Divine Art Records

Composer: Charles Ives

  • American Choral Classics

    American Choral Classics

    A fantastic collection of American choral classics ranging from Thompson’s sublime Alleluia to the terrific choral arrangement of Gershwin’s Summertime from Porgy and Bess.

    U.K. based conductor Robin White has put together this British interpretation of American Classics stemming from his own, excellent arrangement of the traditional Shenandoah. White’s arrangement balances the programme nicely along with Copeland’s I bought me a cat. This is a surprising and entertaining collection.

    Alban Voices is a chamber choir formed over 20 years ago by Robin White and his late wife, Freda, originally as a choir for St. Albans Abbey. Current members sing regularly in London’s top symphonic choirs. Among other appearances, it featured most notably in a pivotal episode of the BBC TV soap opera EastEnders in December 2003. More recently, the group’s recording of Robin’s original Christmas song, Light of the World, accompanied by the Royal Ballet
    Sinfonia, has been well received, and was played on Scala Radio and Classic FM in the run-up to Christmas 2022.

    Robin White trained at Imperial College, London and the Royal College of Music, studying conducting with Vernon Handley and orchestration with Bryan Kelly.

    He has conducted open-air, pop-classics concerts at National Trust and other venues across the south-west of England and the midlands. He has also worked with leading soloists such as John Lill, Christopher Warren-Green, Alexander Baillie and Emma Johnson. His 1992 recording of Edwardian light music for Chandos Records was played extensively on Classic FM. As an arranger, his work has been recorded and broadcast on Radio 2 and Classic FM, and played live in Melbourne by the Australian Pops Orchestra.

  • Songs of Love

    Songs of Love

    Jenny Q Chai is a phenomenon… a pianist of incredible talent, at home in core repertoire and a champion and noted interpreter of 20th century and contemporary works, as well as working to develop new interactive music score software and teaching in China and the USA. She founded and manages the Face Art Institute, a Shanghai-based body devoted to international exchange of music and musicians and served on the board of Ear to Mind, the contemporary music organization in New York. Her other work as well as her concert schedule is too extensive to be listed here; she is currently based both in Shanghai and in California where she is a faculty member at the University of California, Berkeley.
    The New Yorker described Jenny as “A pianist whose dazzling facility is matched by her deep musicality”. On top of all that she also projects a modern and liberated self image.

    Jenny has a special connection with Robert Schumann, whose work she learned from her esteemed first teacher at the Curtis Institute, the late Seymour Lipkin, with whom she studied from the ages of 12 to 19. She has a special love for Kreisleriana which she says never grows old but ’ lives inside of you’. Hence the title, “Songs of Love”.

    This album which presents Kreisleriana together with two movements by Bach and Ives is Jenny’s tribute to Seymour Lipkin who she calls ‘my music grandpa’. It is also a very fine recital by a superbly talented musician who is gathering fans like a rock star.