NEWS & NEW RELEASES APRIL 2008

News Archive The British Quartet | British Piano Concert | Christian Natta | Camden Reeve |

New Releases for April 2008 Diversity - Helen and Harvey Davies Three Is One - Overdubbed piano recordings by Howard Riley Alcazaba - Indo-Arab-Flamenco Fusion Order at http://www.ascrecords.com/albums.html

Campion Cameo 2073 Diversity Helen and Harvey Davies Music for piano duet by Metcalf, Hoddinott, Hughes, Lewis, Hearne and Pwyll ap Sion. MP3 sample

Helen and Harvey Davies write: "This CD is the culmination of a project we have been planning for some time. From the time our duet partnership was formed in 1992, it was our intention to widen the repertoire by commissioning works from contemporary composers. The piano duet has become a rather neglected medium and whilst there is a vast repertoire from the 18th and 19th centuries, there is relatively little contemporary music. As we have lived in Wales for over a quarter of a century, it seemed natural to commission duets from composers with connections to Wales. We have been delighted by the composers’ response and the high quality and variety of the music that has been written. It has been a great privilege to work with these composers and help bring their work to ever wider recognition. We gratefully acknowledge funds made available by the Arts Council of Wales and Bangor University. Our thanks also to Helen Smith, Morwen Rowlands, Elin Roberts and Pwyll ap Sion for assistance with translation." ________________________________________________________________________

asc 98 Three Is One Howard Riley Music for Three Overdubbed Pianos Recorded on 9/10 July 2007 Recorded at asc recording Macclesfield Digital Recording and production by Steve Plews All compositions by Howard Riley (PRS/MCPS) Cover design by Howard Riley MP3 sample

Howard Riley writes: "I play all three pianos on this ‘piano trio’ recording. This is achieved by the use of overdubbing. I recorded the first piano (centre in the stereo picture) as though it was a solo recording, then added the second piano as a re-action to the first (left channel), then added the third piano as a re-action to the other two (right channel) Each piece was recorded in this manner, with the exception of Still Life and Haunted, in which the solo, duo and trio sections occur with only one ‘new’ piano part in each section. Regarding the actual playing, everything is a ‘first take’."

asc cd100 Alcazaba Alcazaba Indo-Arab-Flamenco Fusion MP3 sample

"Alcazaba has created a unique yet instantly recognizable sound moving flamenco into a new exciting era. They combine gypsy traditions with world rhythms, fusing musical influences from around the world (from India, through the Middle East to Andalusia). It is an acoustic trip around the world, with the band beating a unique and vibrant transcultural sound - this is real music with a rhythm that gets under your skin and keeps you spell bound. The musicians of the group are Ramon Ruiz (Flamenco guitar), Attab Haddad (oud), Alex Teymour Housego (Indian and jazz flutes), Genevieve Wilkins (percussion) and Eva Piñero Mesa (Flamenco vocals).