(Halifax/Kjipuktuk, NS) Leaf Music releases a new single by oboist Caitlin Broms-Jacobs and pianist MadelineHildebrand, titled 6 Pieces for Flute and Piano: VI. Nocturne (Version for Oboe & Piano) by Fikret Amirov.
Like Armirov’s other compositions, the Nocturne is imbued with traditional Azeri elements: melodies, harmonies, and ornamentations, but its magic defies categorization. Although Amirov’s name is nearly unknown in the West, he was one of Azerbaijan’s most esteemed cultural figures. He was a prolific and highly significant composer who wrote numerous large-scale symphonic works, operas, ballets, and chamber music.
The duo, Fierbois, takes after the name of the sword of Joan of Arc. An iconic strong woman, she never used the sword to inflict harm, only to inspire. Fierbois means “proud wood” in Old French.
Caitlin and Madeline’s upcoming album debut, Sing to Me Again, will be released on January 10. The album explores and reimagines music from Eastern European countries for oboe and piano. It results from a decade of discovery, growth, and artistic partnership between the two musicians.
The debut album gets its launch in Winnipeg at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights on Friday, January 10, 2025, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM CST. Click here for tickets and more information.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
For more information/photos or to arrange interviews, please contact Peggy Walt
(Halifax/Kjipuktuk, NS) Leaf Music announces the distribution of a new recording from early music specialist Anders Muskens, being released on November 29.
“Der meint’es treu!” Music for Fortepiano & Winds from the Biedermeier Salon: Mendelssohn, Schubert, Hummel & R. Schumann features compositions associated with German Romanticism (1815-1848), which were often performed in domestic settings. Muskens performs on an original German square pianoforte made by Johann Gottlieb Irmler in Leipzig c. 1823, paired with historical wind instruments. The album is presented by musicians from Das Neue Mannheimer Orchester Kamermusici, including Anders Muskens on fortepiano, Elia Celegato on historical clarinet, and Florencia Gomez on historical flute.
During the Biedermeier period, social life often revolved around the salon, intimate gatherings typically hosted by women in their homes, where intellectuals, artists, and musicians engaged in discussions, performances, and the exchange of ideas. The famous Schubertiade, named after the composer Franz Schubert, was a more specialized form of salon, dedicated to music and Schubert’s compositions. The German square piano was a popular fixture in homes of the time and was ideal for the smaller living spaces typical of the Biedermeier era.
Prolific early music specialist Anders Muskens has had other recordings distributed by Leaf, including Beethoven: Waldstein & Appassionata Sonatas and Army of Generals Volume 11: Carl Theodor’s Court Orchestra in Mannheim 1742-1778. Muskens is a Canadian early keyboard specialist and ensemble director, who performs throughout North America and Europe. He completed a Masters in Fortepiano at the Royal Conservatoire of the Hague under Dr. Bart van Oort and Petra Somlai, with Fabio Bonizzoni and Patrick Ayrton for harpsichord. He is represented as a performer by the Sonus Agency for Early Music and is the founder of the ensemble Das Neue Mannheimer Orchester, an international initiative to revive the music of the Mannheim School in the second half of the eighteenth century.
The new album was produced with the generous support of the Adriana Jacoba Fonds and the Sena Performing Artist Fund, and was recorded at the Lutherse Kerk Delft, May – June 2021.
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
(Halifax/Kjipuktuk, NS) Leaf Music announces the distribution of a new recording from early music specialist Anders Muskens, being released on October 25. Beethoven:The Forgotten Concerto for Pianoforte, Op. 61a offers a fresh interpretation on period instruments of this seldom-heard piano transcription of the famed composer’s own Violin Concerto Op. 61, completed during 1807. Muskens performs the solo on an original fortepiano by John Broadwood & Sons in London c. 1806, restored by Paul Kobald in Amsterdam in 2022. He is accompanied by the ensemble Das Neue Mannheimer Orchester, jointly led by Muskens and Australian/British concertmaster Rachael Beesley.
Prolific early music specialist Anders Muskens has had other recordings distributed by Leaf, including Beethoven: Waldstein & Appassionata Sonatas and Army of Generals Volume 11: Carl Theodor’s Court Orchestra in Mannheim 1742-1778. Muskens is a Canadian early keyboard specialist and ensemble director, who performs throughout North America and Europe. He completed a Masters in Fortepiano at the Royal Conservatoire of the Hague under Dr. Bart van Oort and Petra Somlai, with Fabio Bonizzoni and Patrick Ayrton for harpsichord. He is represented as a performer by the Sonus Agency for Early Music and is the founder of the ensemble Das Neue Mannheimer Orchester, an international initiative to revive the music of the Mannheim School in the second half of the eighteenth century.
The new album was produced with assistance from The Canada Council for the Arts, and was recorded at WestVest 90 in Schiedam, Netherlands, on February 5-6, 2024.
Listen to Beethoven:The Forgotten Concerto for Pianoforte, Op. 61a on your favourite plateform here: https://leaf-music.lnk.to/am241.
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.
We acknowledge that Leaf Music’s work spans many Territories and Treaty areas, and that our home is in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People.
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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 launch of Dialogues (LM295), a new recording by cellist Noémie Raymond and pianist Zhenni Li-Cohen, available September 20 in digital and physical format. Dialogues includes two major works, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s monumental Cello Sonata in G minor, Op, 19 from 1919, and Rebecca Clarke’sViola Sonata (Version for Cello and Piano) from 1901.
The album explores the duality between these two masterpieces, created by composers and virtuoso performers born thirteen years apart, who both emigrated to the United States. Despite their distinct styles, the works share a remarkable emotional depth and instrumental virtuosity. Dialogues is a true musical conversation linking two eras, two artistic visions, and two talented artists. The musicians add “a dialogue between you and us.”
Less well known than his orchestral works, Rachmaninoff’sSonata (composed simultaneously as his famous Piano Concerto No. 2), marked his return to composition after a difficult period following the unfavourable reception of his First Symphony in 1897. Rebecca Clarke, a pioneer of “English impressionism,” wrote her Sonata three years after emigrating to the US, where she experienced an artistic rebirth following a tormented childhood. Recalling works by Debussy and Ravel, the piece placed second in a prestigious competition for composers and today has emerged in its rightful place in the standard repertoire for viola.
The album launch will take place at the Piano Nobile at Place des Arts in Montreal on September 20th. A concert tour will follow, including the opening of the 24/25 season at Chapelle-Historique-du-Bon-Pasteur in Montreal on September 29 (2024), a recital at Carnegie Hall on March 20 (2025), a recital at the Bradshaw Amphitheater in Toronto on April 17 (2025) and a recital at the Berlin Philharmonic in autumn 2025.
Get your CD copy of Dialogues or listen to it on your favourite streaming platform.
Dialogues was recorded March 6-8, 2024, in Domaine Forget de Charlevoix, and produced by Jeremy Van Slyke for Leaf Music with sound recording by René Laflamme and editing, mixing, and mastering by Nathan Cann.
Noémie Raymond, critically acclaimed for her exceptional talent and deep, rich timbre, has collaborated with world-renowned artists such as Midori and Pinchas Zukerman. She debuted at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 2016 and was recognized as one of CBC’s “30 Classical Musicians Under 30” in 2018.
Steinway & Sons artist Zhenni Li-Cohen is praised for her captivating playing and recordings of rare works. She will soon perform with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra, and the National Orchestra of the Dominican Republic.
About Leaf Music: 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.
We acknowledge that Leaf Music’s work spans many Territories and Treaty areas, and that our home is in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People.
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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 and Canadian violinist Mark Fewer announce the launch ofAlikeness (LM296), available August 16 in digital and physical format. Alikenessfeatures the Newfoundland Symphony OrchestraSinfonia together with percussionist. Aiyun Huang, soprano Deantha Edmunds, and violinist/conductor Mark Fewer in an all Canadian, all strings-based program.
Fewer says the album is inspired by the human capacity to learn, adapt, and collaborate, and encourages listeners to find their own “alikenesses” within the music while fostering a deeper connection with one another: “Continually experiencing new things but using what is already inside of us, as a way to make our worlds larger, expanding ad infinitum… If we don’t immediately understand something, we use a memory to help us relate. Over the course of my own life as a musician, it has been those inquiring artists who relate to one another as open systems who have inspired me the most.”
The NSO Sinfonia, based in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, was founded by Peter Gardner and features core string players from the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra.
Violinist and conductor Mark Fewer has been interpreting music in virtually every genre and setting for over three decades, premiering over 200 works, including more than 50 written for him. His unique discography features multiple JUNO and Grammy-winning recordings and an Opus Prize for a Serge Arcuri tribute. He has served as Concertmaster of the Vancouver Symphony, Artist-in-Residence at Stanford, William Dawson Scholar at McGill, and is currently Head of Strings at the University of Toronto. After 16 years as the founding artistic director of the SweetWater Music Festival, he is now in his sixth season and the Artistic Director of Stratford Summer Music.
Deantha Edmunds, Canada’s first Inuk professional classical singer, was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in December 2023 for her work empowering Indigenous people and sharing their stories. Her performances, writing, and compositions have earned national and international acclaim.
Born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Aiyun Huang holds a DMA from UC San Diego and is the Head of Percussion at the University of Toronto, directing its Percussion Ensemble. She gained international recognition by winning First Prize and Audience Prize at the 2002 Geneva International Music Competition.
The album opens with the world premiere of Deantha Edmunds’ Angmalukisaa (“round” in Inuktut), a personal composition about human connections; Edmunds’ four songs are arranged by Bill Brennan, Andrew Downing, Jeff Johnston, and Robert Carli. The next three works feature Fewer as violin soloist and conductor: Épisodes by Serge Arcuri, (written for the Montreal Baroque Orchestra in 1998,) blends the baroque “concerto grosso” form with modern elements; Matt Brubeck’sThe Simple Life, has been newly arranged by Andrew Downing for strings; and the third movement “C” from B-A-C-H by Robert Carli (after J.S. Bach’s surname), was composed in 2013 for the Sweetwater Music Festival. The album concludes with Alikeness, Yoshiaki Onishi’s arrangement of an eight-movement suite by Jaroslaw Kapuściński. The suite was originally composed in 2015 for the St. Lawrence String Quartet and percussionist Aiyun Huang.
Get your CD copy of Alikeness, or listen to it on your favourite streaming platform. Alikeness is available on all streaming platforms.
Alikeness was recorded January 14-17, 2024, in St. John’s, and produced by Jeremy VanSlyke and Nathan Cann for Leaf Music with assistance from The Canada Council for the Arts.
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 a new digital recording, Light & Dark (CG2024) with cellist Catherine Little and pianist Greg Myra.
Light & Dark is an impassioned and energetic interpretation of historic music for modern listeners. Cellist Catherine Little and pianist Gregory Myra’s performance of Mendelssohn’s joyful D major and Shostakovich’s angsty D minor cello sonatas is a storytelling of the wonder and adversities of life. The album is a follow-up to the duo’s 2021 release, Taking Five, which won the 2022 Nova Scotia Music Award for Classical Album of the Year, and was praised by La Scena magazine for “…eloquently balancing graceful repetition and magical moments.” Visit catherlinelittle.com to learn more.
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 a new digital recording, Defiant Dances (SNS2024) with Atlantic Canada’s only professional orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia under the direction of Holly Mathieson. The orchestra presents a recording of exceptional live performances featuring internationally beloved pianist Sara Davis Buechner and works by four extraordinary women composers. Defiant Dances celebrates the momentous contribution women have made throughout orchestral history and is available for purchase and streaming on all major platforms on May 3.
The album includes Florence Price’sPiano Concerto in One Movement and Louise Farrenc’sOverture No. 1 in E Minor. Two Canadian composers – Alice Ping Yee Ho and Karen Sunabacka – round out the featured works. Sunabacka’s Born by the River (for string orchestra) was originally commissioned by the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, inspired by her Métis grandmother, Lenore Clouston (nee Birston).
Alice Ping Yee Ho’s The Phantom Bird of Han won the 2022 Maria Anna Mozart Award and was premiered by Symphony Nova Scotia in March of 2023. Launched in 2016, the Award supports the work of Canadian women composers, providing $10,000 for Symphony Nova Scotia to commission and perform a new symphonic work. The Phantom Bird of Han was featured on the CBC music program In Concert with Paolo Pietropaolo as part of an International Women’s Day broadcast and was heard in the Atlantic provinces on both CBC Music and CBC Radio on The East Coast Music Hour with Bill Roach.
Noted for her musical command, cosmopolitan artistry, and visionary independence, Sara Davis Buechner is one of the most original concert pianists of our time. She has performed in every state and province of North America and commissioned and premiered important contemporary scores by composers such as Michael Brown, John Corigliano, Ray Green, Dick Hyman, Jared Miller, and others. Ms. Buechner has released numerous acclaimed recordings of rare piano music by composers such as Rudolf Friml, Dana Suesse, and Ferruccio Busoni. A dedicated Yamaha Artist, Ms. Buechner also appears as a speaker and performer as a proud transgender woman.
Symphony Nova Scotia is Nova Scotia’s orchestra, championing symphonic music in the province for 40 years. With a home base in Halifax/K’jipuktuk and performances across the province, Symphony Nova Scotia is proud to be a vibrant, vital part of Nova Scotia’s rich cultural community. From sold-out orchestral concerts to free family events, youth and seniors’ activities, and educational partnerships, Symphony Nova Scotia creates unforgettable experiences with truly great music. Visit symphonynovascotia.ca to learn more.
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 a new digital recording, Black Sea, Orange Tree (LPTW2023) from cellist Leah Plave and pianist Tong Wang. In two major works, this music tells the story of train rides through the Himalayas, ancient folk dances, rowdy bar fights, glittering golden temples and the smell of tea leaves. The culmination of many years of collaboration, research and travel, the album is available for purchase and streaming on all major platforms on April 26.
Turkish pianist/composer Fazıl Say’s Four Cities and acclaimed Canadian composer Alice Ping Yee Ho’s Four Impressions of China weave special techniques into lush melodies, at times beautifully transforming the cello and piano into traditional Turkish and Chinese instruments. Specially commissioned for the duo and a parallel to Say’s sonata, Ho’s suite is inspired by four distinct regions of China: Hunan, Tibet, Heilongjiang, and Hong Kong.
The album was recorded at Studio Piccolo, Montreal in September of 2023 and produced by sound engineer Veronica Galicia Lopez.
Tong and Leah met in Montreal in 2017, where they embarked on a musical journey as part of Z4Piano Quartet. The pair gave countless recitals throughout Canada, the US, China, and Northern Europe, often specializing in lesser-known repertoire by women and contemporary composers. They have also had artist residencies in Beijing and Nova Scotia.
Tong Wang (tong-wang.com), a Canadian pianist, is recognized for her innovative contributions to performance, research, and community engagement. Her work investigates the intersection of art with identity, culture, and contemporary socio-political themes. Tong’s performance history includes collaborations with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Red Deer Symphony Orchestra, and ensembles throughout North America and Europe. A versatile artist, she has spearheaded the creation of a new horror anime opera, Labyrinth of Tears, alongside research into the aesthetics of “cuteness” in music, supported by the Canada Council, FRQSC, and SSHRC. Wang’s recent tours have spotlighted multiculturalism and interactive experiences, such as “我们Us” and “We’re Not Really Strangers” in Lunenburg, Montreal, Basel, Budapest, and Verbier. In 2022, she founded the Windwood Music Festival in Airdrie, Alberta, to bring classical chamber music to rural communities. Wang continues to embark on solo and chamber tours across the US, Canada, and Europe, showcasing her dedication to fostering global connections through art.
Leah Plave (leahplave.com) reaches beyond the traditional role of a cellist, performing not only classical repertoire but also electronic, experimental, non-western, and historical music. An outspoken advocate for inclusive programming and undiscovered voices, she frequently works with living composers and values interdisciplinary, cross-cultural projects. Leah has lived and toured extensively across North America, China, and Europe – by the age of 24, a four-time immigrant.
Based in The Netherlands since 2020, Leah is an Artist in Residence at Studio LOOS (Den Haag) where her performances focus on music for acoustic cello and live electronics. Her recent solo tours have been appreciated in spaces ranging from posh concert halls like Rotterdam’s De Doelen, historic Italian theatres, and eclectic clubs such as Amsterdam’s Sexyland World.
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 a new digital recording: Six Degrees: Music for Violin and Strings (MS001) by acclaimed Canadian violinist Mayumi Seiler, being released on March 29. Drawing on inspiration from life’s connections and relationships, the violinist is joined by colleagues from her illustrious career’s past and present to produce five works written for violin and strings. Top Canadian string players along with formerly mentored students form the ensemble, while the repertoire is composed by longtime collaborators and composers who inspired them. Six Degrees is a celebration of the relationships that keep us interconnected.
Joining Mayumi Seiler on this recording are cellist Rachel Mercer, bassist Joe Phillips, violist Ryan Davis, violinists Hee-Soo Yoon and Isabel Lago, as well as harpist Ben Albertson. The recording was produced by Denise Ball with Pouya Hamidi as recording engineer.
Featured composers include Franz Schubert, Montreal-based composer Michael Oesterle, Massenet (Meditation, transcribed for violin, strings and harp), and Métis composer Alyssa Delbaere-Sawchuk, whose A Search for Resonance beautifully melds with the virtuosic elegance of classical elements. Saskatchewan composer Ryan Davis created a duet for violin and viola for the album, Lavender Jump, inspired by the fields of purple flowers in his native province.
Mayumi Seiler (mayumi-seiler.com) is renowned for her exciting performances of concerto, recital, and collaborative works both live and on disc. She has appeared as soloist with major symphonies in international venues such as Carnegie Hall, Concertgebouw, Musikverein, Barbican, Royal Festival Hall, and collaborated with such noted conductors as Kent Nagano, Sir Neville Marriner, Sandor Vegh, Maxim Vengerov, Christopher Hogwood, Hugh Wolff, Peter Oundjian, and Richard Hickox. Among her extensive list of recordings are the Beethoven and Mendelssohn Concertos, the three Haydn Concertos with the City of London Sinfonia and Richard Hickox conducting on the Virgin Classics label, and Stravinsky’s Le Baiser de la Fée with the Hong Kong Philharmonic under David Atherton (Virgin Classics). Her many recordings of chamber music, include works of Schumann, Dohnanyi, Boccherini and Mozart (Hyperion and Capriccio labels.)
While nurturing a busy schedule as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe, Japan and the Americas, Ms. Seiler founded Toronto’s Via Salzburg – acclaimed as “One of the best roads to our musical hearts” (Toronto Star). In Via Salzburg she led a string orchestra in regular performances at the Glenn Gould Studio for sold out audiences. Through fourteen seasons she curated programs with internationally renowned artists, combining varied art forms such as dance, pantomime, and painting with music.
An active and passionate teacher, Mayumi Seiler serves on the faculty at The Glenn Gould School in Toronto. She’s held a professorship at the University Mozarteum in Salzburg, given masterclasses worldwide and adjudicated at numerous international violin competitions.
She began her musical upbringing in Osaka, Japan, where she was born of Japanese/German parentage. Wedded to the violin from the age of three, Mayumi received her musical education at the renowned Mozarteum during her formative years in Salzburg. She performs on a JB Guadagnini of 1740.
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 a new recording, terra e cielo (STC2024) from Montreal’s Space Time Continuo baroque bass ensemble. This captivating album, to be released on March 8, re-imagines Italian vocal and instrumental music spanning the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. It features works by Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi, Diego Ortiz, Giulio and Francesca Caccini and Girolamo Frescobaldi.
Created in 2019 and directed by cellist Amanda Keesmaat,the fluid personnel of Space Time Continuo perform on plucked strings, keyboards, and low-pitched bowed and wind instruments. Terra e cielo features musicians Amanda Keesmaat (cello and lirone); Antoine Malette-Chénier (triple harp); Karim Nasr (dulcian); Jessica Korotkin (cello and viola da gamba); Christophe Gauthier (harpsichord and organ); Sylvain Bergeron (archlute); and a cameo from Vincent Lauzer (bass recorder). A new addition to the ensemble, a lirone made by Francis Beaulieu in 2023, provides an auditory window into the divine, depicting heavenly scenes that were commonly presented in early Italian works. This lirone (or lira da gamba) is a string instrument used to realize figured bass with fifteen gut strings and fretted neck. When played, it’s held between the legs like a cello or viola da gamba.
The album was recorded at Oscar Peterson Hall, Concordia University, Montreal and was produced by and supported by CALQ (Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec) and the Canada Council for the Arts. This is the third album from this ensemble; learn more at spacetimecontinuo.com.
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).
