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CDs ON THE JADE LABEL -Featuring works by Derek Strahan & various Australian ComposersClick here for Site Index on home page or scroll down. Click on a CD title to go to the order page where you will find full instruction on how to order. Jade CDs are widely heard on national and fine music stations throughout Australia, and are recognised as a valuable resource by educational authorities as being uniquely representative of the work of Australian composers. They are manufactured in limited runs of 500 and stocks are therefore limited. Many of the distinctive Jade CD covers display stylish black & white photography by Nicolas van der Waarden. PURCHASES BY GENERAL PUBLIC MUST BE
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OF GOODS AND INVOICE OTHER MUSIC BY DEREK STRAHAN ON CD For biographical information on other Australian composers whose works are featured on Jade CDs, please visit the Australian Music Centre. "DANGEROUS BY MOONLIGHT” JADCD 1102Works by Roy Agnew, Robert Allworth, Eric gross, Ann Carr-Boyd, Ray Lemond, Derek Strahan . Duration: 44'53” This CD presents a selection of works by Australian composers which is remarkably homogenous considering that the dates of composition range from 1927 to 2004. Though not all compositions were written under nocturnal influences, many of them maintain the crepuscular mood set by the title piece, Allworth's “Dangerous Moonlight” for solo piano, performed with conspiratorial understanding by Ray Lemond, who maintains melodic mysteries within the work's evocative harmonies. Lemond's own piece, “Midnight” takes pianism into the further reaches of the unfathomable. There is even an Allworth piece for mandolins titled “Twilight”, performed by the Sydney Mandolins who also give a sympathetic reading of “Epilogue for Stephen” Op.274 (2004) by Gross, who has written many fine pieces for this ensemble. Here he applies modernistic subtleties to this elegy on the premature passing of a young postgraduate scientist, who also maintained a love of music. Differing music styles for solo piano retain a reflective mood in Allworth's “Minnesota Dreaming”, Agnew's “An Autumn Morning” Gross's “Rondino Tranquillo” and Carr-Boyd's “A Day In Taralga”. Three pieces provide contrasting vigour. “Klavierstuck II Op.127” by Gross is a work for solo piano of sustained invention of around 8 minutes' duration. Its material stems from “different thematic and rhythmic cells so as to provide an overall improvisatory effect”. Virtuoso pianist Simon Docking achieves an idiomatic and idiosyncratic performance. The CD closes with two short instrument duos written by Strahan in 1963, heard here in Midi Realisations. “Population Pressure” for Flute/Piccolo and guitar provides a musical metaphor for a “birth clock” whose relentless digital count “numbers each addition to our planet's population. “Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted” for clarinet and piano, is an exercise in perpetual motion, suggested by the surf at Bondi Beach – the title being the legend on a battered sign posted outside the crumbling apartment block where he then lived. 1. ROBERT ALLWORTH - "MINNESOTA DREAMING" (1993) 2'47". Ann Carr-Boyd - Piano 2. ROBERT ALLWORTH - "TWILIGHT" (1995) 2'43". The Sydney Mandolins: Adrian Hooper & Paul Hooper - Mandolins; Joyce Bootsma - Mandola; Barbara Hooper- Guitar; Michael Hooper - Bass Guitar. Directed by Adrian Hooper 3. ROBERT ALLWORTH - "DANGEROUS BY MOONLIGHT" (1993) 9'16". Ray Lemond - Piano 4. ROY AGNEW - "AN AUTUMN MORNING" (1927) 2) 5'33". Ray Lemond - Piano 5. RAY LEMOND - “MIDNIGHT” (1993) 2'53". Ray Lemond - Piano 6. ERIC GROSS - “KLAVIERSTUCK II” Op.127 (1982) 7'37". Simon Docking- Piano 7. ERIC GROSS - "RONDINO TRANQUlLLO" Op. 34 (1962) 4'15". Ray Lemond - Piano 8. ANN CARR-BOYD - "A DAY IN TARALGA (2003) 3'09". Ann Carr-Boyd - Piano 9. ERIC GROSS - "EPILOGUE FOR STEPHEN" 0p.274 (2004) 5'28". The Sydney Mandolins: Personnel as Track 2. 10. DEREK STRAHAN - "POPULATlON PRESSURE" for Flute/Piccolo & Guitar (1963) 2'37". Midi Realisation - Derek Strahan 11. DEREK: STRAHAN - "TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED" (1963) for Clarinet & Piano 1'47" Midi Realisation - Derek Strahan “PROCESSIONAL” JADCD 1101Works by: Giovanni Palestrina, Robert Allworth, Geoffrey Allen, Eric Gross, Derek Strahan , Carson P. Cooman. The CD opens with three organ works written and played by Carson P. Cooman on the organ of the Rochester Christian Reformed Church, Penfield , New York , USA . “Gallery Music: A Processional Fanfare” (2000), is imagined as a procession taking place within a huge “Gallery”, and is dedicated to Jane t & Arthur Perrin. “Twilight Undulation” (2001) is based on the plainsong Ad dominum dum tribularer clamavi, and written in memory of American composer Robert Starer. “Sunburst: A Recessional Fanfare” (2001) is dedicated to Robert Allworth. An effective musical montage follows alternating works by Palestrina and Allworth, as listed below, and performed respectively by Carson P. Cooman at the organ of the Memorial Church , Harvard University , Cambridge , Massachusetts , USA , and by the Choir of Christ Church St. Lawrence, Sydney, conducted by Colin Sapsford. Secular works follow. “Serenatella” (1995) by Allen is a romantic piano piece dedicated to his wife. “Rondino Pastorale” (1962) and “Miniature for Ray” (1994) by Gross both feature the Sydney Mandolins. Strahan's “Ironical Rondo” for piano, was begun in 1953 when the composer was at school in Belfast , Northern Ireland , then laid aside to obey dictates to study languages for Cambridge Entrance, and finally revised and completed in 2003. It reflects Strahan's interest then, as now, in using elements of jazz in a formal classical structure. In its final form it includes, as a contrasting episode, a short lyric piece written in London in 1958, titled “Birgitta”, after an attractive brunette. The CD closes with the title track written by Gross in 1972 as a Wedding March, and a religious devotion for organ by Allworth. 1. CARSON P. COOMAN – GALLERY MUSIC: A PROCESSIONAL FANFARE (2000) 2. CARSON P. COOMAN – TWILIGHT UNDULATIONS (2001) 3. CARSON P. COOMAN – sunburst; a recessional fanfare (2001) Carson P. Cooman - organ, Rochester Christian Reformed Church, Penfield , New York , USA . GIOVANNI PALESTRINA – MISSA AETERNA CHRISTI MUNERA (1571) ROBERT ALLWORTH – VISIONS OF MARY IMMACULATE (1989) 4. KYRIE LEISON 5. MEDITATIONS OF ST. CATHERINE LABOURE OF THE MIRACULKOUS MEDAL 6. GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO 7. HYMN TO OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM 8. SANCTUS 7 BENEDICTUS QUI VENIT 9. HYMN TO THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY 10. AGNUS DEI 11. VISION OF LOURDES 12. GOSPEL PROCESSION – arranged from Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3 by Colin Sapsford. Colin Sapsford, Organ, Christ Church St. Lawrence , Sydney. 13. GEOFFEREY ALLEN – SERENATELLA (1995-96) Sally Mays- piano 14. ERIC GROSS - RONDINO PASTORALE OP.33 (1962) – Sydney Mandolins, Michael Scott, flute 15. ERIC GROSS – MINIATURE FOR RAY 0P.196/A (1994) – Sydney Mandolins 16. DEREK STRAHAN - IRONICAL RONDO FOR PIANO (1953-2003) – Derek Strahan , Midi realisation 17. ERIC GROSS – PROCESSIONAL OP.21/1 91972) - Lawrence Bartlett, organ, Church of All Saints , Woollahra, Sydney 18. ROBERT ALLWORTH - THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRCIN MARY - Lawrence Bartlett, organ, St. Michael's, Vaucluse, Sydney “MORNING BY AN OCEAN” JADCD 1100Works by Robert Allworth, Betty Beath, Ann Carr-Boyd, Eric Gross, Ian Shanahan, Derek Strahan , Carson P. Cooman,. Duration: 69'48” Five works for solo piano open this CD, beginning with the title track by Allworth and played by David Miller. Composed in 1987 and based on a 12-tone row, it employs chordal, contrapuntal and rhythmic devices to portray the ever-changing moods of the ocean. Shanahan's “153 Infinities” (1996), is played by Zubin Kanga. In his own words Shanahan “eschews mundane pulse and its obsession with piano-resonance and colours” to create “an ecstatic detachment from Time's unyielding flow”. Strahan's “Patriarchy” (1992) is extracted from his longer “Atlantis variations” and arises from the following pathology: “Law-maker, law-breaker, moral angst, phallic imperative, existential rage, scientific curiosity, religious fervour”. Sally Mays is then heard playing Allworth's “Reflections At Nightfall” (2002) and Gross's “Sallymede” (2002), is dedicated to the performer, and depicts aspects of the English countryside near where she now lives. Further solo piano works by Carr-Boyd,“Saturn” (1978), and Betty Beath, “Contrasts (1983), are also heard, played respectively by the composers. Gross also contributes a suite of four mandolin duets titled “Paul and Adrian” (1989), after two brothers in the Hooper family who form the basis of a Plectrum ensemble “The Sydney Mandolins”. The work makes full use of many different techniques employed by mandolinists. The CD closes with a segment of works for organ. Allworth's Suite in Honour of the 70 th birthday of Polish composer Henryk Gorecki is followed by two works written by US composer Carson P. Cooman and performed by him on the organ of the memorial Church, Harvard University , Cambridge , Massachusetts . USA . These are “Elegy” (2001) and “First-Light Prayer” (2003) composed as an 80th birthday gift for US composer David Pinkham 1. ROBERT ALLWORTH - MORNINC BY AN OCEAN (1987) David Miller - piano 2. IAN SHANAHAN -153 INFINITIE5 (199~) Zubin Kanga-piano 3. DEREK STRAHAN - PATRIARCHY (1992) Derek Strahan - piano 4. ROBERT' ALLWORTH REFLECTIONS AT NIGHTFALL (2002) – Sally Mays - piano 5. ERIC GROSS - SALLYMEDE 0P.262 (2002) – Sally Mays - piano ERIC GROSS - PAUL AND ADRIAN (FOUR MANDOLIN DUETS) OP.165 (1989) Michael Hooper and Paul Hooper, mandolins 6. PAUL I 7. ADRIAN I 8. ADRIAN II 9. PAUL II 10. ANNE CARR-BOYD - SATURN (1978) Anne Carr-Boyd – piano ROB ERT ALLWORTH - SUITE IN HONOUR OF THE 70TH BIRTHDAY OF THE POLISH COMPOSER HENRYK GORECKI (2003) 11. PRELUDE FOR THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS 12. PRELUDE FOR THE FEAST DAY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY 13. PRELUDE FOR THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRCIN MARY 14. CARSON P. COOMAN - ELEGY (2001) 15. CARSON P. COOMAN - FIRST-LIGHT PRAYER (2003) TRACKS 11 – 15 .Carson P. Cooman - organ, Memorial Church Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts, USA. 16. BETTY BEATH - CONTRASTS (1983) Betty Beath -piano Works by: Geoffrey Allen, Robert Allworth, Eric Gross, Derek Strahan. Duration: 60'17" "After The Rapture", Allen's 20-minute Suite for piano solo (2001) offers four contrasting movements written in reflective and elegant style, and which were composed while Allen (a publisher) was engaged in preparing a complete edition of the works of Australian composer Roy Agnew. The work is dedicated to Agnew's sister, Marjorie. Five movements follow from Allen's extensive work "Diversions" (1994) for oboe, clarinet & bassoon further reveal the composer's gift for melody and aptitude for counterpoint. Three works for solo piano complete the CD. Allworth's "Autumn Reverie", played by David Miller, comprises five preludes in elegiac mood: Mosaics - Yellow - Gold - Grey - Green. "Pensive Prelude", composed & played by Gross, is a gentle, evocative piece requiring thoughtful use of the sustaining pedal. In contrast, Strahan's "Atlantis Variations, Part 3" employs the resources of the piano to depict an asteroid strike on the Earth in 8,500 BC which terminated the Quaternary Age, brought on the Great Flood, and may have caused the sinking of Atlantis. This is one of several works developing material for a proposed 4-opera cycle on Atlantis. Read about Strahan's Atlantis Variations for Solo Piano, Pt. 3
"AN AUSTRALIAN FESTIVAL" JADCD 1095 Works by: Tomas Luis de Victoria, Robert Allworth, Carson P. Cooman, Lawrence Bartlett, Derek Strahan, Ann Carr-Boyd. Eric Gross, Duration: 64'09" This CD displays a characteristic feature of Jade releases - a combination of sacred and secular music. The colourful cover illustration of St. George slaying a dragon, illustrates the opening 4'30" track by Allworth: "Prelude for the Most Holy Name of Jesus & Saint George & The Dragon" (1990) which is followed by Allworth's 6 Meditations of Early English Saints (1990). Both works are for organ and are given a vivid interpretation by US organist and composer, Carson P. Cooman, on the organ of the Harvard University Memorial Church. Two contrasting works by Cooman follow, "Tenebrae Canticle"(2001), exploring ideas of liturgical darkness, and the sprightly "Dawning", a birthday portrait for a friend. Two historical recordings made in 1979 at Sydney's Christ Church St. Lawrence capture the ambience of this location as Colin Sapsford directs the choir in settings by Tomas Luis de Victoria (1548-1611) of "Missa O Magnum Mysterium" and a Good Friday Hymn. Bartlett's own "Ceremonial Te Deum" (1988) is heard, as sung by choir and organ at a special service of Morning Prayer, at St, Andrews Cathedral, Sydney, in the presence of the Prince and the late Princess of Wales, during the 1988 Bicentennial celebrations. In secular mode, Gross contributes two works: "Rondino Pastorale" for flute and Plectrum Ensemble (1962), and Prefatory Sonnet (1984) one of 3 Songs for soprano or tenor, clarinet & piano, in this instance sung by Anthony Walker. Strahan's Atlantis Variations for Solo Piano, Pt. 2, (1992) is one of several works developing material for a proposed 4-opera cycle on Atlantis, this one centred around the character of Calypso, a rebellious daughter of Atlas. The CD closes with Carr-Boyd attractive miniature for piano, "Maladies Of love" (1982). Read about Strahan's Atlantis Variations for Solo Piano, Pt. 2 "I REMEMBER" JADCD 1094Works by: Eric Gross, Ann Carr-Boyd, Robert Allworth, Richard Austin, Derek Strahan. Duration: 70'18 One of the aims of the Jade label is to preserve Australian musical history by re-mastering and releasing significant recordings. The centrepiece of this release is a live recording made in Christ Church St. Lawrence, Sydney, at the Liturgy on Good Friday in 1979, sung to traditional plainchant with choruses by Tomas Luis de Victoria (1549-1611) by Charles Dale, Donald Haws and Brian Copeland with the Church choir conducted by Colin Sapsford. This is preceded by Allworth's "Times Remembered" for 3 oboes and two organ works by Eric Gross. The religious theme is also present in solo piano and organ works by Allworth, and No. 4 of Austin's Meditations (for piano) on the Ten Commandments. Secular music is represented by Allworth's 3 piano solos titled after well-known TV soap operas, Carr-Boyd's jazzy piano piece "Carl's Motel Music", and 3 of Strahan's satirical songs for voice and guitar written for a Breakfast Show TV spot, and performed by the composer. "AUBURN SPLENDOUR" JADCD 1092Works by: Carson P. Cooman, Robert Allworth, Eric Gross, Steve Clark, Ann Carr-Boyd, Betty Beath, Ian Shanahan, Derek Strahan. Duration: 66'16" This is the third Jade CD featuring compositions by American composer and organist Carson P. Cooman along with works by Australian composers. The CD is dedicated to all people of New York and the USA who suffered on September 11 2001. The sound quality on this CD is exceptional. It opens with Allworth's 2001 work "Organ Preludes for Saint and Martyrs", a suite of 6 short pieces each being a portrait in music of a canonised historical figure. These are ably played by Cooman on the organ of the Memorial Church, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. On the same instrument Cooman plays his attractive meditation titled "Jesus Is The Sunlight" based on the hymn tune "Callahan" by American composer Alfred V Fedak. Beath's "Mikri Thalassa (Little Sea")" was commissioned in 1993 by Adrian Hooper for the Sydney Mandolins. Its attractive sonorities were inspired by the spectacle of fisherman gathering sponges from the sea near the island of Kalymnos in the Dodecanese. Also composed for Hooper's Mandolin ensemble in 1985 is Eric Gross's very fine "Suite No. 1 for Plectrum Orchestra or Quintet" in four contrasting movements. Shanahan's capacity for original invention in his own unique avant garde style is illustrated by two works: his contemplation on the Cosmos, "Zodiac: Crystal Orbit Improvisations"(1996), a mandalikon for amplified soprano recorder, MIDI wind instrument, and keyboard synthesizer; and the recent "Harmonia (in PP)" for tenor recorder and piano, written in memory of Professor Peter Platt. Steve Clark's "Phryg Magnet"(2001) for violin and piano is an appealing piece in the Phrygian musical mode. Strahan himself is heard as singer, guitarist and harmonica player in four of his own "Songs of Peace, Love and Apprehension" chosen from material written and recorded during 1970/74, when he appeared in a weekly TV spot on the Channel 7 Breakfast Show and also at folk-song venues. The CD concludes with Carr-Body's short orchestral piece "Images of Australia"(1985) as performed by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Strahan's four songs are also released on his new CD "Take Me To Your Leader", on the Revolve label, Revolve RDS004. Read liner notes for "Take Me To Your Leader". Audio files of these songs listed below. Listen to "Mountain and Rain" Listen to "Cain" Listen to "It's All Happened Before" "LINES OF LIGHT" JADCD 1091Works by: Carson P. Cooman, Robert Allworth, Eric Gross, Ian Shanahan, Derek Strahan , Eric Gross. Duration: 76'06" This is the second Jade CD featuring works by both American and Australian composers. Prolific US composer Carson P. Cooman, also a fine organist, again performs music by Allworth, his "Suite for organ (2001), Visions of Saint Catherine Laboure, St. Michael the Archangel", commissioned by the Roman Catholic Parish of St. Michael, Callas, New York, USA. Cooman plays three of his own organ works, "Gallery Music: A Processional Fanfare" (2000), "Twilight Undulations" & "Sunburst: A Recessional Fanfare" (2001). These works were all recorded in the USA, featuring the magnificent sonorities of the Organ of the Rochester Christian Reformed Church, Penfield, New York. Allworth also contributes three impressionist solo piano pieces written using serial techniques, depicting favourite harbourside locations in Sydney, Australia; and his impressive 13'00" "Cardboard Cantata" (2000) , written for mandolin ensemble with piano, after the title of a book by Prince Lorenzo Montesini. The CD is named after Shanahan's "Lines of Light: Seven Improvisation on aitheros melos (Music of the Spheres)" (1991/1993), a work for amplified recorders, Yamaha DX7 keyboard synthesizers and percussion, performed respectively by the composer, Roger Dean and Daryl Pratt. In this strikingly original 11'10" work, Shanahan invokes the notion of solar spectra. Roger Dean also performs Shanahan's short and related solo piano piece, "Arc Of Light". Strahan's "The Beethoven Boogie" (1982), a 9'00" joke for 8-piece jazz ensemble, including cello, satirizes the 80's "switched-on classics" pop fad, by adapting its style to an entire movement in strict sonata form. This piece is the last movement of Strahan's Jazz Fusion Suite, of which the first movement ,"Triple Six", was released on Jade CD "Fray" JADCD 1086, and the second movement, "Free Spirit", on Jade CD "Music For A Candlelight Dinner" JADCD 1058. In a similar spirit of whimsy, is Gross's lively "Sally in the Mallee" a short solo piece written for pianist Sally Mays, who requested something "a little bit crazy". "AMERICAN DREAM" JADCD 1090Works by: Robert Allworth, Ann Carr-Boyd, Carson P. Cooman, Eric Gross, Ian Shanahan, Laurence Bartlett, Derek Strahan, Betty Beath, Mary Mageau. Duration: 69'01" This is the first Jade CD featuring works by both American and Australian composers. Prolific US composer Carson P. Cooman, also a fine organist, performs two pieces written by Allworth in 2000 and dedicated to the memory of Oscar Wilde (A Dream of Decadence / Decay of Lying) as well as his own "Romanza For Organ" (2000), a meditative piece enriched by lush sonorities. The works were recorded in the USA and played on the Isham Memorial Organ (built 1967) in The Memorial Church, Harvard University. The title track, by Carr-Boyd (for flute & piano) was inspired by the composer's attendance in 1992 at a meeting at a large theatre in Hartford, Connecticut, held to commemorate Martin Luther King Day. Also for flute & piano is Strahan's "Et In Arcadia Ego" (1990), a Cantata from a larger work "Atlantis" (released on JADCD 1063, "Voodoo Fire"). This segment portrays a lovers' idyll on the balcony of a villa overlooking the ocean on a moonlit night in Atlantis. Exciting counterpoint abounds in "Essay for Mandolin & Wind Quintet" (1996) by Gross and in his intriguing "Concertino for Button Accordion (Bayan) and Plectrum Ensemble" (2000). Allworth's "Study In Grey" for Mandolin and Wind Quintet (1997), a serial work, sustains lyricism through the use of surprising harmonies and melodic lines. Shanahan's "Solar Dust: Orbits & Spirals", a work for solo mandolin, employs a range of devices (including microtonal deviations) to paint a "spacescape" of the planet Saturn, observed through the ice crystals which comprise its rings. Mageau solos in her own piano work "Soliloquy" written in 1984 as a dance piece , and Barnaby Ralph ably conveys elemental quietude in Beath's Night Songs No. 1 & 2, for solo Recorder, Bass then Alto. In Bartlett's celebratory "Procession for Elizabeth" the composer provides organ sonorities recorded in Sydney, Australia. Carson P. Cooman has given live performances of a number of Allworth's organ works in the US, which have received favourable notices in the press. Click here to read these. Read an Australian review by Rita Cruise in The Studio, quarterly magazine of the Music Teachers' Association of New South Wales. Listen to "Et In Arcadia Ego"
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