance to answer this question in a single, spellbinding, unforgettable evening. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} SEE THE 10 REASONS via tornosNews

  • Bach and The Beatles go hand-in-hand on Janoska Ensemble's 'Revolution' / New Classical Tracks
     
    Posted At : May 22, 2019 12:00 AM

    "Where is your personality inside the piece? Can I create my own music? And yes you can, of course you can. Every human being is a unique one. Everybody has another fingerprint. And you have to show the world who you are and where you come from." Sage advice from Julius Darvas, double bassist of the four-member Janoska Ensemble. Ondrej and Roman Janoska are the group's violinists, and Frantisek Janoska is the pianist. Here's how Frantisek and Julius describe the Janoska style, which is imprinted on their new recording, Revolution. Frantisek: "You know, before in Baroque times, but also later, big musicians like Bach, Mozart, Paganini and Liszt, they can all improvise, and this is, I think, lost in classical music, and we want to bring it back. In the same time, we make all our arrangements by ourselves, and we compose also new pieces." Julius: "And it's of course based on classical music, but we play every genre of music. There is Latin American music. There is tango music. Pop, rock, jazz - everything." LISTEN TO New Classical Tracks SEGMENT New Classical Tracks is a Syndicated feature that airs nationally on Classical 24 and statewide on Minnesota Public Radio

  • Crouch End Festival Chorus helps fuel soundtrack to Elton John 'Rocketman' biopic / itv
     
    Posted At : May 22, 2019 12:00 AM

    p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px} Rocketman is a 2019 biographical musical film based on the life of musician Elton John. Directed by Dexter Fletcher and written by Lee Hall, it stars Taron Egerton as John, with Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, and Bryce Dallas Howard. The film follows John's early days as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music up to his eventual musical partnership with Bernie Taupin. The film is titled after John's 1972 song "Rocket Man". The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 16 May, released in the United Kingdom on 22 May and is set to open in the United States on 31 May 2019, by Paramount Pictures.  But, Sir Elton John is not the only musician to feature in the film. The Crouch End Festival Chorus have a part to play too. Their backing vocals are fuelling the the soundtrack. Coincidentally, director Dexter Fletcher went to Fortismere School where they rehearse. SEE THE itv PAGE & WATCH THE VIDEO

  • Terry Riley, Laurie Anderson, and John Zorn hit it off at the chapel on Valencia Street / San Francisco Classical Voice
     
    Posted At : May 22, 2019 12:00 AM

    Terry Riley, Laurie Anderson, and John Zorn - three towering figures in U.S. experimentalism - don't immediately spark an association among them. Before their latest two-night, four-shows residency of a sort at the Chapel on Valencia Street. they had collaborated exactly once, coming together on the occasion of Zorn's 65th-birthday celebrations at the same venue in September 2018. The trio hit it off, and if the opening set from their current revival is any indication, we may not have heard the last from them. The atmosphere at the Chapel - a hip venue, both intimate and airy with its vaulted ceilings - was one of vibrant expectancy as the sold-out audience assembled, a terse spring evening light lingering outside.  And then it was music. The trio took the small stage, Zorn's horn in the middle, flanked by electronic setups for Riley and Anderson on either side. Riley set things off on synth, carving out an idiomatically ambiguous space somewhere between a bolero and a prelude, highlighting his exploratory runs with sly smiles aimed at his conspirators. He was soon joined by Zorn's plaintive saxophone lines, with Anderson providing textural support on electric violin. The smiling persisted, and as the group warmed up they began traversing a vast musical landscape, skirting around the edges rather than fully embracing any particular style or tradition. Commenting on their return to the stage as a trio, Zorn mentioned their enjoyment of the Chapel as a setting, and their desire to blow the roof off the place. As the three locked into the occasional groove, relentlessly attacking it with ever-increasing intensity, the swelling sound mass threatened to make good on the promise. I looked around to a crowd of ecstatic stares and swaying abandon. I wasn't sure when we were or where, anymore, but one thing I can say: it was good.  PHOTO: Geoffrey Smith II READ THE FULL San Francisco Classical Voice REVIEW

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VOCES8 artistic director; Barnaby Smith talks with classical radio about 'Enchanted Isle'

Posted: March 11, 2019 12:00 AM | By: Admin
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The British vocal ensemble VOCES8 is proud to inspire people through music and share the joy of singing. Touring globally, the group performs an extensive repertory both in its a cappella concerts and in collaborations with leading orchestras, conductors and soloists. Versatility and a celebration of diverse musical expression are central to the ensemble's performance and education ethos. Thier latest Decca Records release; Enchanted Isle is an album reminiscent of rolling hills, green valleys, rugged mountainsides, and sleepy villages. Enchanted Isle features reimagined pieces originally written for film or television (such as Lord of the Ringsand Game of Thrones), new arrangements of Scottish and Irish melodies, and compositions set to texts by great English poets.

In conjunction with the album release; VOCES8 conductor, Barnaby Smith has agreed to discuss with classical networks and stations throughout the US. Watch for our tweets!

Crossover Media Projects with VOCES8

  • VOCES8

    Enchanted Isle

    The British vocal ensemble VOCES8 is proud to inspire people through music and share the joy of singing. Touring globally, the group performs an extensive repertory both in its a cappella concerts and in collaborations with leading orchestras, conductors and soloists. Versatility and a celebration of diverse musical expression are central to the ensemble's performance and education ethos.

    Voces8 releases Enchanted Isle, a new album of music reminiscent of rolling hills, green valleys, rugged mountainsides, and sleepy villages. Enchanted Isle features reimagined pieces originally written for film or television (such as Lord of the Ringsand Game of Thrones), new arrangements of Scottish and Irish melodies, and compositions set to texts by great English poets.

  • VOCES8

    Winter

    Breaking typical expectations of a seasonal album, Voces8's new release Winter paints a portrait of the season through a sparse and powerful aural landscape, invoking a meditative, inspiring feeling of solitude and unity‎. The album includes four world premiere recordings, notably "Winter," written exclusively for the album by award-winning composer Rebecca Dale.

    17 NEW  52 TOTAL
    SYND:     Classical 24, CBC
    Direct: MOOD, AccuRadio 
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Wash DC, Atlanta, Seattle, Cleveland, Houston, Minneapolis, Portland, Kansas City, Baltimore, Austin, Albuquerque, Berkeley CA, El Paso, Rochester NY, KS(Network), ME(Network), MN(Network), Honolulu
    INTER: Canada, Spain, Romania
    Online: Journeyscapes, Musicas Imaginadas

     

  • VOCES8

    Lux

    British a cappella octet VOCES8 releases their second album for Decca/Universal Music Classics, Lux, available January 27, 2015. The recording features a selection of pieces spanning over 400 years: from Thomas Tallis and Gregorio Allegri to Massive Attack (Teardrop) and Ben Folds (The Luckiest - which appeared on the soundtrack for Richard Curtis's film About Time). The album title ‘Lux' refers to the Latin word ‘light,' which has inspired composers throughout history with the meaning of hope, banishing darkness, and nurturing both the body and the spirit. Voces8's celestial performances on the album prove how few can better evoke the power of light in all its physical, spiritual and mystical guises than the timeless sound of a choir.  In addition to the soothing sound of unaccompanied voices blended in harmony, several tracks feature additions of saxophone, cello, harp and water glasses.

    35 Total
    SYND:     Classical 24, CBC
    Direct: Music Choice, MOOD
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Wash DC, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Denver, St. Louis, Baltimore, Austin, New Orleans, Buffalo, Canada
    Online: ClassicallyHip

  • VOCES8

    Eventide

    One of Britain's most exciting and versatile vocal ensembles, VOCES8, makes their debut on Decca/Universal Music Classics with the release of Eventide. VOCES8 features eight young singers who form one perfect sound while adding a contemporary edge on their new album with original arrangements from plainchant to Paul Mealor and from Saving Private Ryan to Emeli Sandé. Eventide showcases the ensemble's perfectly-blended voices interwoven with haunting melodies for solo cello, harp and saxophone and provides an immersive sonic experience which will soothe, beguile and inspire. Evoking the spirit of Jan Garbarek and the Hilliard Ensemble, VOCES8 and saxophonist Christian Forshaw create their own captivating sound world with arrangements of the ancient Latin hymn Te lucis ante terminum and Tallis's setting of the same text.

    28 New 'ON'  52 TOTAL
    SYND:     PRI/Classical 24
    Direct: Music Choice
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Wash DC, Dallas, Atlanta, Seattle, Cleveland, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Denver, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cincinnati, New Orleans, Detroit, Austin, Memphis, Buffalo, Honolulu
    Online: Taintradio