Various Artists - X Factor 11 / Various - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Clarinettist Barnaby Robson performs a rich program of 20th-century and contemporary music for clarinet and piano, including world-premiere recordings. The opens with Barnaby Robson's collaboration with BAFTA-winning sound designer Martin Cantwell a recording of Steve Reich's intricate New York Counterpoint, which involves eight pre-recorded clarinet lines (the forces of which are referenced in the album's title.) Herbert Howells is celebrated for his choral music but his instrumental works are less famous; with pianist Fiona Harris, Robson performs the 1946 version of Howells's Clarinet Sonata, never recorded before. Three further world-premiere recordings follow Robson's arrangement for clarinet, viola and piano of George Fenton's Snow Leopard - music originally composed for the BBC's Planet Earth - for which Robson is joined by Simon Chamberlain and Rebecca Chambers; Graham Fitkin's mercurial Cusp for solo clarinet; and the witty Red Herring Blues for clarinet and piano by baritone-composer Roderick Williams. The recording is rounded off with two 20th-century French works Poulenc's Sonata for two clarinets (Robson has recorded both parts) and Debussy's dazzling Première Rhapsodie for clarinet and piano.

Sneaks songs are the mesmerizing post-punk incantations of Washington, DC's Eva Moolchan. Bass and drum machine underpin Moolchan's compelling vocals, and the music straddles several decades of serious minimalist fun to create her own unique niche of rock. InchThe songs came together pretty fast, very tongue-in-cheek,Inch writes Moolchan of Gymnastics. InchI was playing with how we use language and twisting the words of mundane slogans, ads, and repetitive symbols I was seeing while attending school.Inch

Album Tracks 1. Eress Para MÃ- - Venegas 2. Me Muero - Avila 3. No Hay Otra Manera - Delacueva 4. Me Duele Amarte - Cruz 5. Nena - Aldrighetti 6. Bella Traiciã³N - Allen 7. Bendita Tú Luz - Olivera 8. Si Nos Quedara Poco Tiempo - Jesparza-Ruiz 9. Todo Cambiã³ - Domm 10. Manda Una Seã±Al - Olivera