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This year, The Wiggles are celebrating 30 years entertaining and enriching the lives of children and families around the world.In 2021, paying homage to this original tune and the legacy of the OGs, The Wiggles have recorded a new track, 'We’re All Fruit Salad'. This song sensitively captures key global concerns of today, musically delivering a message of unity, respect, appreciation and acceptance. It's also a shoutout to classic Wiggly songs such as 'Fruit Salad Yummy Yummy' which is now an iconic tune, globally-recognised, and firmly segmented in Australian popular culture.The inspiration to write this song came to Anthony Field from his good friend, and renowned psychic medium John Edward. Overwhelmed by the riots and injustice in the world, John contacted Anthony and suggested that he write a song that featured a rainbow. He believed that this song would help heal and bring people together.We’re All Fruit Salad has been co-written and composed by Anthony Field (Blue Wiggle, original founding member) and James Harkness (‘Johnnie Mae/Mary Wilson’, Broadway performer, ’Ain’t Too Product – The Life and Times of The Temptations’).Not only does the song feature our favourite fab four – Anthony Field, Emma Watkins. Lachy Gillespie and Simon Pryce – it also features many special guest artists and performers, including:- Richie Allan plays the didgeridoo, is a Ngunnawal artist and is the cultural director of TOACK (Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation Kinnections). Richie is a former professional rugby league player who played for Sydney City Roosters and Gold Coast Chargers.- Lou Diamond Phillips is a Filipino-American actor and film director. He starred as Ritchie Valens in the biographical drama film La Bamba. Phillips made his Broadway debut with the 1996 revival of The King and I, earning a Tony Award nomination for his portrayal of King Mongkut of Siam. - Evie Ferris is a corps-de-ballet dancer with The Australian Ballet and is of Aboriginal descent.- Jawan M. Jackson is an actor, singer, radio personality and voiceover artist. Jawan has appeared on Broadway in Motown The Musical and currently stars in Ain’t Too Proud-The Life and Times of The Temptations as bass/baritone Melvin Franklin.- Taylor Symone Jackson is a professional singer, dancer, actor and is currently starring on Broadway in Ain’t Too Proud-The Life and Times of The Temptations as Johnnie Mae/Mary Wilson.- choreographer Paul Knobloch, noted by critics for having a unique movement vocabulary based on the highly developed fusion of classical and contemporary dance, forged from his eight years with The Australian Ballet.- Robert Rakete is from New Zealand, of Maori decent and radio host of the 'Breeze'. He guest stars in Wiggle House, Rock & Roll Preschool and the second series of Ready, Steady, Wiggle! Robert sings in Maori on We’re All Fruit Salad!- Victor Valdes, a Virtuoso harpist who has redefined the harp as a solo and lead instrument in a multitude of musical contexts, has performed in 225 countries worldwide. For 10 years, he was a member of Tlen Huicani, the best known and multi-award-winning Mexican folk group which toured the world, including playing 20 performances at Sydney Opera House and blues festival stages Australia-wide. Victor lends his vocals in We’re All Fruit Salad!, singing a few lines in his native language, Spanish. 'We're All Fruit Salad!' is just the beginning of what will be a very exciting year for The Wiggles and fans worldwide.Watch the music video for 'We're All Fruit Salad' below.
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After a year of challenge and change, when our loved ones have never felt so far away, Christmas is taking on new significance for us all. ABC Classic has brought Australia together through song with this recording of a brand new Christmas carol, Christmas With You, commissioned from leading composer and Yorta Yorta woman Deborah Cheetham.Thousands of Australians from every corner of the continent, and beyond, joined in the inaugural ABC Classic Choir, participating in online rehearsals and coaching sessions; 1500 people went on from that to film themselves as they recorded this heartwarming carol. And all of those individual videos feature in the ABC Classic video release of Christmas With You.From choir members who’ve been cut off from their own choirs for most of the year, to first time singers who have always wanted to be part of a choir but never felt brave enough – the ABC Classic Choir has given everyone the chance to come together to make music.Christmas With You gives voice to what Christmas means in 2020, lifting our spirits as we approach the end of the year. It captures the festive mood of comfort and joy as well as paying tribute to our shared experiences and affirming the importance of our connections with loved ones near and far.The Christmas With You video is now available to stream on the ABC Classic website and Facebook account, and for download via iTunes. There’s also an audio version which is available as a digital single on all the major streaming and download services.About the composerDeborah Cheetham, Yorta Yorta woman, soprano, composer and educator, has been a familiar voice in the Australian arts landscape for more than 25 years. In 2014 she was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), for distinguished service to the performing arts as an opera singer, composer and artistic director, to the development of Indigenous artists, and to innovation in performance.Short Black Opera Café, Death Scenes and Drama Queens and ‘Til The Black Lady Sings were early successes for Deborah, combining her talents as a writer, performer and entrepreneur. ‘Til the Black Lady Sings has touched audiences in London, New York, Eastern Europe and around Australia for almost a decade.Commissioned to write and perform a one-woman play for the Olympic Arts Festival Wimmin’s Business series, Deborah gave the premiere performance of her first major work at the Sydney Opera House in 1997. White Baptist Abba Fan was to dominate Deborah’s career the next five years and became the vehicle for her international debut.In 2009, Deborah established Short Black Opera as a national not-for-profit opera company devoted to the development of Indigenous opera singers. The following year she produced the premier of her first opera Pecan Summer. This landmark work is Australia’s first Indigenous opera and has been a vehicle for the development of a new generation of Indigenous opera singers. In 2019, Deborah wrote Australia's first requiem based on the frontier wars between first nations people in South Western Victoria and settlers: Eumeralla, a war requiem for peace, is sung entirely in the Gunditjmara language and was premiered by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the MSO Chorus and the Dhungala Children's Choir.In March 2015 Deborah was inducted onto the Victorian Honour Roll of Women.About the artworkThe cover art for these digital releases comes from a new artwork called Nyirram turt-barram, commissioned by ABC Classic from Wadawurrung artist Deanne Gilson. It depicts the hope that the Nyirram turt-barram (Morning Star) brings us, and the story of Bundjil, the creator and his wife Koonawarra (the Black Swan) who gave birth to the morning star child. Today, the star child represents all our children, and through them our future hopes and dreams. TRACK DETAILSChristmas With YouWords and music by Deborah CheethamPerformed by the ABC Classic Choir, directed by Benjamin Northeyand the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Nathan Aspinall
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Tinalley String Quartet continues their exploration of Mendelssohn’s extraordinary legacy of string quartets.Internationally acclaimed for their ‘addictive sound’ and ‘intuitive’ music making, Australia’s Tinalley String Quartet has established itself as one of Australia’s finest string quartets and most awarded classical exports. In this recording they present a cross-section of works from Mendelssohn’s career that explores his life-long preoccupation with the rich world of chamber music. An active and respected performer of chamber music himself, Mendelssohn infused his compositions with eloquent melodies, dramatic harmonic utterance and imaginative interplay of instrumental textures.The album opens with his serene quartet in D major, Op. 44 No. 1, wrtten soon after his marriage to Cécile Jeanrenaud and representing a return to the intimate world of chamber music after years of personal and professional upheaval. It’s followed by the more agitated, restless writing of his F minor quartet, Op. 80: often regarded as Mendelssohn’s response to the sudden death of his beloved sister Fanny, Mendelssohn himself was struggling with ill health and died before being able to get the completed work to the publisher. The album concludes with Mendelssohn’s ‘Op. 81’: four movements for string quartet that span the composer’s career and were brought together into a single work after his death.The Tinalley String Quartet has performed throughout Australia, Europe, Canada and the United States appearing in such prestigious venues as the Wiener Musikverein, Berlin Konzerthaus, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Bremen Die Glocke, Frankfurt AlteOper and the Sydney Opera House.International highlights have included performances in New York, Paris, London, Toronto, Vancouver, San Francisco and San Diego. In Australia, the Quartet has an active recital schedule and regularly appears at the nation’s premier festivals including the Adelaide Music Festival, Perth International Arts Festival, Canberra International Music Festival, Tasmanian Chamber Music Festival, Huntington Festival, Melbourne International Arts Festival and the Australian Festival of Chamber Music. Formed in 2003, the Tinalley String Quartet was awarded First Prize at the 9th Banff International String Quartet Competition and in 2005 took out the Grand Prize at the Australian Chamber Music Competition.The Quartet is Quartet-in-Residence at The University of Queensland and is named after the laneway that runs through The University of Melbourne Parkville Campus where the Quartet formed. TRACKLISTINGFELIX MENDELSSOHN 1809–1947String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op. 44 No. 11 I. Molto allegro vivace2 II. Menuetto (Un poco allegretto)3 III. Andante espressivo con moto4 IV. Presto con brio String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op. 805 I. Allegro vivace assai6 II. Allegro assai7 III. Adagio8 IV. Finale (Allegro molto) Four Pieces for String Quartet, Op. 819 I. Tema con variazioni in E major10 II. Scherzo in A minor11 III. Capriccio in E minor12 IV. Fuga in E-flat major Tinalley String QuartetAdam Chalabi violin ILerida Delbridge violin IIJustin Williams violaPatrick Murphy cello
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The latest in the West Australian Symphony Orchestra’s WASO Live series: the world premiere recording of Andrew Schultz’s concerto Maali.Commissioned for the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Maali is named for Perth’s iconic black swans: maali in the Noongar language. The work’s three movements capture different aspects of these magnificent birds: at play, in the shifting moods of the first movement; dreamlike and floating in the second: and buoyantly joyful in the third.Maalialso pays tribute to the tradition of the sinfonia concertante, in which a small group of featured soloists interacts with the full orchestra. Here, the soloists are a quartet of woodwind virtuosi: Peter Facer on oboe, Allan Meyer on clarinet, Adam Mikulicz on bassoon and David Evans on horn. Captured live in concert in the Perth Concert Hall, under the baton of internationally acclaimed conductor Simone Young, this is a landmark recording of an exciting new addition to Australia’s musical landscape.Composer Andrew Schultz was born in Australia and lives in Sydney. He studied at the Universities of Queensland, Pennsylvania and King’s College London and has received awards, prizes and fellowships. His music covers a broad range of chamber, orchestral and vocal works and has been performed and broadcast widely by leading musicians internationally.He has held many commissions including from all the major Australian orchestras. Andrew has written a number of large-scale works including three operas (Black River, Going Into Shadows and The Children’s Bach) which have been presented live and on film around the world. Other major works include three symphonies, Journey to Horseshoe Bend, Endling and Song of Songs. Andrew has held residencies and academic posts in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the UK and USA. He is currently Professor of Music at UNSW Sydney and the 2021-22 Professor of Australian Studies at Harvard University.Australian-born Simone Young is internationally recognised as one of the leading conductors of her generation. From 2005–2015 she was General Manager and Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera and Music Director of the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg, where she conducted repertoire ranging from Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Wagner and Strauss, to Hindemith, Britten and Henze. She is an acknowledged interpreter of the operas of Wagner and Strauss, having conducted several complete cycles of Der Ring des Nibelungen. Her 2012 tour to Brisbane with the Hamburg Opera and Ballet (Das Rheingold in concert, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2‘Resurrection’)won her the 2013 Helpmann Award for the Best Individual Classical Music Performance.In 2019 Simone Young was awarded the European Cultural Prize in Vienna. The 2019–2020 season saw her return to the Vienna State Opera to conduct A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Britten) and Das verratene Meer (Henze); to the Berlin State Opera for Der Rosenkavalier, Fidelio and Chowantschina (Mussorgsky); to Teatro Real, Madrid for Lear (Reimann); to the Bavarian State Opera, Munich for Tannhäuser, and to Zürich Opera for Elektra and Lohengrin. She also led the New York, BBC, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestras; San Francisco, Cincinnati and Minnesota Symphony Orchestras; the Orchestra Nacionale de Espana, Madrid; the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo; the Polish National Radio Symphony; the NDR Hannover and MDR Orchestras; the Orchestre de Paris and the NHK Symphony, Tokyo; and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.Simone Young was Music Director of Opera Australia from 2001–2003, Chief Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra from 1999–2002 and from 2005–2012 was Principal Guest Conductor of the Gulbenkian Orchestra, Lisbon. In 2020 she takes up her appointments as Chief Conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.The West Australian Symphony Orchestra is WA’s largest and busiest performing arts organisation. From the centre of Perth to the furthest corners of our state, every year since 1928, we set hearts racing with extraordinary music and exhilarating performances for all West Australians to share.We are both fierce advocates for our great classical musical heritage and passionate leaders in the commissioning and performance of new music by leading Australian and international composers. Every year we mobilise and nurture a new generation of young and emerging artists to help secure a bright future for music in Australia.Our resident company of full-time professional musicians are the beating heart of our organisation, performing to hundreds of thousands of people each year. Our Orchestra is supported by hundreds of visiting artists, alongside the volunteers of the WASO Chorus, to create an exceptional performance at every venue, every time. TRACKLIST ANDREW SCHULTZ Maali, Op. 101I. Lively, fast and playfulII. Slow, dreamlikeIII. Variations: Fast, joyous Peter Faceroboe • Allan Meyer clarinetAdam Mikuliczbassoon • David Evans hornWest Australian Symphony OrchestraSimone Young conductor
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Captured live in concert at the Jazz Lab during the 2019 Melbourne International Jazz Festival: singer and jazz violinist Petra Haden presents a songbook inspired by her father, Charlie Haden. Alongside a selection of classic Haden tracks, Petra presents a few of her own favourites, in collaboration with the Nick Haywood Quintet: a top-notch lineup of guitarist Stephen Magnusson, pianist Colin Hopkins, trumpeter Eugene Ball, drummer James McLean and bassist Nick Haywood.The project, says Petra, started in 2018 when she was asked by Brian Ritchie to participate in his Mona Foma festival: ‘It was a tribute to my dad, featured in a program called A Weekend of Protest Music. Having the opportunity to play his music means everything to me. He’s an inspiration to me and to so many people. I feel his energy when I sing and that helps me so much.’It was at Mona Foma that Petra met Nick Haywood, ‘the wonderfully talented, amazing bass player and person who put together this incredible band. I am so honoured to be working with all of them.’Among the works on the program is a new version of Charlie Haden’s ‘There in a Dream’, with lyrics written by Jesse Harris. ‘The idea of putting words to the song came from Steve Cardenas, who plays in the Liberation Music Orchestra…To me, they convey the beauty of the song and what it means.‘I’m trying to sing and put something good out into the world. I believe that when people do good, it becomes contagious like ripples in an ocean, and those ripples turn into waves. We just can’t get distracted to all the ugliness going on.’In a restlessly eclectic, wholly unique musical career that spans two and a half decades, Petra Hadenhas established a singular reputation for creativity and versatility, and a unique niche that's allowed her to apply her multiple talents to a dazzlingly diverse array of music.As one of the triplet daughters of the late, legendary jazz bassist and composer Charlie Haden, Petra was literally born into a life in music. She first picked up the violin at the age of seven, after being inspired by watching older street musicians playing. Her early fascination with the violin and other instruments led her to develop an uncanny ability to use her voice to recreate the sounds of the instruments she heard, and to develop elaborate pop, jazz, blues and classical arrangements based on those sounds.As a singer, instrumentalist and composer, Haden has built an impressively varied and accomplished discography encompassing her work as part of the beloved alt-rock quartet That Dog, her collaborations with a broad array of acts, and a series of her own releases, which often showcase her unique talent for constructing complex, evocative a capella arrangements by inventively layering multiple tracks of her own voice.Across all her far-flung creative endeavours – from folk to indie rock to the sound world of master jazz guitarist Bill Frisell to Hollywood film soundtracks – is a consistent sense of adventure and expression, along with a playfulness that gives her projects a consistently uplifting, inventive spirit that marks them as uniquely hers.¨¥¨Over the past thirty years Nick Haywoodhas become one of the most in demand bassists and educators on the Australian music scene. He has performed at major festivals and concerts around Australia and in New Zealand, New Caledonia, Europe, China and the USA. He has been a featured artist on over 100 CDs and has been nominated for numerous ARIA awards. In 2012 he won the Australian Jazz Bell Award for Best Australian Contemporary Jazz Album and the APRA Art Music State Award for Excellence in Jazz. He has performed and recorded with ensembles including Blow, Bennett’s Lane Big Band (which he co-founded), Tony Gould Trio, Mistaken Identity, Robert Burke Quartet and the Allan Browne Trio and Quintet, as well as leading his own trio, quartet and and now quintet. TRACKLISTING CHARLIE HADENThere In A DreamTRADITIONALCanto del PilónBILL FRISELLThroughoutJIMMY WEBBThe Moon’s A Harsh MistressPAT METHENY / LYLE MAYSThis Is Not AmericaCHARLIE HADENLa Pasionaria*PETE ST JOHNFields of AthenryTRADITIONALShenandoahCHARLIE HADENSilence Petra Hadenvocals, violin* Nick Haywood QuintetNick Haywood bassStephen Magnusson guitarColin Hopkins pianoEugene Ball trumpetJames McLean drums
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A profoundly intimate recital of exquisite jewels from the Romantic song repertoire.ABC Classic is proud to present this studio recording featuring two superb Australian artists: soprano Taryn Fiebig and pianist Scott Davie. Well-known to audiences around the country for her many roles with Opera Australia and Pinchgut Opera, as well as concert engagements with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Australian Brandenburg Ensemble and the Sydney, West Australian, Adelaide and Queensland Symphony Orchestras and appearances at the Adelaide Festival and the Huntington Estate Music Festival, Taryn Fiebig here displays her extraordinary expressive power and artistic sensitivity in a program featuring some of the finest examples of Romantic song. She is partnered by Scott Davie, an acclaimed pianist and scholar who has focused his career on the music of the Romantic era.At the heart of the album is Schumann’s Op. 39 Liederkreis (Song Cycle), a potent and deeply moving study of love and loneliness, set in the mysterious shadows of an ancient forest. From wistful reverie to rapturous delight, voice and piano together convey every nuance of the eloquent poetry.Also featuring on the disc are iconic lieder including Schubert’s Gretchen am Spinnrade (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel), Brahms’ Die Mainacht (May Night) and the gentle longing of Richard Strauss’s Morgen (Tomorrow), as well as two French masterpieces: À Chloris (To Chloris), by Reynaldo Hahn, and Francis Poulenc’s delicious waltz Les Chemins de l’amour (The Paths of Love).Soprano Taryn Fiebig is one of Australia’s most popular and versatile artists. Career highlights for Opera Australia have included the roles of Musetta (La bohème), Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro), Despina (Così fan tutte), Pamina and Papagena (The Magic Flute), Servilia (La clemenza di Tito), Oscar (A Masked Ball), Clorinda (Cenerentola), Lisa (La sonnambula), Belinda (Dido and Aeneas), Aphrodite (The Love of the Nightingale), Karolka (Jenůfa), The Woodbird and Gutrune in Wagner’s Ring cycle, a Helpmann Award-winning performance as Lucy Joy in Bliss, and over 200 performances as Eliza Dolittle in Opera Australia’s national tour of My Fair Lady. She has also appeared with West Australian Opera in the title role of The Merry Widow, with New Zealand Opera as Esmeralda in The Bartered Bride, for the Adelaide Festival as Michal in Handel’s Saul, and with Pinchgut Opera in roles including Selinda (Farnace) and Sicle (Ormindo), as well as starring in the company’s recent film A Delicate Fire. Internationally, she has appeared in America for the LA Ear Unit and in the UK with the English Chamber Orchestra, at the Edinburgh Festival, and for BBC Radio 4.Pianist Scott Davie is known to audiences as both a soloist and chamber musician. He has given concerts throughout Australia, and his performances and recordings have been broadcast on radio and television. The recipient of numerous awards and prizes, he later furthered his studies in London. He now teaches at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.Performance highlights have included the Australian premiere of the original version of Rachmaninoff's Fourth Piano Concerto to capacity audiences at the Sydney Opera House with Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Sydney Symphony, and tours of Australia, the USA and Shanghai with Grand,a collaboration withGraeme Murphy and the Sydney Dance Company.TRACKLISTING REYNALDO HAHN À Chloris (To Chloris) JOHANNES BRAHMS Von ewiger Liebe (On Eternal Love), Op. 43 No. 1 Die Mainacht (May Night), Op. 43 No. 2 FRANZ SCHUBERT Gretchen am Spinnrade (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel), D118 Der Zwerg (The Dwarf), D771 ROBERT SCHUMANN Liederkreis (Song Cycle), Op. 39 I. In der Fremde (In a Foreign Land) II. Intermezzo III. Waldesgespräch (Forest Conversation) IV. Die Stille (The Silence) V. Mondnacht (Moonlit Night) VI. Schöne Fremde (A Beautiful Foreign Land) VII. Auf einer Burg (At the Top of a Castle) VIII. In der Fremde (In a Foreign Land) IX. Wehmut (Sadness) X. Zwielicht (Twilight) XI. Im Walde (In the Forest) XII. Frühlingsnacht (Spring Night) FRANCIS POULENC Les Chemins de l’amour (The Paths of Love) RICHARD STRAUSS Morgen (Tomorrow), Op. 27 No. 4 Taryn Fiebig soprano | Scott Davie piano
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In one of the most ambitious commissioning and performance projects in recent years, world-renowned shakuhachi master Riley Lee has joined forces with the Sydney-based Enigma Quartet to create a new genus of music. The Five Elements takes the listener on a kaleidoscopic journey through the Australian landscape that traverses universal concepts linking humanity to our natural environment and spiritual core through music.Drawing inspiration from the belief in many ancient cultures that the entire universe was made of just five fundamental elements – earth, air, water, fire and ether – Riley Lee and the Enigma Quartet have commissioned and selected music from Australia’s finest compositional voices to present a strikingly original offering that voyages between Eastern Zen Buddhism and Western Classicism.Riley Lee is Australia’s pre-eminent shakuhachi player and has a very significant understanding of – and profile in – new music. A consummate teacher, performer and collaborator with other musicians of all genres, in 1980 he became the first non-Japanese to attain the rank of dai shihan or Grand Master.Riley began playing the shakuhachi in Japan in 1971, studying was with Chikuho Sakai until 1980, and has been a student of Katsuya Yokoyama since 1984. He is the recipient of two of the oldest and most venerated lineages of traditional shakuhachi, which can be traced back to the Zen Buddhist komusō, or ‘priests of nothingness’ of the Edo period in Japan.Riley’s studies with traditional teachers in Japan have included such peculiar methods as practising barefoot in the snow, blowing into his flute under waterfalls and in blizzards until icicles form at its end, and running the Boston Marathon and then playing taiko drums at the finish line.The Enigma Quartet are regulars on the Sydney music scene, featuring at the Independent Theatre and Sydney Mozart Society. They have been broadcast across Australia for Sunday Live on ABC Classic, and have performed in Musica Viva’s Coffee Concert Series. They have also performed at many festivals including the Huntington Estate Music Festival.Their career was launched when the quartet took out second prize in the prestigious Musica Viva Chamber Music Competition. Masterclass opportunities followed with the St. Lawrence, Goldner, Ensō and Takács Quartet, and in 2012 they were invited into Musica Viva’s Rising Stars program.The quartet enjoy exploring new music and have premiered works by Lachlan Skipworth, Gerard Brophy, Philip Jameson and Alice Chance. Their collaborations have included projects with soprano Emma Matthews, saxophonist Christina Leonard, double-bassist Kirsty McCahon, bassoonist Jack Schiller and the German-based Amaryllis Quartet. TRACKLISTING1 ROSS EDWARDSVoice of the Rain2 STUART GREENBAUMOxygen3 ANNE BOYDAlchera-Jugulba HOLLY HARRISONFlashpoint4 I. Free, Driving5 II. Simmering & Ritualistic6 III. Driving7 ANDREW HOWESAether8 LACHLAN SKIPWORTHLight Rain9 KATY ABBOTT Earth Lullaby10 GERARD BROPHYAir11 DAVID HIRSCHFELDERA Fire Begins12 ELENA KATS-CHERNINFleeting Moment Riley Lee shakuhachiEnigma QuartetMarianne Broadfoot & Kerry Martin violinsElizabeth Woolnough viola • Rowena Macneish cello
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From emerging Tasmanian composer Jabra Latham, a clarinet concerto of beauty and power.Antarctic Triptych was commissioned for the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra by Marie Heitz in response to the particularly chilly Tasmanian winter of 2015. Its three movements evoke contrasting images of the great Southern continent:I. Ice cliffs and plains: Stark and very clear, and empty and cold.II. Katabasis: Katabatic winds blow continuously across Antarctica... relentlessness, power and very little change.III. Hut: As much warmth, comfort, familiarity and collegiality as possible. Cups of cocoa and laughter.Jabra Latham graduated with first class honours in classical saxophone performance from the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music. He also studied at the Australian National Academy of Music and the Rascher Mastercourse in Germany.As a composer, Latham has used his close affinity with wind instruments to create a range of compositions both for winds and full orchestra, displaying a unique and appealing style that invites the listener to have fun and enjoy his compositions.
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“I love the way you sing. You have a fan in the way you phrase... it’s perfect”Tony Bennett“...the finest male jazz singer Australia has produced since Vince Jones”Eric Myers, The Weekend Australian“Some people got it, and some people don’t. Gregg Arthur is one of the ones who does. It’s the devilish art of being a jazz singer.” John Shand, The Sydney Morning Herald Gregg Arthur returns to ABC Jazz with a timeless album of jazz standards – an album as smooth as a great martini.ABC Jazz is excited to announce the new album by singer Gregg Arthur. Jazz & Cocktails is a celebration of classic late night jazz, of smoky rooms, tuxedos, and bow-ties casually undone at the end of the evening.Arthur follows in the footsteps of Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett as one of the great interpreters, and on this new album he performs songs written by legendary artists including Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Cole Porter, Antônio Carlos Jobim andMichel Legrand, alongside two new songs written by Gregg Arthur & Peter Locke.Gregg Arthur has been called “the finest male jazz singer Australia has produced since Vince Jones”, and over the course of a long career in Australia and America has honed his talents and worked with iconic musicians including Judy Bailey, Tommy Tycho, Vincent Falcone (former pianist and conductor for Frank Sinatra), and the “Brush Master” Clayton Cameron, drummer for Tony Bennett and Sammy Davis Jr.Jazz & Cocktailsfeatures a stellar ensemble of some of Australia's finest performers, including Peter Locke on piano, Craig Scott on bass, Tim Geldens on drums, Michael Avgenicos on tenor sax and Jim Pennell on guitar.This is Gregg's first album with ABC since 2012, following on from the critically acclaimed Love Story (2011) and Unforgettable (2012).Gregg Arthur is an Australian singer and songwriter, critically acclaimed by both the press and his peers. Originally from Sydney, Australia, Gregg travels all over the world performing the music he loves, keeping the flame alive for the classic standards he has been singing all his life. His training and education are firmly based in the tradition of jazz vocals and the Great American Songbook, using his considerable abilities to interpret what he calls the “new standards”, pop and smooth jazz classics. Studying music in Sydney, Gregg honed his vocal skills with famed singing coach Don Graden, studied acting to enhance his singing performances at The Actors Studio and took lessons with legendary acting teacher Hayes Gordon, also recording and performing with the great Australian arranger and conductor, Maestro Tommy Tycho.In the United States Gregg has worked with iconic musicians including the late Vincent Falcone, former pianist and conductor for Frank Sinatra, and the “Brush Master” Clayton Cameron, drummer for Tony Bennett and Sammy Davis Jr.In 2016 Gregg recorded in the iconic Studio A at Capitol Records in Los Angeles, California – the same studio where legends of the music industry including The Beach Boys, Carole King, Frank Sinatra and Nat “King” Cole recorded so many iconic albums over the last 50 years.“In my opinion, he is the ultimate crooner” – Maestro Tommy Tycho AM MBE“As the former pianist/conductor for Frank Sinatra, I want to say that having worked with Gregg Arthur, I believe that he has all the necessary talent and vocal acuity to follow in the footsteps of Mr. Sinatra, and effectively disseminate the great music which Mr. Sinatra loved so much” – Vincent Falcone, Frank Sinatraʼs pianist and conductor TRACKLISTING 1 A Peaceful PlacePeter Locke 2 Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From MeDuke Ellington 3 In A Sentimental MoodDuke Ellington / Irving Mills 4 Lush LifeBilly Strayhorn 5 In The Still Of The NightCole Porter 6 Nature BoyEden Ahbez 7 A Child Is BornThad Jones 8 The Windmills Of Your MindMichel Legrand 9 Once I LovedAntônio Carlos Jobim 10 Kyoto In The SpringPeter Locke Gregg Arthur vocalswith the Peter Locke QuartetPeter Locke pianoMichael Avgenicostenor saxophoneCraig Scott bassTim Geldens drumsandJim Pennell guitar (tks 1 & 9)
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The music of Johann Sebastian Bach is pure perfection: a vast yet intricate tapestry of heavenly beauty and human emotion. Music was for Bach the means through which mortals could directly experience the divine, and his cantatas reveal his extraordinary gift for communicating directly with his listeners, even across three centuries. As dramatic and passionate as any opera, each cantata carries us deep into the heart of its story.This CD presents Bach’s two sacred cantatas for solo bass, performed by acclaimed Australian baritone David Greco and the exciting Tasmanian Baroque ensemble Van Diemen’s Band. Both cantatas offer us a vision of comfort and hope, beautifully conveyed by Greco’s rich, warm tones: Ich habe genug (It is enough), BWV82, is an outpouring of uttermost relief and joy: long, agonising years of waiting are forgotten as the old man Simeon realises that the baby he is cradling in his arms is the Christ child who brings new hope for the world. Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen (Gladly will I bear the cross), BWV56, presents the human journey as a sea voyage, tossed on raging waters before coming safe home to port in heaven.The album also presents a selection of bass arias and instrumental movements taken from cantatas across Bach’s long career, from the carefree joy of the opening sinfonia to his cantata Der Herr denket an uns (BWV196) – written for a wedding, perhaps even for Bach’s own wedding in 1707 – to the profound tranquility of Betrachte, meine Seel (Contemplate, O my soul) from the St John Passion, as revised by Bach in 1749, just one year before his death.Warmth, honesty, truth, compassion and transcendent beauty: this recording by the cream of Australia’s early music specialists will make you fall in love with Bach all over again.About the ArtistsInternationally regarded for his interpretations of Schubert lieder and works of J.S. Bach, David Grecohas sung on some of the finest stages across Europe, and has appeared as a principal in the world’s most exciting opera festivals including the Aix-en-Provence Festival and Glyndebourne Festival Opera.In 2014, he became the first Australian appointed to a position with the Sistine Chapel Choir in the Vatican, Rome.David regularly appears as a soloist with Australia’s finest ensembles and orchestras, such as the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra and most recently with the Sydney Symphony in their Helpmann Award-winning concerts of Bach’s cantata for bass, Ich habe genug. In 2017, he was a principal artist with Opera Australia, appearing in The Eighth Wonder and The Love of Three Oranges, and his appearance as Seneca in Pinchgut Opera’s production of The Coronation of Poppea received critical acclaim.David has an impressive catalogue of solo recordings spread across a variety of labels, including Poems of Love & War, featuring arias by New Zealand composer Jack Body on the Naxos label. In 2019, David made his first recital album, presenting works by J.S. Bach, with the Netherlands-based Luthers Bach Ensemble on the European label Brilliant Classics.David is an active researcher into the historical performance practice of 19th-century voice and recently received his doctorate from the University of Melbourne. His PhD has led to the first Australian recording project exploring the historically informed performance of Schubert’s song cycles Winterreise and Die schöne Müllerin on the ABC Classic label, the latter receiving an ARIA nomination for Best Classical Album in 2020 Based in the wild and unspoiled island state of Tasmania at the southernmost tip of Australia, ‘Australia’s Baroque supergroup’ Van Diemen’s Band is made up of some of the country’s most highly respected early music specialists, who between them have worked with leading ensembles such as Les Arts Florissants, Les Talens Lyriques, Ensemble Pygmalion, Il Pomo d’Oro, Orchestre des Champs-.lys.es, The English Concert, Academy of Ancient Music, Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Le Parlement de Musique and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra.Founded in 2016 by violinist Julia Fredersdorff, Van Diemen’s Band varies in size from an intimate chamber group to a larger mid-18th-century orchestra, working with regular guest directors such as French Baroque specialist Martin Gester, exploring the creativity and freedom of expression in music of the baroque while deferring to historical sources on style and instrumentation.Van Diemen’s Band’s debut CD for ABC Classic, Cello Napoletano, featuring soloist Catherine Jones in the cello concertos of Nicola Fiorenza, was released internationally in 2018 to critical acclaim. Since then, the group has appeared in concerts and festivals in its home state and around mainland Australia, establishing itself as one of the most distinguished new groups in the arts scene ‘Down Under’.www.vandiemensband.com.au TRACKLISTING JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH 1685–1750 1 Aria: Ach! ich sehe (Ah! I see) from Cantata BWV162 Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe (Ah! Now, on myway to the wedding banquet, I see) Matthew Manchester flatt trumpet 2 Aria: Auf Gott steht meine Zuversicht (My trust is founded on God) from Cantata BWV138 Warum betrübst du dich, mein Herz (My heart, why are you troubled?) 3 Sinfonia° from Cantata BWV21 Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis (I was in great distress) 4 Arioso: Betrachte, meine Seel (Contemplate, O my soul) from St John Passion, BWV245 Donald Nicolson harpsichord Ich habe genug (It is enough), BWV825 I. Aria: Ich habe genug (It is enough)°6 II. Recitative: Ich habe genug (It is enough)7 III. Aria: Schlummert ein, ihr matten Augen (Sleep, dull eyes)8 IV. Recitative: Mein Gott! wenn kömmt das schöne: Nun! (O God, when shall I hear that beautiful word ‘Now!’)9 V. Aria: Ich freue mich auf meinen Tod (I look forward to my death)° 10 Sinfonia from Cantata BWV196 Der Herr denket an uns (The Lord is mindful of us) 11 Aria: Es ist vollbracht (It is done)°12 Chorale: Jesu, deine Passion ist mir lauter Freude (Jesus, your sufferingis for me pure joy) from Cantata BWV159 Sehet, wir geh’n hinauf gen Jerusalem (See, we are goingup to Jerusalem) Anna Fraser soprano, Stephanie Dillon alto, Eric Peterson tenor 13 Sinfonia II° from Cantata BWV35 Geist und Seele wird verwirret (Spirit and soulare thrown into confusion) Donald Nicolson organ Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen (Gladly will I bear the cross), BWV5614 I. Aria: Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen (Gladly will I bear the cross)°15 II. Recitative: Mein Wandel auf der Welt (My wanderings over the earth)16 III. Aria: Endlich, endlich wird mein Joch (One day at last I shall be set free from my yoke)°17 IV. Recitative: Ich stehe fertig und bereit (I stand ready and prepared)18. Chorale: Komm, o Tod, du Schlafes Bruder (Come, O Death, Sleep’s brother) Anna Fraser soprano, Stephanie Dillon alto, Eric Peterson tenor David GrecobaritoneVan Diemen’s BandJulia Fredersdorffartistic directorJasu Moisiooboe°
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The world premiere performance of a major work for cello and orchestra by award-winning Australian composer Ian Munro, featuring acclaimed Australian cellist Sue-Ellen Paulsen: now available at last on digital platforms.Based on J.S. Bach’s four-part setting of the Lutheran chorale of the same name, O Traurigkeit(O Sadness) evokes the spirit of Bach's chorales, and also of his cello suites – the first great works for this queen of string instruments.The composer writes: ‘Bach's practice in his Chorale Preludes for organ was to draw from the hymns a deeper significance, musical and textual, and to weave around it his own florid genius, extending and deepening the sense of the original. What I find most extraordinary is the modest grace in which the most powerful thoughts are expressed, as though the entirety of the Romantic movement were an unnecessary indulgence. Such music has shown itself to be ageless, and speaks to us still with beauty and authority.’O Traurigkeit was created as a dual tribute to a revered composer and a brilliant cellist, revelling in Sue-Ellen Paulsen’s passionate playing and gorgeous tone.
Release
Australian jazz legends celebrate Sydney and look to a COVID-free future.ABC Jazz is excited to announce a new recording of ‘My City of Sydney’ by celebrated vocalist Gregg Arthur, performing with John Morrison’s Swing City Big Band.Tommy Leonetti’s 1969 song was broadcast well into the 1980s by Channel 7 prior to the station closing down every night, and it is sure to bring old memories flooding back for generations of Australians.This swinging new version was recorded to celebrate the city coming back to life after COVID-19. Supported by the City of Sydney’s Creative Fellowships Fund, the song has a whole new meaning after this most strange and unusual year.“There are lines in the song that have poignant new meaning because of COVID,” says Gregg Arthur. “My city of Sydney, I miss the warmth of you, I miss the heart of your people.”The recording sessions also provided a lifeline for the members of John Morrison’s Swing City Big Band, many of whom have not been able to perform live since the city’s concert halls were shut down in March. “Some of the guys literally hadn’t worked in 6 months, so I was very proud to bring everyone together,” says Arthur.In an incredible connection to Leonetti’s original, this recording features the legendary Billy Burton on trumpet, at 87 years of age. Burton was on the original recording back in 1969, and was the band leader on Leonetti’s late-night Sydney TV variety show, ‘The Tommy Leonetti Show’, which ran from 1969 to 1970.“Having Billy in the trumpet section was wonderful,” says Arthur. “It had real resonance for the history of this great song that fifty years later, Billy is still playing brilliantly.”Gregg Arthur is an Australian singer and songwriter, critically acclaimed by both the press and his peers. Originally from Sydney, Australia, Gregg travels all over the world performing the music he loves, keeping the flame alive for the classic standards he has been singing all his life. His training and education are firmly based in the tradition of jazz vocals and the Great American Songbook, using his considerable abilities to interpret what he calls the “new standards”, pop and smooth jazz classics. Studying music in Sydney, Gregg honed his vocal skills with famed singing coach Don Graden, studied acting to enhance his singing performances at The Actors Studio and took lessons with legendary acting teacher Hayes Gordon, also recording and performing with the great Australian arranger and conductor, Maestro Tommy Tycho.In the United States Gregg has worked with iconic musicians including the late Vincent Falcone, former pianist and conductor for Frank Sinatra, and the “Brush Master” Clayton Cameron, drummer for Tony Bennett and Sammy Davis Jr.In 2016 Gregg recorded in the iconic Studio A at Capitol Records in Los Angeles, California – the same studio where legends of the music industry including The Beach Boys, Carole King, Frank Sinatra and Nat “King” Cole recorded so many iconic albums over the last 50 years.“I love the way you sing. You have a fan in the way you phrase... it’s perfect” – Tony Bennett“...the finest male jazz singer Australia has produced since Vince Jones” – Eric Myers,The Weekend Australian“Some people got it, and some people don’t. Gregg Arthur is one of the ones who does. It’s the devilish art of being a jazz singer.” – John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald“In my opinion, he is the ultimate crooner” – Maestro Tommy Tycho AM MBE“As the former pianist/conductor for Frank Sinatra, I want to say that having worked with Gregg Arthur, I believe that he has all the necessary talent and vocal acuity to follow in the footsteps of Mr. Sinatra, and effectively disseminate the great music which Mr. Sinatra loved so much” – Vincent Falcone, Frank Sinatraʼs pianist and conductor
