Divine Art Records

Period: Contemporary

  • Beyond the River God: Music for Harpsichord

    Beyond the River God: Music for Harpsichord

    A selection of works by the greatest harpsichord composer of all — François Couperin, and from contemporary British composer Graham Lynch, who is a very worthy successor with music that is expressive, descriptive, deep and exceptionally rich, showing that the harpsichord is capable of real expression.

    The Lynch pieces are receiving their first recordings. Established virtuoso Assi Karttunen is from Finland and this is her first album for Divine Art, and a showcase for her amazing talent at the keyboard.

  • David Ellis: Concert Music

    David Ellis: Concert Music

    David Ellis has been a major figure in British music for longer than he cares to remember – a doyen of the ‘industry’ as conductor, composer, record producer and for many years head of music for BBC North. This is a super anthology of orchestral works recorded at different times by various Manchester orchestras; the style is in the best tradition of modern-approachable-impressionistic, post-Romantic if one needs a label, but the excellent music can stand without being pigeon-holed.

  • In Beauty Walking – Orchestral Music by Carson Cooman

    In Beauty Walking – Orchestral Music by Carson Cooman

    As well as being a very busy and highly regarded organist, teacher and music consultant, Carson Cooman is one of America’s most prolific and gifted composers. His work retains the best of traditional forms in a modern and personal idiom; here, he has produced a body of lyrical works which are truly Romantic and pastoral but never soft or shallow. Exquisitely scored, these works tell of the beauty of the world we so often take for granted or pass by.

  • Litany – Organ Music by Carson Cooman

    Litany – Organ Music by Carson Cooman

    Carson Cooman is one of America’s most prolific and feted composers of our time. Also writer, critic, teacher and organist (Organist and Composer in Residence at Harvard), his music is never avant-garde but varies from the mildly challenging in harmonic structure to firmly traditional tonality, all with a fine sense of style and inspiration. This album presents a program of recent organ music (mostly composed 2012-3) of lyrical, Romantic and pastoral nature, but with plenty of variety. It’s a beautiful album enhanced by the marvellous playing of Erik Simmons and the wonderful Marcussen organ of Laurenskerk, Rotterdam (recorded by the Hauptwerk system).

  • Absolutely! – Music for string quartet and jazz soloists

    Absolutely! – Music for string quartet and jazz soloists

    When issued, this was our disc of the year, this is so new, different and unique we just love it… not mundane and simplistic crossover but a true fusion and blend of soft jazz solos and improvisations, over standard ‘straight’ classical playing: bring together the top performers Uwe Steinmetz, composer and saxophonist, jazz violinist Mads Tolling and the renowned Fitzwilliam String Quartet. Beautiful, atmospheric and a wonderful experience from beginning to end……

  • Of Times and Seasons – Songs and Anthems by Peter Lea-Cox

    Of Times and Seasons – Songs and Anthems by Peter Lea-Cox

    Peter Lea-Cox is an English composer who while concentrating on vocal (usually sacred) music, employs a huge range of styles in order to best express the words being set – from the dissonance of Winter Prelude to the simple folk-like melody of ‘Let the Season Lift your Spirit’. Above all is Peter’s tremendous sensitivity to the texts and the word-painting and coloration he employs. This album presents a set of six songs on texts by Gerard Manley Hopkins, a set of Anthems for solo voice – for several of the ecclesiastical seasons – and a collection of other songs.

  • Sounds of the Chionistra

    Sounds of the Chionistra

    The Chionistra is the beautiful Mount Olympus in Cyprus where the crocuses grow (not the one in Greece where the ancient gods ruled) … and close to home for Greek Cypriot composer Cilia Petridou, who though she moved to England in 1965, was deeply affected by the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 and the still unresolved partition of the island. CD1 (songs) and CD2 (Chamber works) reflect this tragedy and the loss of the city of Famagusta, contrasted with the happy memories of an idyllic childhood, in deeply felt, Romantically styled works beautifully performed – all first recordings.

  • Ronald Stevenson Piano Music

    Ronald Stevenson Piano Music

    Ronald Stevenson is one of the most original minds in the world of the composition of music. – So said Yehudi Menuhin. This magnum opus set is a magnificent culmination of several years of planning and a great acheivement by Murray McLachlan. Stevenson’s most remarkable work, Le Festin d’Alkan, is given a superb performance as are his incredibly varied transcriptions and fantasies on Bach, Ysaÿe and Chopin (and others) and a number of his other original works.

    Stevenson’s other tour-de-force, the 80-minute Passacaglia on DSCH, is played by Murray McLachlan on DDA25013.

  • David Jennings – Music for Piano

    David Jennings – Music for Piano

    This is the first album devoted to the wonderfully expressive piano music of David Jennings, all written between 1985 and 2010. This English composer, born in 1972, has a voice which is not afraid to challenge but always within a very traditional soundscape producing modern music ideally representing the growing English new romantic and lyrical tradition. Pianist James Willshire performs in his fine recording debut for Divine Art.

  • Antony Hopkins – A Portrait

    Antony Hopkins – A Portrait

    Antony Hopkins is a phenomenon – a fact which escapes much of the public and even press who still confuse him with the actor (Anthony). Composer, pianist, conductor, broadcaster, lecturer, author … a true man of music. A live wire at the age of 91, (as we write in May 2012), his genius has suffered from fickle fashion, his ‘serious’ music being lyrical and tuneful though certainly deep and complex; his lighter music now seen as ‘period’ – and just ripe for rediscovery. This double album contains much fine music including eight pieces written by top British composers as tributes to Antony. For all interested in the evolution of 20th century music this album will be invaluable, and it’s also made with wit and humour, to suit the character of Hopkins himself.

  • Madrigali: Fire and Roses

    Madrigali: Fire and Roses

    An intensely beautiful programme, delectably performed. Paul Mealor’s choir gives a stunning performance of original 16th century madrigals and some modern counterparts, including the fabulous Madrigali of Morten Lauridsen. Of Mealor, we have the awesomely beautiful ‘Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal’ cycle, of which the first movement was personally chosen by Prince William and Kate Middleton (now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) as the musical centerpiece of the April royal wedding service (re-set to the words of ‘Ubi Caritas’).

    This is the original version, conducted by the composer, and thus 100% authentic.

    Paul Mealor’s work is also available as a download-only single, Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal (DDS 29002). It was also featured in the soundtrack of the award-winning documentary “Shining Night: A Portrait of Composer Morten Lauridsen” (DVD 003).

  • Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal

    Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal

    This special digital-only EP release contains a very special piece of music: Paul Mealor’s short choral cycle Now sleeps the crimson petal; adapted, as ‘Ubi Caritas’ for the 2011 Royal Wedding; its four poems set with such skill as to make this one of the most astonishingly superb choral works of our age. The EP is also a ‘taster’ for the full album Madrigali: Fire and Roses which also features ancient madrigals and a brilliant extended work, Madrigali, by American composer Morten Lauridsen, available in both CD and download: DDA25094.