Latin Winds Royal Northern College of Music Wind Orchestra, Clark Rundell & Mark Heron

• Joaquín Rodrigo (1901 - 1999):
• 1 Per la flor del lliri blau (Version for Wind Orchestra) 17:40
• Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887 - 1959): Concerto grosso, W565:
• 2 Concerto grosso, W565: I. Allegro non troppo 04:26
• 3 Concerto grosso, W565: II. Allegretto scherzando 03:58
• 4 Concerto grosso, W565: III. Andante 08:19
• Joaquín Rodrigo:
• 5 Adagio 09:50
• Heitor Villa-Lobos: Fantasia em três movimentos (Em forma de chôros), W550:
• 6 Fantasia em três movimentos (Em forma de chôros), W550: I. Andante quasi adagio 03:51
• 7 Fantasia em três movimentos (Em forma de chôros), W550: II. Allegretto [Scherzando] 03:12
• 8 Fantasia em três movimentos (Em forma de chôros), W550: III. Molto allegro 05:20
• Carlos Chávez (1899 - 1978): Chapultepec "Obertura republicana" (Version for Wind Orchestra):
• 9 Chapultepec "Obertura republicana" (Version for Wind Orchestra): I. Marcha provinciana 02:49
• 10 Chapultepec "Obertura republicana" (Version for Wind Orchestra): II. Vals nostálgico 03:59
• 11 Chapultepec "Obertura republicana" (Version for Wind Orchestra): III. Canción de Adelita 01:48
• Total Runtime 01:05:12

Info for Latin Winds

From Spain to Mexico and Brazil, the RNCM Wind Orchestra under the conductors Clark Rundell and Mark Heron here celebrates the strong Latin tradition of wind bands in an exhilarating programme. The album prominently features works by one of the most iconic composers for winds, the Brazilian Villa-Lobos. Their liveliness, freely changing modalities, ease of flow, and likeable sonorities are a striking compositional signature, the unusual Concerto Grosso exploring a unique sound world with concertante discussion among the four wind soloists and the wind band. Also heard are the tender wind Adagio by Rodrigo and his arrangement for band of his first major symphonic work, Per la flor del lliri blau, which in dreamily evoking the age of mediaeval tales inspired his Concierto de Aranjuez. We are brought to Mexico with a stunning work by one of the country’s most popular composers, Carlos Chávez, celebrating a range of popular national genres: the march, waltz, and song.

"Spain and Latin America’s rich wind band heritages given exuberant performances. Villa-Lobos Fantasia em três movimentos with its sultry, atmospheric opening is the album’s highlights." (BBC Music Magazine)

"The music itself is uneven…The performances, though, as consistently good, and the playing is fresh and exciting throughout." (Gramophone Magazine)

Amy Yule, flute
Amy Roberts, oboe
Marcus Norman, clarinet
Sam Brough, bassoon
RNCM Wind Orchestra
Mark Heron, conductor
Clark Rundell, conductor

The Royal Northern College of Music Wind Orchestra
is recognised as one of the leading conservatoire ensembles in the world. Through a unique series of concerts, commissions, broadcasts and over 30 professional recordings, the RNCM Wind Orchestra has transformed the repertoire and performance standards of wind ensemble music.

The RNCM Wind Orchestra was the first conservatoire ensemble to be invited to perform at the BBC Promenade Concerts, and has also performed at Festivals such as Aldeburgh, Cheltenham, Huddersfield, Lichfield, Spitalfields, Malvern and Three Choirs, as well as festivals in Holland, Japan, Switzerland and Poland.

The Orchestra has commissioned and given world premieres of major works by composers including Sir Malcolm Arnold, David Bedford, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Michael Berkeley, Judith Bingham, Martin Butler, Gary Carpenter, John Casken, Nigel Clarke, Martin Ellerby, Anthony Gilbert, Adam Gorb, Edward Gregson, Kenneth Hesketh, David Horn, Gordon Jacob, Stephen McNeff and Geoffrey Poole as well as dozens of UK premieres.

In 2000, the RNCM was presented with a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher Education for the College’s outstanding and pioneering work with the Wind Orchestra. Queen Elizabeth II presented former RNCM Principal Edward Gregson and Timothy Reynish with the award at a special awards ceremony held at Buckingham Palace.

They gave the UK premiere of Stockhausen’s Lucifer’s Dance as the grand finale of a major Stockhausen retrospective at the Royal Festival Hall in London and have since been invited to perform at the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) Conference in Cincinnati, USA and the World Saxophone Congress in Scotland.

Clark Rundell
Renowned for his command of the most intricate and demanding of works, Clark Rundell has established himself as a highly sought-after guest conductor. His repertoire ranges from music of the 18th Century to the current day, encompassing many genres from large scale works for choir and orchestra to the small ensemble.

He recently made his debuts with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, Klangforum Wien, and the SWR-Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden, all of whom immediately re-invited him to conduct over the next few seasons.He works regularly with orchestras and ensembles including all of the BBC orchestras, Britten Sinfonia, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Ensemble 10/10 and Asko Schoenberg.

His conducting in the opera house has included premiere performances of James MacMillan’s opera Clemencyat the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and Orlando Gough’s Voices & Votes at the Bergen International Festival. Other operas he has conducted include Albert Herring, The Turn of the Screw, Carmen, Kat’a Kabanova, Street Scene, L’Heure Espagnole, The Cunning Little Vixen and L’Enfant et les sortilèges.

Deeply committed to the performance of new music, Clark Rundell has given world premières of works by composers such as Louis Andriessen, Steve Reich, Mark-Anthony Turnage, James MacMillan, Django Bates, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Gary Carpenter, Tim Garland, Adam Gorb, David Horne, Steve Mackey, Steve Martland, Martijn Padding, Gwilym Simcock and Joey Roukens.

As an arranger, he has collaborated with Louis Andriessen on a suite from Andriessen’s opera Rosa, entitled Rosa’s Horses, which was premiered by Clark Rundell and the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic, at Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. The pair also collaborated on Vermeer Pictures, a suite from Andriessen’s opera Writing to Vermeer, which was also performed at Het Concertgebouw to great critical acclaim. Clark Rundell is working on further suites of Louis Andriessen’s more recent operas.

A specialist in cross-genre collaboration, he has conducted extensive orchestral projects with artists such as Elvis Costello, Wayne Shorter Quartet, Esperanza Spalding, Toumani Diabate, Brad Mehldau, Tim Garland and Gwilym Simcock. A highly versatile musician, Rundell has also performed with artists such as John Dankworth, Bob Brookmeyer, Victor Mendoza, Guy Barker, Julian Argüelles, Ed Thigpen, Cleo Laine, Andy Sheppard, Lew Tabakin and Michael Gibbs.

He is passionate about working with young people and is Professor of Conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and has a close relationship with the Netherlands Orchestral Academy.

Clark Rundell spent much of his childhood in Bloomington, Minnesota. He studied conducting at the Northwestern University, Chicago with John Paynter and trombone with Frank Crisafulli, and was subsequently awarded a Junior Fellowship to study conducting with Timothy Reynish at the Royal Northern College of Music. He now lives just outside Manchester with his wife and two children.

Booklet for Latin Winds