The VOCES8 Foundation welcomes friends from around the world to its home in London for its latest winter festival of iconic oratorios, traditional songs and new premieres, as its album ‘A Choral Christmas’ is released on Decca Classics.
LIVE From London Christmas 2023 will comprise six festive concerts released online from 4 December 2023 and remaining available on-demand until 7 January 2024, with a line-up including triple Grammy-nominated US ensemble Skylark, The Gesualdo Six, VOCES8, Apollo5, the VOCES8 Foundation Choir and its Orchestra, the festival will see the return of renowned seasonal works including Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, a musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and an extra special free-access family event to be gifted ahead of the festival.
Tickets for all concerts can be purchased via www.livefromlondon.org. Following the live stream on 4 December, all other performances will be available to watch live or on demand from 5 December until 7 January 2024, with the exception of ‘Silver Bells’ (out 23 December).
Home – VOCES8 and Eric Whitacre album release
Two branches of choral royalty entwine with majestic harmony on the latest release from Grammy-winning composer Eric Whitacre and acclaimed vocal ensemble VOCES8. The album includes a world premiere, All Seems Beautiful To Me, and a new recording of Whitacre’s deeply moving 2019 cantata The Sacred Veil.
The five-minute work All Seems Beautiful To Me is based on a poem by Walt Whitman (from Song of the Open Road) celebrating the human spirit’s capacity for generosity and growth. It was commissioned by the United States Air Force Band and here receives its world premiere recording. Also included is a new recording of one of Whitacre’s most frequently performed and much loved pieces, The Seal Lullaby.
The album also includes Sing Gently and Go, Lovely Rose. The former was composed during lockdown specially for Whitacre’s Virtual Choir, made up of over 17,500 singers from 124 different countries. The latter was Whitacre’s first ever composition, written 30 years ago, and thus the new album is also, in part, a joyful celebration of his three decades as a composer.
The longest work is the twelve-movement, hour-long 2019 cantata The Sacred Veil for choir, cello (Emma Denton), and piano (Christopher Glynn). The text, by Whitacre’s close friend and long-time collaborator Charles Anthony Silvestri, commemorates the death of the poet’s young wife Julie from ovarian cancer. It journeys from the growth of their love, through the birth of their children, to their struggle with the illness. One particularly striking section ‘You Rise, I Fall’ involves extraordinary descending and ascending tone-clusters mirroring the emotional states of the dying woman and her husband.
Listen / purchase links here.
Ola Gjeilo new single – Luminous Night
Ola Gjeilo has made short versions of his pieces Dark Night of the Soul and Luminous Night of the Soul featuring the parts closest to his heart. Luminous Night is the new single from Decca Classics, recorded with the choir Tenebrae, strings led by Thomas Gould, conducted by Nigel Short and available now. Click this link to listen from your favourite platform.
Dark Night will be released at a later date, and sheet music of both will be published together by Walton Music.
Ola Gjeilo piano book “Night” released
Ola’s first publication with Chester Music has been released – the anthology of “Night” pieces for solo piano.
This folio collection, curated by Ola, comes with a specially written preface and features all 18 tracks from his Decca Classics album which was inspired by the twilight hours at his home in New York City.
The book is available at J.W. Pepper, Music Room, and other retailers.
Album available on all platforms and as a physical disc. Watch a video of the session here.
“Night” piano album released
Ola Gjeilo’s new chart-topping album ‘Night’, peaceful piano music inspired by the city at night, is now available on the Decca Classics label. The entire album is on YouTube, but there are alternative listening options here.
Sheet music of the tracks on the album will be available from Chester Music soon, where Ola joins other composers in this genre of piano music including Einaudi, Glass and Nyman.
Follow Ola on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/ola.gjeilo/
“Night” album video, and strong pre-release single streaming numbers for Ola Gjeilo
In advance of the album Night, released on January 24 2020, a number of singles have already been released. The first track, Still, is now approaching 3 million streams on Spotify.
A video of Ola recording another track, Sleepless, has been released by Decca Classics here.
Night, the album of brand-new original works for solo piano is an intimate and meditative collection of peaceful piano music, inspired by the twilight hours of New York City.
Album pre order with Apple Music here, and with Amazon here.
Rounding up the year, Ola is thrilled that Ellie Goulding has listened to so much of his music on Spotify that he is her “Artist of the Decade”. Ola played at her wedding in August.
See more about Ola here.
Ola Gjeilo and Choir of Royal Holloway perform at Ellie Goulding’s wedding
Ellie Goulding has married Caspar Jopling at York Minster, at which her favourite classical artist Ola Gjeilo performed along with The Choir of Royal Holloway and the Twelve Ensemble. An article from the Daily Mail on the day is here.
The music performed came from the Decca Classics album Winter Songs and Ola Gjeilo.
Ola Gjeilo releases new single from upcoming piano album
Still, the single from Ola Gjeilo’s new album Night is now released. The album of brand-new original works for solo piano is an intimate and meditative collection of peaceful piano music, inspired by the twilight hours of New York City. The full album will be released by Decca Classics/Universal Music Canada on January 24, 2020. You can hear Still on Spotify now here. The album pre-order is here.
Ola is an exclusive Decca Classics recording artist, and the new album follows the highly successful Winter Songs (2017) and Ola Gjeilo (2016), which also feature Tenebrae, VOCES8 and the Choir of Royal Holloway. NIGHT is his first solo piano album to be released on Decca.
Tracklist:
Firefly
Sleepless
Still
City Lights
Night Rain
Before Dawn
Aeon
Crystal Sky
Quiet Streets
Sundown
Moonrise
Shadows
Eclipse
Aurora
Dreaming
Polar
Skyline
Nocturnal
See more about Ola here.
VOCES8 new album “Enchanted Isle” released
VOCES8 has released its new album, “Enchanted Isle”. Casting a contemporary eye on the landscape they call home this mixed repertoire album contains music from composers including Sir John Tavener, Ēriks Ešenvalds, Thomas Adès, Samuel Barber, Jake Runestad, Toby Hession and Dan Forrest plus a selection of newly arranged folk songs from arrangers Jim Clements, Matt Sheeran, Geoff Lawson, Joshua Pacey and others. One featured soloist is the amazing voice of Sibéal singing Carrickfergus (video here).
Already at the top of classical charts on release day, Barney and Andrea appeared on the UK’s Sky News to talk about the release as well as the group’s ongoing education work based around the VOCES8 Method.
Further album videos are Enya’s “May it be” (filmed at the Gresham Centre) and Radiohead’s “Pyramid Song”
Ola Gjeilo joins agency roster at Ikon Arts – Edition Peters
Composer and pianist Ola Gjeilo has joined the roster at Ikon Arts – Edition Peters. Ola is one of the most frequently performed composers in the choral world. An accomplished pianist, improvisations over his own published choral pieces have become a trademark of his collaborations. Ola’s albums include the bestselling “Ola Gjeilo” and “Winter Songs” on the Decca Classics label, featuring Tenebrae, VOCES8 and the Choir of Royal Holloway. He also has two piano albums on the 2L label; “Stone Rose” and “Piano Improvisations”. All four recordings are available on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, and all major platforms. Ola’s music is published by Walton Music, Boosey & Hawkes and Edition Peters.
Upcoming events include the premiere of a major work in Portsmouth, England to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War this November, and the release of another album on Decca Classics.
See Ola’s website at olagjeilo.com