Contact us:
by email:
by post:
1 Kitchener Road
Sandringham
Auckland 1025
New Zealand
Rattle was established in 1991 to provide a platform for the extraordinary diversity and quality of new music in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Our aim is to bring this rich sound-scape (music to engage the head and the heart) to the wider world.
Rattle's producers have sought to draw together a sound that is of the Pacific, one that embodies the heritage of its indigenous peoples and those who have followed.
Not limited to classical, world or jazz, Rattle presents artists from a variety of generic disciplines. From the densely textured guitars of Gitbox, through the evocative and primordial ambience of te taonga puoro on the albums of Hirini Melbourne, Richard Nunns, Gillian whitehead and Judy Bailey, the hand-made percussion of From Scratch, Dan Poynton’s 'gently' prepared piano, the ethnographic transcriptions of Jack Body, the Jewish/Tango influences in the work of Besser and Bravura, the 'widescreen' vistas of the Chris Mason-Battley Group, the Greek folk tonalities and dynamic emotional sweep of John Psathas, the virtuosity and grace of Michael Houstoun, the concentrated intensity of NZTrio, the poetic gospel-blues overtones of Norman Meehan and Bill Mahire, and the contemporary jazz stylings of FSH Trio, Roger Manins, Reuben Bradley, SNH Trio, Dave Lisik and Amy Rempel, the Rattle catalogue transcends boundaries of time and place. This is new music for open ears.
Welcome to Rattle Music.
While Rattle’s catalogue is relatively small (until recently averaging one release a year), the label’s output has enjoyed wide critical acclaim, with six Best Album awards, another five Finalists, and a Gold Disc for Te Ku Te Whe. This impressive achievement testifies to Rattle’s commitment to seeking out the very best New Zealand composers and performers, and to producing albums of exceptional quality and lasting cultural significance.
Tim Gummer, Keith Hill and Steve Garden shared a vision for a music label that would champion a diverse but carefully chosen range of contemporary instrumental music - compositions and performances unfettered by commercial pressures or constraints. Tim and Steve owned a small recording studio in down-town Auckland where Gitbox and From Scratch were recording in mid 1991. Inspired by the European modern music label ECM, the impetus was to provide an empathetic platform for music that wasn’t adequately supported by other New Zealand record labels of the day.
Encouraged by the critical response to Pesky Digits and Songs For Heroes, Rattle recorded with a number of composers and performers for the compilation album Different Tracks, an album that would set the tone and direction for many of the projects that were to follow. The first was Te Ku Te Whe, the seminal debut of Richard Nunns and Hirini Melbourne. Few would have predicted the impact and lasting influence of this groundbreaking work, or that it would play a major role in the revival of te taonga puoro (the traditional instruments of Maori). Two weeks were set aside to record the album, but by lunch on day two, Te Ku Te Whe was in the can. It remains Rattle’s biggest selling release to date.
Recorded only a few weeks before Hirini’s death in January 2003, Te Hekenga-a-rangi wasn’t a follow up to Te Ku Te Whe so much as a broadening of its themes and concepts, this time emphasising the feminine dimension of taonga puoro. To this end, Melbourne and Nunns were joined by Aroha Yates-Smith, and the resulting work is one of Rattle’s most emotionally affecting albums.
In 2005, Rattle approached a selection of New Zealand’s finest remix artists to reinterpret Te Ku Te Whe, in part to go some way towards realising Hirini’s aspiration for the broad and active inclusion of taonga puoro within the wider cultural landscape of Aoteoroa. Receiving the Best Maori Album at the 2007 NZ Music Awards, Te Whaiao is an extremely successful fusion of ancient and contemporary voices.
Rattle have released a number of albums featuring Richard Nunns, each situating te taonga puoro in an increasingly broad range of contexts, from Gillian Whitehead’s Ipu, to improvisational collaborations with Judy Bailey (Tuhonohono), the Chris Mason-Battley Group (Two Tides), Dave Lisik and Amy Rempel (The Curse of the Queen’s Diamond), and forthcoming albums with pianist Marilyn Crispell and saxophonist Jeff Henderson (This Appearing World), and the exceptional vocal talent of Whirimako Black (Te More). Both albums are pegged for release in 2011.
The inclusion of Matre’s Dance on Different Tracks was the beginning of another of Rattle’s most enduring and successful collaborative threads. It not only led to the recording of Dan Poynton’s You Hit Him He Cry Out (Best Classical Album, 1997) and Michael Houstoun's Inland (Best Classical Album, 2007), but to a series of landmark albums by one of New Zealand’s brightest stars, John Psathas. John’s acclaimed debut, Rhythm Spike (Best Classical Album, 1999), was followed in 2006 by the monumental View From Olympus (Best Classical Album, 2006). The album, consisting of three concerti for orchestra and soloists, was the most ambitious and expensive classical recording ever undertaken in New Zealand. Featuring exceptional performances from pianist Michael Houstoun, Portuguese percussionist Pedro Carneiro, American contemporary jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman, and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marc Taddei, View From Olympus was a staggering critical and popular success. Complete with an accompanying DVD, it was one of the top-ten selling classical albums for more than a year, and held the number one spot in the classical music chart for six consecutive months.
Ukiyo (Best Classical Album Finalist, 2010) is a very contemporary collaboration between John Psathas and Pedro Carneiro. Comprised of a set of beautifully contemplative pieces composed for vibes, marimba, assorted percussion, loops, sequences, and large chamber ensemble (horns, wind, strings, piano, bass and drums), the album reflects a broadening of John’s compositional palette, in which he incorporates various contemporary genres into the visceral, emotionally charged characteristics of his trademark style. Helix, released in March 2011, goes even further, although this time within the more familiar context of traditional chamber instrumentation - piano trio, string quartet and solo piano. NZTrio and the New Zealand String Quartet deliver powerhouse performances on Helix and Kartsigar respectively, and Donald Nicolson’s fiercely concentrated piano playing on Songs For Simon, Sleeper and the beautiful Waiting:Still is simply exhilarating.
NZTrio have released two very fine albums with Rattle, bright tide moving between (Best Classical Album Finalist, 2007) and Flourishes (Best Classical Album Finalist, 2010). Although pipped at the post by Michael Houstoun's exceptional Inland as Best Classical Album of 2007, bright tide moving between is one of Rattle's finest achievements. The trio are at their most concentrated and expressive, and the album has been described as one of the best sounding piano trio albums ever recorded.
More recently, the label introduced the Rattle Jazz Series. While still in its infancy, the releases to date reflect Rattle’s intention to pursue an eclectic range of strong, performance-based recordings, and to build a catalogue of great New Zealand jazz. The series was launched with Irony by the FSH Trio, an engaging and beautifully performed set of compositions written by members of the group. Roger Manins' Trio followed, a bold and intense statement that clearly signals the intentions of the Jazz Series: expressive, forward thinking, searching, contemporary, and uncompromising. Reuben Bradley's excellent Resonator encapsulates all of these attributes and more, an extremely strong selection of compositions and performances that took out Best Jazz Album at the Tui Jazz Awards in April, 2011. Oxide by Samsom Nacey Haines, and The Curse of the Queen's Diamond by Dave Lisik (featuring Richard Nunns) are the fourth and fifth Jazz Series releases (respectively). Oxide mines the subtleties and dynamics of the guitar trio tradition, while Queen's Diamond explores the sound world of taonga puoro within a rigorously improvisational context. The results are exemplary.
The launch of the Jazz Series in 2009 signalled a new vision for the future of Rattle, which has seen the label lift its output from barely one album a year to a staggering ten albums in less than 18 months, all strong examples of Rattle’s continuing and deepening artistic ethos. Tim Gummer and Keith Hill recently left the label to pursue their own creative endeavours, but founding director Steve Garden and newly appointed director John Psathas have the energy and enthusiasm to take Rattle forward, to broaden its international reach while continuing to develop its profile and influence within the New Zealand music culture. New projects are either planned or in production with Pedro Carneiro, Donald Nicolson, Jonathan Besser, Whirimako Black, Lucien Johnson, Amy Rempel, Michael Houstoun, and many others. The future for Rattle has never looked brighter.
May 2011
THE RATTLE CATALOGUE
2011
The Curse of the Queen’s Diamond - Dave Lisik (featuring Richard Nunns)
Oxide - Samsom Nacey Haines
Helix - John Psathas
Flight on Light - Manos Achalinotopoulos
Evocation - Jonathan Besser (due for release 2011)
In Concert, DVD - Norman Meehan, Bill Manhire (due for release 2011)
This Appearing World - Marilyn Crispell, Jeff Henderson, Richard Nunns (due for release 2011)
Te More - Whirimako Black, Richard Nunns (due for release 2011)
Chatter - Amy Rempel Trio (due for release 2011)
Toru Takemitsu: Percusion Works - Pedro Carneiro (due for release 2011)
2010
Buddhist Rain - Norman Meehan, Bill Manhire
Ukiyo - John Psathas, Pedro Carneiro (Finalist, Best Classical Album, 2010)
Flourishes - NZTrio (Finalist, Best Classical Album, 2010)
Resonator - Reuben Bradley (Winner, Best Jazz Album, 2010/11)
Trio - Roger Manins
2009
Irony - FSH Trio (Finalist, Best Jazz Album, 2009/10)
2007
bright tide moving between - NZTrio (Finalist, Best Classical Album, 2008)
Inland - Michael Houstoun (Winner, Best Classical Album, 2008)
2006
View From Olympus - John Psathas (Winner, Best Classical Album, 2007)
Te Whaiao: Te Ku Te Whe remixed - various (Winner, Best Maori Album, 2007)
Turn - Jonathan Besser and Bravura
Two Tides - The Chris Mason-Battley Group (featuring Richard Nunns)
2004
Tuhonohono - Judy Bailey, Richard Nunns, Steve Garden
2003
Te Hekenga-ä-rangi - Hirini Melbourne, Richard Nunns, Aroha Yates Smith (Finalist, Best Maori Album, 2004)
2001
Pulse - Jack Body (Winner, Best Classical Album, 2002)
1999
Rhythm Spike - John Psathas (Winner, Best Classical Album, 2000)
1998
Ipu - Gillian Whitehead (with Richard Nunns, Tungia Baker, Judy Bailey and Georg Pederson)
1997
You Hit Him He Cry Out - Dan Poynton (Winner, Best Classical Album, 1998)
1994
Touch Wood - Gitbox
1994
Te Ku Te Whe - Hirini Melbourne, Richard Nunns (Gold Disc, 2002)
1993
Different Tracks - various artists
1991
Songs for Heroes - From Scratch
Pesky Digits - Gitbox
Neil Horner of UK-based Music Web International wrote the following article about Rattle in 2002, in which he gives close attention to Jack Body’s PULSE, John Psathas’ RHYTHM SPIKE, Dan Poynton’s YOU HIT HIM HE CRY OUT, and TE KU TE WHE by Hirini Melbourne and Richard Nunns.
Rattle is a label from New Zealand which "specialises in instrumental music produced by artists working with contemporary styles", a typically modest self-description that hardly does justice to the wealth and breadth of the musical experiences contained within the handful of CDs (well, nine actually!) it has released in the last decade or so. The emphasis is therefore very much on quality rather than quantity and the artistic integrity and community feel is very much of the kind that has made longer established bastions of ingenuity and eclecticism, like ECM and New Albion, such a success. The four discs reviewed here, as an introduction to Rattle's recorded riches, include no less than three New Zealand ‘Classical Album of the Year’ award winners (all in the last five years!) and a gold selling disc. As far as this listener is concerned, these accolades are all fully deserved. If you are intrigued and wish to purchase any of these albums, the best way is via the website (www.rattle.co.nz). The discs covered here are Jack Body's CD of "classical" transcriptions from the folk musics of the Pacific Rim and beyond, Dan Poynton's seminal survey of New Zealand solo piano music, John Psathas' rhythmically thrilling fusions of classical, jazz, rock and folk influences, and Hirini Melbourne's and Richard Nunns' inspired rediscoveries of traditional Maori instrumentation. Several of these releases, despite their obvious diversity, are interrelated, illustrating the close working relationships that exist between most of the Rattle composers/artists.
Rattle's most recent release and winner of the NZ 2002 Classical Album of the Year, is named after its most extended piece (Pulse), and provides an excellent and definitive introduction to the pioneering work of Jack Body, in thoroughly idiomatic performances. It makes explicit Body's debt to the musics of various (not only pacific rim) native cultures and, innovatively, also includes the source materials for the transcriptions on a bonus disc. Imagine the impact of this happy and inspired idea on releases of folk-derived/inspired music by, say, Bartók or Vaughan Williams. Prior to obtaining this disc, I had only encountered Body on the Kronos Quartet's Ancient Music miscellany (Long-ge) and a disc of solo cello compositions by NZ/Australian composers (Aeolian Harp) but my appetite had certainly been whetted. Although the source materials are drawn from as far away as Bulgaria, Greece and Madagascar, it seems reasonable to emphasise the Asia-Pacific influences in particular (Rattle's publicity material credits Body with "practically single-handedly introducing new Zealand audiences to the sound" of that region), while acknowledging that he does have antecedents, however fleeting, in this department (Debussy and Ravel's "orientalist" works are well enough known but there has also been Britten (e.g Prince of the Pagodas), the Canadian Colin McPhee and even Hindemith in his gamelan inspired Sonata for Two Pianos. More recently the brilliant Californian composer Lou Harrison has produced a substantial body of music, e.g. Concerto In Slendro, heavily indebted to the music of south-east Asia (albeit interwoven with medieval and minimalist strands) not forgetting, of course, there his celebrated collaborator John Cage. Anyway, I would say that Body's colourful music is, in general, of a more accessible nature than anything listed above (Debussy, Ravel and Harrison aside).
The Three Melodies for Orchestra link pieces inspired by Greek, Indonesian and Indian folk music. Interestingly, they meld together rather well. The Greek first section, like the third of the Three Transcriptions (of Bulgarian origin) for string quartet, is not a million miles removed from the frantic but very listenable soundworld of, say, Bartók's east European folk derived pieces. Artists like Norway's Jan Garbarek have long since been convincing us of the musical connections between the Indian subcontinent and the music of Asia Minor (as was!) so it is not that surprising to find common elements between the first and third pieces. The central section (based on a West Sumatran flute solo) forms a subtle but telling contrast. Throughout the piece as a whole, Body achieves a high degree of success in his stated intention of using orchestration to "build coherence and continuity" around the source materials which he has transcribed in such a way as to make them "as literal as I could". Whatever the technicalities, the spontaneity of the music makes for an eminently listenable fourteen minutes.
Campur Sari ("mixed essence") attempts, successfully, to blend Western string quartet writing with Indonesian gamelan instrumentation and vocals, resulting in a haunting sequence, initiated by metalaphone, which builds to a more intense climax in which drums, strings and vocals all play a part.
The three pieces that comprise African Strings provide a somewhat gentler listening experience. Only the latter two are included in this version (as the first, Ramandrana, also appears in Three Transcriptions) but they are expertly played by the Japanese guitar duo and represent a centre of relative tranquillity in what is an often intense, if tuneful sequence of works. Anyone especially captivated by the combination of the West African kora (lute harp) and "classical" traditions in Chedo might like to seek out a copy of Tunde Jegede's underrated Lamentation CD which makes similar musical connections.
Long-ge kicks off the Three Transcriptions and the NZ Quartet's version stands up well against that of the celebrated Kronos Quartet, with the Chinese folk music base slightly more apparent in this version. The Madagascan bamboo zither inspired the central movement and an off kilter Balkan dance completes the sequence. Once again, Body makes clear the similarities between apparently unconnected folk cultures while placing them in the context of a more universal musical language.
Pulse itself is based on the Bainang Fire Dance of East New Britain. This piece is a tour de force that not only brings the spectacle of the ceremony that inspired it vividly to life but also manages to involve Beethoven, Berlioz and Stravinsky, as keepers of the rhythmic musical flame at various stages in (relatively) recent "western" musical tradition. By turns primal and highly entertaining, this work demonstrates, beyond doubt, Jack Body's various abilities as orchestrator, melodicist and, I suppose, it has to be said, iconoclast. There is, however, it should be stated, absolutely nothing difficult or unapproachable about any of the music on this disc. Anyone who has any interest in Antipodean/pacific rim music ought to hear it (Body's work is no less important than that of Peter Sculthorpe) and, for that matter, anyone who professes an interest in contemporary music (including those for whom "melody" and "folk music" represent, wrongly in my opinion, outdated notions!). In addition to the composers already mentioned, I would expect admirers of the Kevin Volans of, say, White Man Sleeps and Leo Brouwer's orchestral pieces (especially his marvellously eclectic Concerto di Toronto) to find a great deal to interest them here. Performances and production are of a high standard and the booklet notes are informative without being over-detailed or over-technical. It is useful and indeed illuminating to have the disc of source materials, although personally I am unlikely to listen to it as often as the main disc. Recommended.
John Psathas is a young New Zealand composer of Greek extraction whose musical star is definitely in the ascendent. His music was featured in the gala concert for the recent Commonwealth Games and he has worked extensively with renowned percussionist Evelyn Glennie. The latter devoted almost half of her debut New York performance to Psathas' music and recorded his Matres Dance on her Drumming CD as far back as 1996. Percussion, as one might expect from someone who draws on jazz and rock influences, plays a large part in the Psathas scheme of things and his Drum Dance, also commissioned by Glennie and included on Rhythm Spike, is "well on the way to becoming standard repertoire". The rest of his CD, the 2000 NZ Classical Album of the Year, presents a good cross-section of Psathas' music and, as such, utilises various combinations of instruments, from Dan Poynton's simple and affecting solo piano on Waiting for the Aeroplane (a piece grounded in, among other things, "the emotion of farewells") to the complex interplay of percussion, piano, bass, guitars and electronics on the most overtly rock and jazz influenced work, Stream 3.3. Mentor Jack Body describes some of this music as "a frantic roller-coaster ride" but I also found some of the gentler, more contemplative passages very affecting. I have know idea of the provenance of the title of the string quartet (Abhisheka) but its haunting sonorities suggest influences originating somewhere in the Caucasus. It wouldn't have sat uncomfortably on the Kronos Quartet Night Prayers CD alongside Giya Kancheli et al. Likewise, the extended single movement piano duet Motet finds "a profound sense of space and distance" (Body), separating two four part pieces, the unsettling Calenture (for piano, guitar and percussion) and the exuberant Drum Dances. Some of the more upbeat works, e.g. Spike, show some affinity with contemporary British composers like Fitkin and minimalism is a word that occasionally surfaces in one's thoughts. Ultimately, however, this music is far more involved, both emotionally and artistically, for such a bland label to stick. The closing Stream 3.3 aligns Psathas the most with popular (jazz, rock, jazz-rock?) idioms. It demands and, in this case, receives a high level of virtuosity from its performers and yet, for all its energy and excitement, like most of this composer's music, has moments of quiet, peaceful beauty. While this record bears little resemblance to a typical "mainstream" classical release (both in content and presentation), I have no doubt that we shall be hearing a lot more from the composer it so effectively showcases.
Dan Poynton's record is simply superb and has to be the best mixed recital disc, featuring (mainly) contemporary music, I have heard since Elena Riu's lovely Piano Icons (Linn, 2000). It begins as it means to go on with John Psathas' sublime Waiting for the Aeroplane, seven and a half minutes of melodic but highly distilled musical emotion. It is also included on the Psathas disc reviewed above and is a stand out track on both CDs. Jack Body's Five Melodies include explorations of "a melody within a melody" and music inspired by bagpipes and the thegu-qin, an ancient Chinese zither. They are much more minimalistic and pared-down than his orchestral works and, while the melodies are there for all to hear, they seem quite astringent after the unambiguous poetry of the Psathas piece. I hear echoes of both Bartok and John Cage in the various movements but, as usual, Body is very much his own man, and the delicately scored final section is quite exquisite. Philip Dadson previously released a CD on Rattle with his ensemble FROM SCRATCH and their "hand-made melodic percussion instruments" and Sisters Dance, written for his daughters, also allows Dan Poynton to play both melodically and percussively. Its interpolation of jazzy, upbeat sections with quieter, more moody passages is highly reminiscent, to these ears at least, of some of Samuel Barber's superlative piano music, especially Excursions. Gillian Whitehead's Lullaby for Matthew, a celebration of the birth of her nephew, is far removed from the soundworld of the few pieces I already know her for (e.g. Resurgences, The Journey of Matuku Moana) in that it shows a much more introspective, lyrical side. By definition a minor piece but poignantly beautiful for its four minute duration. I was very pleased to see, on receiving this disc, that it contained a work by Lilburn. I am very much a convert to this composer's orchestral work but have heard next to nothing of his other music. The Sonatina #2 was written the year after the Third Symphony and shares some of that work's darker, more ambiguous traits. Anyone looking here for the composer of Aotearoa or the first two symphonies may be disappointed but this is still classic Lilburn. The booklet notes speak of its inspirations in nature ("sea, wind, clay, the browns and grays of the rugged Wellington coastline") and, in the first movement, traditional Maori chant. Lilburn's economy with his material and the tautness of structure, which characterise most of his music, are definitely there in the austere beauty of the Sonatina. The penultimate piece, Nga Iwi E, was written by Poynton himself and is something of a touchstone, both for him personally and for Rattle as a label. It is based on and celebrates a song by Hirini Melbourne (more of whom below) and draws on Bach, Beethoven, Maori chant and even jazz pianist Keith Jarrett as influences. Poynton describes it as being "written out of admiration for the music of diverse peoples" and this could accurately describe all the music being produced by Rattle and its associated composers and artists. The piece itself starts off percussively before a delicate and memorable melody (originally written by a Maori princess) makes its entrance. While not quite as intense as, say, Peter Sculthorpe's Djilile, this short essay in cultural cross-fertilisation is one of the many highlights of the record. It would have formed an effective conclusion to the CD but there is still sixteen minutes of Annea Lockwood's substantial, single movement Red Mesa, inspired not by New Zealand but by the unique landscapes of the US south-west, to come. Although not particularly heavy going, by its length and the fact it is often very quiet, it requires somewhat greater concentration than the rest of the CD (and maybe several hearings) to fully reveal its secrets. The recording is excellent, the playing both poetic and searching, and the booklet notes informative but accessible; it is no surprise that this disc gained Dan Poynton the 1998 NZ Classical CD of the year award. I would strongly urge you to make its acquaintance.
"Maori say that the creation of sound in all its forms preceded human existence. The sounds on Te Ku Te Whe are old, traditional sounds of bone stone, wood, shell and voice. The music weaves these sounds into a whariki (mat). Traditionally, at birth a whariki was ritually laid…. At death it was rolled up again…." The first paragraph of the booklet notes makes crystal clear the ambition and scope of this project. It is an epic undertaking featuring only traditional Maori instruments, rediscovered over a period of twenty five years (!) by its creators, and a lone voice. Hirini Melbourne is an ex-schoolteacher who has been pivotal in the revival of the Maori cultural inheritance, whereas Richard Nunns comes from a brass, jazz and improvised background (he has collaborated with, among others, avant luminaries Marilyn Crispell and Evan Parker), and they interact (and have been doing since 1989) brilliantly to produce some of the most unusual but genuine music I have heard for a long time. As the disc tells us a story (of life), it really needs to be listened to in a single sitting - it hangs together very well, as one might expect from such an organic, naturally evolving undertaking - and doesn't make anything like the same impact if dipped into (many of the tracks are very short but are vital parts of a greater whole). It also seems a little pointless to describe each track in separate detail - the booklet notes do this excellently, focussing in on the key instruments (e.g. the pukaea - a long, wooden trumpet used during war and peace; the putatara - a conch shell used, among other things, to announce a birth). We are also told that "the sound images have been chosen to evoke the closeness of Maori music to the land, the sea and the wind", and Hirini Melbourne's haunting, often half-whispered vocals confirm this as much as any of the often astonishing instrumentation.
How easy the music itself is to assimilate will probably depend on the listener's musical background but also openness of mind. It is magnificently performed and recorded and anyone au fait with the more world music oriented areas of improv (e.g. ECM's Paul Giger, Pierre Favre, Stephen Micus, even Jan Garbarek in his more experimental works) or the organic side of modern electronica (e.g. Japanese sound sculptor Koji Marutani, Chris Watson's marvellously atmospheric field recordings) will have little difficulty in appreciating the Te Ku Te Whe. Those of a more conventional musical bent may take more time to penetrate the often austere but always gripping soundworld. Astonishingly, at times, Melbourne's singing almost recalls Irish sean nos and even the blues (especially in Ororuarangi), set of course against the context of his own and Nunns' extraordinary and original soundscapes, and this album could well be a revelation to anyone who values the folk and traditional musics from around the world (and their naturalistic origins and (hopefully) living traditions in which they continue to evolve). So, this is in no sense an easy listening experience (it will repay repeated hearing) but what is evident from the start, from the booklet notes and presentation to the production and performance values, is that this is truly a recording straight from the hearts of these artists. They clearly live and breathe this music with a passion and New Zealand and the wider world is certainly in their debt for making it available, by committing it to CD, to the widest possible audience.
Neil Horner (2002)
