Chris Calabrese - Ragtime at the Magic Kingdoms - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Joplin / Ratzkowski / Thomsen / Lenzberg - Ragtime [COMPACT DISCS] date 01/18/2006

This treasury of modern ragtime features 18 enchanting new piano rags performed by the composers. From the jaunty strains of InchSierra Nevada RagInch to the wistful lyricism of InchTiffany Lamp Rag,Inch this collection showcases the delightful diversity of this classic American music now enjoying a renaissance among a cadre of talented musicians. For the first time on one disc, InchRagtime WizardryInch brings together many of today's most popular ragtime pianists from around the world Terry Waldo, Tom Brier, Max Keenlyside, Martin Spitznagel, Bill Edwards, Bryan Wright, W. Brett Youens, Dalton Ridenhour, Larisa Migachyov, John Reed-Torres, Frank LiVolsi, Vincent Johnson, Monty Suffern, Kathi Backus, William McNally, Brian Holland, John Partridge, and Mitch Meador. Disc includes a handsome 28-page booklet. 72 minutes.

In 1998 leading contemporary British composer Christopher Fox began work on a new commission, a piece that was to be 'evening-long, and not a concert'. The result was the quasi-dramatic 'installation piece' Everything You Need to Know - a body of musical material which can be deployed in many different ways. Fox realized that the work needed a guide - a parallel version of the same ideas in a different form, rather like the 'catalogue raison+-' at an art exhibition. Thus was born a series of pieces for solo voice, as recorded here for the first time under the supervision of the composer and with his appearance as narrator. The sections are based on a series of multilingual texts from various sources including Virgil, Dante, tourist guides and essays. The 'catalogue' is about ideas, remembrance and the possibility of improbable connections. In itself as a sound work it is absolutely and positively unique.