Divine Art Records

Composer: Nicholas Marshall

  • The Whistling Book

    The Whistling Book

    This album derives from a 1998 release from Forsyth Brothers (Manchester) featuring works published in their Recorder Catalogue. It was then called ‘John and Peter’s Whistling Book’. For this new version, remastered in 2022, several extra tracks have been added. The album features the recorder at its most scintillatingly bright – most of the music here, though very recent, is melodic, tuneful, often in dance form, and witty – for example Alan Bullard’s suite inspired by favorite foods from around the world. Two small forays into modernism are provided by superb pieces by Richard Whalley and Kevin Malone.

    John Turner is one of the world’s most respected and skilful recorderists, with a long history of recordings, publications and premieres, including regular appearances with the Academy of Ancient Music, the Early Music Consort with David Munrow, English Chamber Orchestra and Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.
    Peter Lawson has also enjoyed a long and illustrious career; he taught at Chetham’s School of Music for almost 40 years and has a large and impressive discography to his name.

  • Songs for Sir John – A tribute to Sir John Manduell

    Songs for Sir John – A tribute to Sir John Manduell

    Sir John Manduell was a pivotal figure in British music – as composer, teacher, BBC producer, first principal of the Northern Royal College of Music and founder of the European Opera Centre. Beloved and revered by musicians, yet someone whose name is shamefully little known outside the music profession.

    This album in tribute presents works by 16 composers from more than one generation, centred around settings of W.B. Yeats and principally songs with oboe, recorder, violin and cello. The music is varied, rich and wonderfully set to the texts, and yet the textures are always transparent and clear; there is nothing inherently ‘difficult’ for the listener. The performers are among the cream of the Music world of Northern England, and also, in the Robin Walker Nursery Rhymes (the only work not specially recorded for the album), feature the iconic veteran BBC presenter Richard Baker. Many of these artists have starred in several other Divine Art and Metier albums – click their names above for details.

    Even without the Manduell connection this is a wonderfully constructed program of new chamber music. In the track list below, the non-vocal works are marked *.