Recordings of Lennox Berkeley's music
Lennox Berkeley: Chamber Works for Wind, Strings and Piano
Regis presents a brand new recording of the chamber works of Lennox Berkeley including two world premieres. Regis has had a long association with oboist Sarah Francis (there are six existing recordings in the catalogue) and is delighted to collaborate with her in this project. Sarah discovered the manuscripts for the new works in the Royal College of Music library and they are presented here with other works for similar forces. Extensive liner notes are provided by Berkeley’s biographer, Peter Dickinson. (Synopsis by Regis Records)
- String Trio (op. 19)
- Trio (op. 44)
- Sonatina (op. 61)
- Oboe Quartet (op. 70)
- Suite
Performed by the Tagore String Trio, Michael Dussek (piano), Sarah Francis (oboe) & Judith Fitton (flute)
British Recorder Music
- Sonatina (op. 13)
- Concertino (op. 49)
Performed by Ross Winters (recorder), Julian Jacobson (harpsichord), Yuka Matsumoto (violin) & Jessica Burroughs (cello)
Down by the Salley Gardens
Format: CD & Digital download
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Release date: September 2011
Catalogue no: HMC902093
In addition to The Horseman, the first of Berkeley's Five Songs (Walter de la Mare), this programme offers a vivid and varied cross-section of English song, ranging from the Edwardian aesthetic of Quilter and early Vaughan Williams to the intensely expressive style of Howells and Finzi. The Purcell realisations by Britten and Tippett, meanwhile, are products of two great 20th-century composers engaging with their musical heritage. In all these different styles, Bejun Mehta shows the same verbal and vocal mastery that won such acclaim for his debut Handel recital on harmonica mundi. (Synopsis by harmonica mundi)
- Five Songs (op. 26, Walter de la Mare)
Performed by Julius Drake (piano) & Bejun Mehta (counter-tenor)
The Art of Julian Bream
Julian Bream is recognised as one of the world's leading guitarists, some would say the greatest. He is certainly Britain's senior ambassador as a guitarist and lutenist, having toured more widely and more frequently than any other artist in the international arena. He has done incomparable work in the recording studio to establish both the guitar and lute as concert instruments. Not content with his unique status as a performer, Bream is actively concerned with new music - having commissioned works from leading contemporary composers, Henze, Walton, Maxwell Davies, Rawsthorne, Tippett and Britten and those featured here by Malcolm Arnold and by Lennox Berkeley. At the end of the fifties he secured a contract with RCA and from thereon his records sold like hot cakes to a worldwide audience. His 1959-60 recordings, made at the dawn of an illustrious career, are the centrepiece of this edition. (synopsis by él Records)
- Sonatina (op. 52 part 1)
Performed by Julian Bream (guitar)
Peter Pears Conducted by the Composers
Format: Digital download
Label: Luna
Release date: June 2011
Catalogue no: LU-1018
Available from: Opera Club
- Four Ronsard Sonnets (op. 62, Set 2)
Performed by the London Sinfonietta & Lennox Berkeley (conductor)
Resurrection
Format: CD & Digital download
Label: Cambridge Recordings
Release date: April 2011
Catalogue no: CAMREC004
- The Lord is My Shepherd (op. 91 part 1)
Performed by the Academy of Great St. Mary's & Samuel Hayes (conductor)
More details of Resurrection...
A Choral Wedding
A special musical compendium for brides and grooms who are planning a church wedding ceremony, complete with church choir. CD1 is a selection of favourite anthems, many of which stem from the Anglican choral tradition and are popular choices for most church choirs. It includes Lennox Berkeley's The Lord is my Shepherd (op. 91/1). CD 2 is a selection of favourite hymns, well-known to many people and will provide either contemplative or rousing fare for your congregation. (Synopsis by Naxos)
- The Lord is My Shepherd (op. 91 part 1)
Performed by the Choir of St. John's College Cambridge, Jonathan Vaughn (organ) & Christopher Robinson (conductor)
Singing Away
Format: CD
Label: St. Peter's Collegiate Church
Release date: March 2011
This CD by the choirs of St. Peter's Collegiate Church was recorded at services in Carlisle and Lincoln Cathedrals and York Minster. Priced £10, all profits go to the Organ Restoration Appeal.
- The Lord is My Shepherd (op. 91 part 1)
Performed by the St. Peter's Wolverhampton Choir
The Young Julian Bream
This disc features one of the greatest and distinguished contemporary classical guitarists: Julian Bream. It seems extraordinary that the discography of his youth has been only partially re-mastered on CD. In fact, this is true to such a point that many of his very famous performances are still difficult to find today, such as the Lennox Berkeley Sonatina recorded in 1960. The disc also features Bach's fantastic 'Ciaccona' recorded in 1956, when Bream was just 21 years old, together with a selection of other works recorded in 1960, that are currently very difficult to find. Among them is the famous transcription of Ravel's 'Pavane pour une infante défunte'. (Synopsis by Dynamic Records)
- Sonatina (op. 52 part 1)
Performed by Julian Bream (guitar)
The Rose Tree
Music in Memory of Basil Deane, featuring compositions by Basil Deane, Elizabeth Poston, Lennox Berkeley, Anthony Hedges, John Joubert, John Manduell, Geoffrey Poole and John McDowell.
- Una and the Lion (op. 98)
Performed by John Turner (recorder), Lesley-Jane Rogers (soprano), Richard Tunnicliffe (viola da gamba) & Ian Thompson (harpsichord)