The freshness with which they sing radiates joy.

Classic FM Magazine Butt takes advantage of the most up-todate scholarship. The Sunday Times

PRESS RELEASE
Issued by Linn Records (For Immediate Release)

Dunedin Consort
John Butt director

Handel: Esther First Reconstructable Version (Cannons), 1720

Linn CKD 397 UK STREET DATE: 14th May 2012 / US STREET DATE: May 29th 2012 DUNEDIN CONSORT PRESENT THE PREMIERE RECORDING OF THE FIRST RECONSTRUCTABLE PERFORMING VERSION OF HANDELS ESTHER
The multi-award winning Dunedin Consort continues its acclaimed series on Linn Records with the premiere recording of John Butts new edition of George Frideric Handels masterpiece, Esther. Generally accepted as the first English oratorio, Esther marked the beginning of a tradition that has become central to western musical culture. The opening orchestration develops from the trio-sonata texture towards a much fuller texture, with full strings, horns and trumpet as the piece develops. However, Handels greatest development comes with the increased role of the chorus in this oratorio, something that immediately plays to Dunedins strengths in presenting choral performances dominated by the expression and virtuosity of the solo singers. The star-studded cast includes Robin Blaze (Priest of the Israelites), Matthew Brook (Haman), James Gilchrist (Assuerus), Susan Hamilton (Esther), Thomas Hobbs (1st Israelite) and Nicholas Mulroy (Mordecai) in the title roles. The Dunedin Consort is renowned for its historically-informed performances; in 2007 its recording of Handels Messiah (Dublin Version, 1742) won the Baroque Vocal Album of the Year at the Gramophone Awards. The Consort revisited Handel in 2008 with Acis & Galatea (Original Cannons Performing Version 1718), this being named a finalist in the Baroque Vocal category of the 2009 Gramophone Awards, whilst being selected as BBC Radio 3 CD Reviews Building a Library: First Choice. In January 2011 the Dunedins were named 11th in Gramophones The 20 Greatest Choirs, with the publication praising the ensembles triple focus upon artistic revitalisation of over-familiar great works, meticulous musicological enquiry and the audiophile integrity of Linn Records' production values. Available to download in Studio Master at www.linnrecords.com Also available from other download stores
For further information, please contact: Kim Campbell, Projects Manager T +44 (0) 141 303 5130 kim.campbell@linnrecords.co.uk http://www.linnrecords.com/recording-handel--esther--cannons-version-1720-.aspx 19/06/2012

NOTES FOR EDITORS Dunedin Consort Winners of the 2008 Midem Baroque Award and the 2007 Gramophone Award for Best Baroque Vocal Album for their recording of Handels Dublin Messiah, Dunedin Consort, under the combined Artistic Direction of John Butt, Susan Hamilton and Philip Hobbs, performs throughout Scotland and Europe. Under the musical direction of John Butt the group has consolidated its existing strength in the Baroque repertoire. Dunedins commitment to excellence in both live performances and recordings, coupled with the latest research in historical performance, is complemented by its strong belief in supporting new music. As part of its contemporary strand, Dunedin has commissioned and performed works by living composers including William Sweeney, Errollyn Wallen, Peter Nelson and Sally Beamish to complement and enhance the meaning of the old masterpieces. Dunedin Consort has performed at music festivals in Canada, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Scotland and Spain including the Edinburgh International Festival, Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music in London, la Chaise Dieu (France), Thuringer Bachwoche and Hndel-Festspiele Halle (Germany) and broadcasts frequently on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Scotland. Dunedin enjoys a close relationship with Linn Records, named Label of the Year at the 2010 Gramophone Awards. In 2008 the Dunedin Consort released Bachs Matthew Passion (Last performing version, c. 1742) and Handels Acis & Galatea (Original cannons performing version, 1718). These have both received numerous plaudits, including the nomination for a Gramophone Award for Acis & Galatea. In 2010 Dunedin released Bachs Mass in B Minor (Breitkopf & Hrtel Edition, edited by Joshua Rifkin, 2006) to critical acclaim. Since 2010, Dunedin also enjoys a close relationship with the Lammermuir Festival and Perth Concert Hall where it has presented all its major projects. 2013 sees the Dunedin Consort recording Bachs Brandenburg Concertos and John Passion. John Butt The majority of his performance activity since 2003 has been as musical director of the Dunedin Consort, involving numerous performances of both Baroque and contemporary repertoire. He has also made 11 recordings on organ, harpsichord and clavichord with Harmonia Mundi (France), including the Bach organ sonatas, the toccatas and Schbler chorales. He has also recorded Elgars complete organ music and several programmes for the BBC. As soloist and conductor he has performed throughout the world, including the Gttingen Handel Festspiele, Philharmonia Baroque and the Berkeley Festival (where he directed a newly discovered Scarlatti opera in 1996); recent recital tours have taken him to the USA, Canada, Germany, Bermuda, Istanbul, Poland and Korea. In 2008 he (together with Kevin Bowyer) performed the entire organ works of Olivier Messiaen. As a musicologist, John has published five books with Cambridge University Press, relating to Bach, the baroque period, modernity and our contemporary culture of historical performance. He has written numerous articles and reviews and has several essays in the Oxford and Cambridge Companions to Bach, New Grove 2 and the Cambridge History of Nineteenth-Century Music. He is also co-editor of the Cambridge History of SeventeenthCentury Music. His book, Bach's Dialogue with Modernity: Perspectives on the Passions, will be appearing in 2009. John has been elected to Fellowship of the British Academy and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 2003 he received the Dent Medal of the Royal Musical Association and his book, Playing with History, was shortlisted for the book prize of the British Academy. The Dunedin Consort is delighted to announce that John Butt is to be the fifth recipient of the Royal Academy of Music/Kohn Foundation Bach Prize. The prize is given annually to an outstanding contributor in the field of Bach performance and scholarship, and John joins a very distinguished roster of winners - Christoph Wolff, Andrs Schiff, John Eliot Gardiner and Peter Schreier. Commenting on the honour, John said that 'this is great news, not just for me, but also for the Scottish musical scene, the University of Glasgow and, of course, the Dunedin Consort - it's a huge reward for all our work in cultivating an ensemble not merely of international quality, but as a world leader in Baroque performance.'
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For further information, please contact: Kim Campbell, Projects Manager T +44 (0) 141 303 5130 kim.campbell@linnrecords.co.uk http://www.linnrecords.com/recording-handel--esther--cannons-version-1720-.aspx

19/06/2012