Croft,W / Yates - The Pleasures of the Imagination - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

This is the first album in the discography of the National Wind Orchestra in Lubin, an ensemble founded in 2019. It features works by composers regarded among the most important contemporary creators of music for wind orchestra. Among them are also authors who write music for film, television, and advertising, which is reflected in numerous illustrative motifs that stimulate the imagination.The compositions reveal the immense sonic and expressive potential of the symphonic wind orchestra, transporting listeners into a fantastical world inspired by colors, the seasons, underwater life, and the magical scenery of the mountains. The music is aesthetically rooted in the tradition of sweeping film suites, where powerful brass fanfares intertwine with subtle woodwind motifs, enriched by the sound of harp and percussion instruments.Joyful, lively themes in Hounds of Springs, the dramatic chase in Ride, and the gentle, carefree mood of Whispers from Beyond together form a colorful kaleidoscope of emotions and impressions. Under the baton of Sebastian Perlowski, the National Wind Orchestra in Lubin captivates with it's sound, energy, technical virtuosity, and an excellent sense of style at the intersection of classical and film music.

BarrocoTout makes it's recording debut following a prize-winning performance at the highly respected biennial York Early Music International Young Artists Competition. After a hard-fought competition Philip Hobbs, Chairman of the Judges and Linn's Chief Producer, said InchThe level of musical performance has been exceptional... BarrocoTout are an extraordinary ensemble.Inch Formed at the Royal Conservatoires in Brussels, the ensemble has chosen to champion the music of a hitherto neglected Belgian composer Henri-Jacques de Croes. Treading a path between French, Italian and German influences, de Croes produced music that was courtly yet with enlightenment aspirations. The trio sonatas of Op. 5 were written with a touch of Rococo in mind and a strong Italianate flavour. With only one copy in existence the Six Sonates have hitherto led only a shadowy existence and were regarded as 'lost' for many years. With this recording BarrocoTout aims to quash the myth that 'unknown is unloved'.

The sirens are 'entwiners' (from the Greek seiraô, to bind or entwine). In John Croft's Seirenes, whose five movements form the centerpiece of this album, the title refers to the way in which lines twist together and entangle to form a single, slow melody, sometimes distinct, sometimes obscured, as if carried by the wind. This cycle is presented alongside three pieces for soloist and live electronics, exploring the various ways that the sound of an instrument can be treated and transformed in real time, to create new colours, intensities, and haloes of sound. John Croft was born in 1971. He studied philosophy and music at the Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand), subsequently composition and music cognition at the University of Sheffield. He has also studied with John Casken at the University of Manchester, where he completed his doctorate. He is currently Reader at Brunel University, London. His music has been performed by a wide range of ensembles and soloists - including the BBC Philharmonic, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the London Sinfonietta, Gageego, Ensemble Exposé, Studiya Novoi Muzyki, the Distractfold Ensemble, the Explore Ensemble, Séverine Ballon, Juliet Fraser, Emma Richards, Marij van Gorkom, and Richard Craig. He was awarded First Prize at the 2001 International Jurgenson Competition for his String Quartet and the 2011 ICMC European Region Award for... ne l'aura che trema for alto flute and live electronics, while Intermedio III for bass clarinet and live electronics won the Prix Ton Bruynèl in 2012.