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Hayes, Morgan: Dictionary of London. Soprano and Piano. Ref: Y246

For his contribution to the songbook commissioned from more than 100 British composers to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the leading new-music label NMC, Morgan Hayes has chosen words from the Dictionary of London: An Unconventional Handbook by Charles Dickens, Junior (1839-1896), little known scion of the great novelist, who also wrote dictionaries of Paris and of the river Thames.

For soprano and piano, this playfully ironic song consists of three brief episodes to words taken at random from the collection. First, there is a warning against the peril of carriage thieves. Then there is praise for the Lord Mayor's show as a welcome pageant for the 'lower working orders'. The song ends with a grand description of the gentlemen members 'of the first distinction and character' who belong to the 'Oriental Club, 18 Hanover Square'.

Singers will welcome this unusual addition to the contemporary vocal repertoire, which will receive its first performance at Kings Place, London on 3 April 2009, performed by soprano Loré Lixenberg and pianist Jonathan Powell. Dictionary of London has also been recorded on the 4-CD boxed set, The NMC Songbook.

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Price: £3.95

Northcott, Bayan: Poet and Star. Ref: Y247

Soprano, Tenor and Piano

One of our most respected commentators on classical music, and a composer of refined choral and ensemble scores, Bayan Northcott has chosen words by Thomas Hardy for his contribution to the 20th anniversary celebrations of the leading new-music record label NMC.

Commissioned as part of the 4-CD boxed set, The NMC Songbook, where it appears alongside contributions from more than 100 British composers, Poet and Star is a duet for soprano, tenor and piano and is a highly atmospheric setting of one of the poet's most enigmatic contemplations of time and mortality.

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Price: £3.50

Samuel, Rhian: A River. Soprano, Baroque or Modern Oboe, Harpsichord and Bass Viol or Cello Ref: Y243

Text by Anne Stevenson

For A River, Rhian Samuel has turned once again to the writings of Anne Stevenson, and has selected verse from her collected Poems, 1955 - 2005. The work is scored for soprano, baroque oboe, harpsichord and bass viol, though modern oboe and cello may substitute for the 'authentic' instruments. Commissioned by 'Music in the Village', Walthamstow, London, and first performed at St Mary's Church, Walthamstow on 21 February 2008, A River exploits the unusual timbres and textures suggested by this ensemble. Eighteenth-century practice is echoed in the duets of voice and woodwind, but there are also challenging solos for individual performers. The piece would make an excellent addition to early music concerts exploring connections between baroque and contemporary music.

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Price: £15.00

Samuel, Rhian: Spring Diary. Baritone and Piano Ref: Y272

Five songs to poems by Anne Stevenson

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1. Arrival Dream
2. Snow Squalls
3. It Happens
4. East Wind
5. A Clearer Memory

The contrasting aspects of nature are a major theme in the work of Rhian Samuel, and in her song cycle Spring Diary for baritone and piano she responds passionately to its vernal magic.

Beginning in dream and ending in memory, the five movements of the collection are a dramatic response to the turning season in Wales, conveyed through the fine detail of its characteristic weather and landscape as observed by the poet Anne Stephenson.

Premiered at London's City University, Spring Diary is excellent material for graduate singers and pianists, who will draw inspiration from its vivid and assured word-setting and substantial and evocative keyboard part.

Price: £6.50

Samuel, Rhian: The Flowing Sand. Baritone and Piano Ref: Y230

Five songs to poems by Samuel Beckett.

Commissioned with Arts Council of Wales funds by the School of European Studies, Cardiff University, for the centenary celebrations of Samuel Beckett's birth, The Flowing Sand is a setting of five poems by this seminal 20th-century modernist that are unified as a song-cycle by meaningful contrasts of mood and of musical style. The movements are 'what would I do', 'my way is in the sand', 'Da Tagte Es', 'Roundelay' and 'saying it again'. Artistically challenging, yet well within the technical range of enterprising conservatoire students, The Flowing Sand is a major addition to the repertoire of contemporary art-song by British composers, and a significant contribution to the celebrations of the writer's anniversary year.

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Price: £6.95

Samuel, Rhian: Yr Alarch (The Swan). Solo Baritone Ref: Y258

Range: G sharp - G sharp (plus falsetto C)

Prized among Welsh speakers, the anonymous 14th-century poem Yr Alarch ('The Swan') is a striking verbal portrait of 'this being without blemish', conveyed in terms of memorable imagery which has inspired Rhian Samuel's short setting for unaccompanied baritone. A rarity in its being a true solo song, this stirring tone-picture is also a showpiece, part lyrical, part declamatory, with contemporary vocal techniques sensitively employed. It will be enjoyed by Welsh-speaking singers and audiences for its heightened atmosphere that conveys the magical presence of a creature ' bright-white above birds … Heaven's cockerel, a shining crag.'

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Price: £2.75

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