Livorsi / Helsinki Chamber Choir / Schweckendiek - Towards the Light - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Violinist Chloë Hanslip and pianist Danny Driver have received critical acclaim for their musical partnership both on stage and in the studio. Gramophone described Volume 1 of their Beethoven sonatas cycle as 'engaging and accomplished... they create a world in which you want to spend time.' On Volume 2 they perform the Violin Sonata No.4 and it's sister work the 'Spring' Sonata alongside the stormy and dramatic Sonata No.7 Album Tracks 1. Violin Sonata No.4 in a Minor, Op.23 - I. Presto 2. Violin Sonata No.4 in a Minor, Op.23 - II. Andante Scherzoso - Più Allegretto 3. Violin Sonata No.4 in a Minor, Op.23 - III. Allegro Molto 4. Violin Sonata No.5 in F Major, Op. 24 InchSpringInch - I. Allegro 5. Violin Sonata No.5 in F Major, Op. 24 InchSpringInch - II. Adagio Molto Espressivo 6. Violin Sonata No.5 in F Major, Op. 24 InchSpringInch - III. Scherzo (Allegro Molto) 7. Violin Sonata No.5 in F Major, Op. 24 InchSpringInch - IV. Rondo (Allegro Ma Non Troppo) 8. Violin Sonata No.7 in C minor, Op. 30 / 2 - I. Allegro Con Brio 9. Violin Sonata No.7 in C minor, Op. 30 / 2 - II. Adagio Cantabile 10. Violin Sonata No.7 in C minor, Op. 30 / 2 - III. Scherzo (Allegro) 11. Violin Sonata No.7 in C minor, Op. 30 / 2 - IV. Finale (Allegro)

Album Tracks 1. Romances and Songs (27) for Voice and Piano (Arr. of Others Songs for Wartime Use) The Alpine Shepherdess (Rossini) 2. Romances and Songs (27) for Voice and Piano (Arr. of Others Songs for Wartime Use) Scottish Drinking Song (Beethoven) 3. Romances and Songs (27) for Voice and Piano (Arr. of Others Songs for Wartime Use) Carmen, Habañera (Bizet) 4. Romances and Songs (27) for Voice and Piano (Arr. of Others Songs for Wartime Use) Mother, What Is Love (Weckerlin) 5. Romances and Songs (27) for Voice and Piano (Arr. of Others Songs for Wartime Use) Pagliacci, Arlecchino's Serenade (Leoncavallo) 6. Romances and Songs (27) for Voice and Piano (Arr. of Others Songs for Wartime Use) Gopak (Musorgsky) 7. Romances and Songs (27) for Voice and Piano (Arr. of Others Songs for Wartime Use) Sorochintsy Fair, Khivrya's Song (Musorgsky) 8. Romances and Songs (27) for Voice and Piano (Arr. of Others Songs for Wartime Use) Sorochintsy Fair, Parasya's Dumka (Musorgsky) 9. Romances and Songs (27) for Voice and Piano (Arr. of Others Songs for Wartime Use) Sadko, Song of the Varangian Guest (Rimsky-Korsak 10. Romances and Songs (27) for Voice and Piano (Arr. of Others Songs for Wartime Use) I Shall Tell Mama (Gurilyov) 11. Romances and Songs (27) for Voice and Piano (Arr. of Others Songs for Wartime Use) The Little Sarafan (Gurilyov) 12. Romances and Songs (27) for Voice and Piano (Arr. of Others Songs for Wartime Use) I Sit on a Rock (Ippolitov-Ivanov) 13. Romances and Songs (27) for Voice and Piano (Arr. of Others Songs for Wartime Use) A Cossack Beyond the Danube, Duet of Karas & Odar 14. Romances and Songs (27) for Voice and Piano (Arr. of Others Songs for Wartime Use) Fever (Dargomyzhsky) 15. Romances and Songs (27) for Voice and Piano (Arr. of Others Songs for Wartime Use) Grenada Clothed in Mist (Dargomyzhsky)

Playful and with an acute ear for the full range of possibilities of the human voice, Perttu Haapanen has established himself as one of the most exploratory and intellectually curious composers of vocal music active in the Nordic countries. His output includes works for a wide variety of musical formations, but the human voice is central to much of it. He combines a deep understanding of traditional choral sonority with a modernist fascination for extended techniques and structural rigor and a post-modern interest in the deconstruction of text. In his writing, Haapanen examines the full range of sound production available using the human vocal apparatus. We hear singing, of course, but also whispering, speaking, shouting, Sprechgesang, breathing sounds, whistling, lip smacks, tongue clicks, grunting as well as nasal tone and falsetto. Haapanen's use of text is also far from traditional he is as interested in words for their sonic qualities as he is in the meanings they convey, separating them into their individual phonemes or using similar-sounding words in quick succession to create a sonic image. The subject matter explored in these texts is varied, but notable in a number of Haapanen's works is his interest in the themes of playfulness and of childhood - although not necessarily the innocent variety. The Helsinki Chamber Choir has a diverse repertoire, as shown on it's previous, acclaimed albums for BIS which range from late Renaissance Christmas hymns via 19th-century Finnish songs to spring to 20th-century modernism. Particularly highly regarded for it's work with new music, the choir under it's artistic director Nils Schweckendiek here takes the step into the 21st century, and proves it's expertise in a highly demanding programme. Album Tracks 1. Kullervo Clusters (2010, Rev. 2016) 2. Strophes (2006, Rev. 2010) 3. Readymade Alice (2011) 4. Report (2