Prima Facie Records

Metamorphosis (PFCD191) £12.50

Contemporary Music for Harpsichord Volume 1 – performed by Duncan Honeybourne

The 20th-century revival of the harpsichord initially enabled the playing of 17th and 18th century keyboard music on the instrument for which it was originally composed. But its sound gradually began to inspire 20th-century composers, and a contemporary repertoire of original harpsichord music developed.

The harpsichord’s contemporary repertoire has grown steadily, and in the third decade of the 21st century, composers are continuing to find inspiration from the instrument and its players. Having a contemporary repertoire has indeed enabled the harpsichord to achieve a maturity in which it is heard and appreciated in a way that enhances its long history and heritage, of which the music on the CD is especially representative.

Features compositions by Malcolm Lipkin, Kenneth Leighton, John McCabe and Ronald Stevenson.

For more details of Metamorphosis, please see the CD web page

Pasture and Storm (PFCD193) £12.50

New Music for Left Hand Piano and Ensembles
Composed by Sadie Harrison

The Pasture & Storm Project brings together the composer Sadie Harrison, three pianists in Nicholas McCarthy, Sophia Benton and Tomáš Klement, the singer Peyee Chen, flautist Stephanie Gilbert, violinist Roger Huckle, and the Bristol Ensemble, conducted by John Pickard. The CD includes 8 new works written to celebrate the unique talents of the left-hand-only pianist.

The project came about initially through Sadie’s teaching the young pianist Sophia Benton. At school Sophia suffered a netball injury which eventually left her unable to play the piano with her right hand. Extraordinarily, a few weeks after meeting Sophia, Sadie met two people at her local gym, both rehabilitating after having strokes affecting their right sides and both amateur pianists. After inviting the internationally renowned virtuoso, left-hand-only pianist Nicholas McCarthy, to be part of the project, Sadie embarked on the composition of several new works – solo pieces, a chamber concerto, a piano quartet with percussion, piano duets, duos, and an extended song cycle. All these works, written during 2020-21, are presented on the CD.

For more details of Pasture and Storm, please see the CD web page

Penllyn (PFCD188) £12.50

The collected solo piano music of Peter Reynolds
Pianist Duncan Honeybourne

"This disc is dedicated to the memory of a very fine composer and good friend, Peter Reynolds. His unexpected death in 2016 was felt far and wide amongst his friends and colleagues, and has left a gap not only in the world of contemporary classical music, and in the academic realms of music education, but also in many peoples’ lives too. This exceptionally unassuming man was a very fine composer and an avid supporter of other musicians, both as a teacher and as a champion of performances and recordings of new and neglected works. Penllyn is the culmination and premiere recording of not only all of Peter’s found works for solo piano, which needed tracking down at The National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth and at Tŷ Cerdd in Cardiff, but is also an outpouring of love from many of those who knew Peter best. So many of his friends and past students have come together to enable this recording project to come to fruition. Wherever you are now Peter, we hope that you’re happy with this disc. You are sorely missed!"
Luke Whitlock

For more details of Penllyn, please see the CD web page

Magna Carta (PFCD184) £12.50

The Complete Works for Guitar of John Brunning
Performed by Xuefei Yang with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor Clark Rundell
A Classic FM Album of the Week
A Spotify Pick
A UK Official Specialist Classical Chart Top 5 Recording

This album features John Brunning’s complete works for guitar. At its heart is the world premiere recording of his Concerto Magna Carta, written for Xuefei Yang, and performed with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Clark Rundell.

Xuefei is again joined by the RLPO for the Five Romances in new arrangements for guitar and orchestra; and by cellist Johannes Moser for Lacrimosa in a duet for guitar and cello - also premiere recordings for these settings of the material.

With her previous album, ‘Sketches of China’, Xuefei brought the traditional music of her homeland to a wider international audience, and this latest release finds her highlighting the musical traditions of the British Isles.

Xuefei Yang: "I first met John many years ago when he interviewed me for a music magazine. It was one of my very first interviews in the UK and I remember it vividly because he asked in-depth questions that demonstrated that he knew the guitar well. In our conversation I discovered that as well as being a radio presenter, he was also a guitarist and composer. I asked him to send me some scores, and discovered that John has a talent for writing beautiful melodies in the great tradition of English pastoral music, and being a guitarist himself, his music feels very natural to play. Over the years I have recorded and performed some of John’s music, and find audiences across the globe, and other musicians, enjoy his music. When he suggested writing a concerto for me, I thought it would create an opportunity to bring together all his works for guitar."

For more details of Magna Carta, please see the CD web page

Imaginem (PFCD186) £12.50

composer John Michael Franklin – pianist Laura Serra

‘Imaginem’ is a collection of classical compositions by an unknown composer, John Michael Franklin, the true musical story of an ordinary man who has lived a remarkable life. Born in Yorkshire to a schizophrenic mother and emotionally absent father, by the age of five his parents have divorced and his mother is unable to care for him. John is rejected by his father and stepmother and sent away to a children’s home. Whilst in the home John is introduced to music by a couple looking for a child to adopt; they buy him a concertina as a ninth birthday gift. Despite having had no previous tuition, he immediately takes to the instrument, playing it competently within a fortnight and discovering a particular talent for improvisation. John is given piano lessons, becoming highly proficient and eventually studying to diploma level. However, his life is far from settled and, although he forges sporadic friendships, he’s undoubtedly a loner. He spends a lifetime searching for profound human connection until deciding, at the age of sixty-two, that he’ll express his yearning through the healing power of music. The extraordinary result is Imaginem.
Howard Dawson

For more details, please see the CD web page

29 Songs (PFCD185) £12.50

Music by David Power
Robert Price baritone William Vann piano

David Power (b 1962) has been on a long musical journey, from rock, to contemporary classical, to his mature style which has variously been described as ‘atmospheric’, ‘attractive’ and ‘original’. His work is widely performed, appears on 6 CDs and one LP, and has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and national networks in Austria, Hong Kong and the Republic of Ireland. Two of his pieces – 'Eight Miniatures for Piano Nos 2 + 4' - have gone viral, securing 1.8 million and nearly 300,000 streams respectively on Spotify alone. However, songs have always been central to his output, and this collection brings together 29 of his finest.

For more details, please see the CD web page