(Halifax/Kjipuktuk, NS) Leaf Music announces the distribution of two distribution from early music specialist Anders Muskens. The two recordings are all being released on December 1.
Prolific early music specialist Anders Muskens has two new recordings released by Leaf Music Distribution. The first, Beethoven: Waldstein & Appassionata Sonatas is performed on an original pianoforte (historical piano) by John Broadwood & Sons, made in London in 1806 and restored by Paul Kobald in Amsterdam in 2022. The recording was made at the Nikomedeskirche, Weilheim (Tübingen), Germany, with assistance from the Canada Council for the Arts. Muskens says: “These wonderful historical instruments, when working, can produce that rawness and vitality that Beethoven must have strove for.” Transporting his listeners to another time and place, Anders strives to provide a “completely new perspective of well-known repertoire.”
Leaf Music is an independent recording label based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, making and distributing high-quality classical music recordings by artists and composers from across Canada. Our growing catalogue of solo, orchestral, and chamber music is distributed by Naxos of America to the world’s most important music retailers, download providers, and streaming services. Leaf is also a provider of professional audio and video production, post-production services and integrated music marketing and distribution in Canada.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
For more information/photos or to arrange interviews, please contact Peggy Walt, peggy@leaf-music.ca (902) 422-5403 (office) or (902) 476-1096 (cell).
(Halifax/Kjipuktuk, NS) Leaf Music announces the distribution of two distribution from early music specialist Anders Muskens. The two recordings are all being released on December 1.
Anders Muskens is a Canadian early keyboard specialist and ensemble director, who performs throughout North America and Europe. One of his two new releases, Army of Generals Volume II: Carl Theodor’s Court Orchestra in Mannheim 1742-1778, revives the eighteenth-century’s Mannheim Court Orchestra. Revered across Europe as one of the finest musical institutions of its day, the revolutionary style of the orchestra’s composers coupled with its awe-inducing performances inspired an entire musical generation, including Mozart. The Mannheim court sought to create a harmonious society built on knowledge, reason, and artistic expression. Composers Anton Fils, Johann Stamitz, Christian Cannabich, Nicolo Jommelli, Gian Francesco de Majo and Anton Schweitzer are featured with the Neue Mannheimer Orchester, Muskens on harpsichord, concertmaster Mojca Gal and Elisabeth Hetherington (Canadian soprano). The CD was recorded at the German Evangelical Church in The Hague, Netherlands, with support from the Canada Council for the Arts.
Listen to Army of Generals Volume II: Carl Theodor’s Court Orchestra in Mannheim 1742-1778 wherever you stream your music: https://leaf-music.lnk.to/dnmo003.
Leaf Music is an independent recording label based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, making and distributing high-quality classical music recordings by artists and composers from across Canada. Our growing catalogue of solo, orchestral, and chamber music is distributed by Naxos of America to the world’s most important music retailers, download providers, and streaming services. Leaf is also a provider of professional audio and video production, post-production services and integrated music marketing and distribution in Canada.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
For more information/photos or to arrange interviews please contact Peggy Walt, peggy@leaf-music.ca (902) 422-5403 (office) or (902) 476-1096 (cell).
(Halifax/Kjipuktuk, NS) Leaf Music announces the distribution from Montreal’s acclaimed VB8 vocal ensemble. This recording are all being released on December 1.
VB8 (vocesboreales.org) has recorded its first CD, Winter Magic: A 21st Century Christmas (Magie d’hiver).Founded in 2006 and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Andrew Gray, Voces Boreales chamber choir has carved out an enviable position in the classical music world. In 2019, they created a new vocal octet, VB8, who’ve collaborated with artists like Quatuor Bozzini, BradyWorks and Karen Young. Their first album of songs for the festive season features almost all works written in the last 35 years, apart from two traditional French carols. The disc starts and ends with a favourite composer of the group, Arvo Part, and includes three Canadian composers: Elizabeth Ekholm, Louis Desjarlais and Benjamin Sigerson. The deliberate omission (for the most part) of traditional Christmas carols allows for year-round listening, yet is perfect for holiday traditions, a perfect backdrop to tree trimming or basking in the quietude of a Christmas morning.
Leaf Music is an independent recording label based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, making and distributing high-quality classical music recordings by artists and composers from across Canada. Our growing catalogue of solo, orchestral, and chamber music is distributed by Naxos of America to the world’s most important music retailers, download providers, and streaming services. Leaf is also a provider of professional audio and video production, post-production services and integrated music marketing and distribution in Canada.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
For more information/photos or to arrange interviews, please contact Peggy Walt, peggy@leaf-music.ca (902) 422-5403 (office) or (902) 476-1096 (cell).
Maryse Legault is thrilled to present her debut album, Around Baermann, featuringworks written by and for the nineteenth-century virtuoso Heinrich Baermann, including masterpieces dedicated to him by his friend and collaborator Carl Maria von Weber. Performed alongside her accomplice Gili Loftus on fortepiano, Around Baermann is Legault’s love letter to one of the most formative players and developers of early clarinet technique and repertoire
Speaking on the creation of the album, Legault says, “By choosing to make my recording debut with a project around one of the most important and influential clarinet virtuosi, I wanted to make a strong impression as a daring and imaginative performer. The repertoire chosen for this recording is particularly colourful and challenging, especially when played on historical clarinet. My goal was also to program some pieces that have never been recorded before, or never on period instruments, to be able to make a relevant contribution to the historical clarinet catalogue of albums available today.”
Known for his generosity and kind demeanour, Baermann built his reputation throughout Europe by touring extensively, performing Weber’s works as well as his own compositions. Considered an accomplished composer, he conceived works featuring the clarinet in various orchestrations. He developed a particularly lyrical clarinet language, obviously influenced by his accomplice Weber but also by his wife, the opera singer Helen Harlas.
Maryse Legault received her master’s degree at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag in June 2017, specializing in historical clarinet performance in the studio of Eric Hoeprich. Maryse had the opportunity to perform with many ensembles and under the direction of many conductors, including Alexander Weimann, John Butt, Teodor Currentzis and François-Xavier Roth.
Leaf Music is an independent recording label based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, making and distributing high-quality classical music recordings by artists and composers from across Canada. Our growing catalogue of solo, orchestral, and chamber music is distributed by Naxos of America to the world’s most important music retailers, download providers, and streaming services. Leaf is also a provider of professional audio and video production, post-production services and integrated music marketing and distribution in Canada.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
For more information/photos or to arrange interviews, please contact Peggy Walt, peggy@leaf-music.ca (902) 422-5403 (office) or (902) 476-1096 (cell).
For immediate release (Halifax)…March 18, 2022. Leaf Music is thrilled to announce Infusion Baroque’s newest single: “Divertimento No. 3 in D minor, Op. 3” composed by Anna Bon.
Anna Bon di Venezia was an accomplished 18th-century singer, harpsichordist and composer, who spent a lifetime in good musical company. She studied music at the famed Ospedale della pietá, was supported by Wilhelmine von Bayreuth in becoming chamber music virtuoso at the Prussian court, and worked with Haydn at the Esterházy court. The style of her compositions reflect a time of transition from the Baroque to Classical, and include Six Divertimenti for two flutes & basso continuo, Six Harpsichord Sonatas, and Six Chamber sonatas for flute & harpsichord.
(Illustration – Parissa Mohit)
“Divertimento No. 3 in D minor, Op. 3” marks the fourth single of a series of releases for Infusion Baroque’s album Virtuosa, to be released June 10, 2021. The 2-disc recording encompasses 15 works that were either composed or performed by women, and recorded on historical instruments.
Since 2017, one of Infusion Baroque’s primary initiatives has been The Virtuosa Project, a series of concerts, lectures, and web videos dedicated to women musicians of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. This project, which highlights over a dozen relatively unknown women who made substantial contributions to Western classical music, has generated a great amount of interest at a local and international level, resulting in requests from international presenters for the ensemble to tour the Virtuosa program in the United States, France and the U.K.
The CD will include a comprehensive booklet and companion website which will include stories, images, and archival material pertaining to the women featured on the recording. The objective is to provide cultural and socio-economic context for the women’s lives as well as for their music, and to highlight their accomplishments in the face of adversity. Many of the featured women were pioneers in their field.
Infusion Baroque draws new audiences to early music through a truly captivating concert experience, deftly combining seasoned musicianship with theatrical elements. Playing music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries on historical instruments, the four women of Infusion Baroque enthrall audiences across North America with their creative and interactive programming.
Infusion Baroque’s performances have been described as “dynamic and alive” (Early Music America) with “polish, energy, and finely-honed style… merrily breaking established traditions” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Winners of the Grand Prize and Audience Prize at the 2014 Early Music America Baroque Performance Competition, the ensemble charms audiences with its dynamic programs such as “Who Killed Leclair?” (an interactive murder mystery soirée based on the unsolved murder of the famous musician); “Rebels and Rivalries” (featuring scandalous stories from the lives of great composers); and “Son of a Bach!” (narrating the multigenerational saga of the famous musical family).
Infusion Baroque has released two recordings with the Canadian label Leaf Music to critical acclaim. The ensemble’s latest album, a world-premiere recording of quintets by Georg Anton Kreüsser, was nominated for an Opus Prize by the Conseil Québecois de la musique. According to Fanfare, “the playing of these musicians … is superb. They play with a liveliness and unforced energy that seems to grow naturally out of the music… combining spontaneity and abandon with technical perfection.” The ensemble’s debut recording of trio sonatas by C.P.E. Bach was described as “real baroque … gripping and full of character” (Radio-Canada).Since 2017, Infusion Baroque has been exploring the lives of historical women performers through The Virtuosa Project. Fascinated by the great number of women who made their mark as musical performers despite considerable barriers and stigma, Infusion Baroque devoted an entire concert season in 2018-19 to exploring their lives and music. The ensemble also produced a web series which tells the story of four female musicians of the past, and is looking forward to producing a CD recording and documentary on this exciting topic to be released in 2021. (photo – Danylo Bobyk)
Infusion Baroque: “Divertimento No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 3” Release date: March 18, 2022 Digital Release Stream/Download HERE For MEDIA ONLY – Download pwd: agricola2526
Released August 6, 2021 Maureen Batt & Grej (Gregory Harrison) are excited to present Lighthouse. Lighthouse is for anyone who has experienced the loss of someone close. It is, above all else, a love story… This album was created from letters and journals written on a journey through grief. And while the inspiration for the album came from a dear friend, its message is universal.
This album as a whole represents a journey through grief that has been separated into 9 tracks. The music was composed by Grej (Gregory Harrison) in collaboration with Maureen Batt. The concept is a marriage between classical and electronic genres that utilizes voice, piano, harmonium, synthesizer, and field recordings.
“It’s hard to believe it, but it’s here. Lighthouse is here. With every project I give my whole heart; and somehow, for this project, I gave even more. It would mean the world to me if you had a listen. This album is for everyone. Gratitude is a big theme here and I have it in abundance.” – Maureen Batt
Maureen Batt
Maureen Batt is celebrated for her “rich, warm sound and masterful acting” (Opera Canada). Maureen’s solo career is focused on promoting Canadian classical contemporary repertoire by collaborating with established and emerging composers to commission, première, and re-perform their works. Her debut album, Lady of the Lake includes song cycles by Schubert and Halifax-based composer Fiona Ryan and was nominated for Classical Recording of the Year (2018) by ECMA and Music Nova Scotia. She is also featured on Saman Shahi’s album Breathing in the Shadows with Tara Scott on piano. Aunt Helen, an opera short EP will be released on Leaf Music in May 2021 with Simon Docking on piano. Lighthouse is Maureen’s second full-length album with Leaf Music.
Toronto-based percussionist and Dora-nominated composer Greg Harrison is emerging as one of Canada’s finest talents in contemporary music. His extensive resume spans artists and groups including Jeremy Dutcher, Cirque du Soleil, Video Games Live, R. Murray Schafer, and Fred Penner. Described as a “percussion & electronics wizard” (Bob Boilen – NPR Music), Harrison’s performative and compositional style merge his classical music background with his passion for electronic music.
In recent years, Harrison’s commissions have been coveted by Kaeja D’dance, ProArte Danza, Toronto Dance Theatre, Human Body Expression, Architek Percussion, Fifth Wind Quintet, CCDT, Dr. Morris Palter (University of Arizona), Popular Demand Pictures Inc., NB Tourism, and Division 85 Films. Greg is also co-founder of his groups Mear and Taktus marimba duo.
