Halle Elder Baker - Images - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé present the completion of their Sibelius Symphonies Cycle with inspiring performances of two of his most personal and characteristic works, both regarded as indispensable to an understanding of the composer. Sibelius began his Symphony No.4 at a time of personal crisis and the resulting work, noted for it's depth of expression and intellectual originality, contains some of the darkest and most unsettling music he ever wrote. It is a piece of marked originality and striking imaginative power, captured to great effect in this recording. In contrast, the elusive Symphony No.6, has been described as being full of music that Inchseems to be almost constantly singingInch. The orchestration is particularly haunting; throughout, the string section in particular captivates the listener, in one of the most beautiful and original pieces of music Sibelius wrote.

The Hallé announces the latest in their series of works by Vaughan Williams, with two landmark pieces which are pinnacles of the composer's output. Composed between 1901 and 1904, the Songs of Travel, settings of Robert Louis Stevenson for voice and piano (some orchestrated by the composer and some by composer and arranger Roy Douglas), proved a significant landmark in the emergence of Vaughan Willams's personal voice. The work reflects the composer's interest in folk song and is characterized by highly evocative orchestrations, ardent melodic lines, wide ranging expressions of emotion from joy to melancholy and highly effective word setting. Winner of the Lieder Prize at the 1991 Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, Neal Davies has sung with the world's leading orchestras, conductors and opera companies and received much critical praise for performances in concert, on stage and in recordings. Ralph Vaughan Williams's 'masque for dancing', Job, is one of his supreme achievements and was considered by Gustav Holst to be a masterpiece. Scored for large orchestra, the work was written between 1927 and 1930 and shows the composer's imagination at it's most vivid. Inspired by William Blake's dramatic engravings, interpreting a Biblical narrative which examines human suffering in relation to a deity of justice, Vaughan Williams deploys traditional folk dances as a means of creating an idiomatic English dance style.

British pop-soul duo Lighthouse Family rose to prominence in the mid-1990s and remained active until the early 2000s. Singer Tunde Baiyewu and songwriter Paul Tucker formed the band in 1993 after meeting at university in Newcastle. Their 1995 debut album 'Ocean Drive' sold more than 1.8 million copies in the UK alone, establishing them around the world as one of the era's most loved easy-listening acts. The album, released on Wildcard/Polydor Records, produced the UK Top 10 hit 'Lifted' and Top 20 singles 'Ocean Drive, Goodbye Heartbreak,' and 'Loving Every Minute.' It spent 175 weeks on the UK Albums Chart and achieved six×Platinum certification. To celebrate the album's 30th anniversary, 'Ocean Drive' is being re-issued in an expanded edition compiled in conjunction with Paul Tucker. This deluxe features the original album plus three additional CDs of carefully selected remixes and bonus tracks. A newly expanded booklet includes an in-depth interview with Paul Tucker by Record Collector's Daryl Easlea, offering fresh insight into the making of the album