Welcome to Hyperion Records, an independent British classical label devoted to presenting high-quality recordings of music of all styles and from all periods from the twelfth century to the twenty-first.
Hyperion offers both CDs, and downloads in a number of formats. The site is also available in several languages.
Please use the dropdown buttons to set your preferred options, or use the checkbox to accept the defaults.
Shard: The triangle forms the spine and the starting point of Shard. There then follows two minutes of bubbling congas and marimba which surface as an insistent and disorientating argument between the main keyboard instruments. The piece ends with a sudden chop.
Slip-stream: The starry, twinkling sound world of Slip-stream is a softly revolving duet between vibes and glockenspiel. Two exhaling cymbals provide the bed on which these two instruments gently intertwine.
Rimfire: Rimfire is a vocal and drumming extravaganza. Drums, cowbells and vocals are graduated throughout the group from low to high and the piece is designed to be performed antiphonally around the audience as rhythms are passed around with startling speed.
Bash peace: David was another great friend and supporter of the group from our early days. He wrote us this small, intimate piece (where all four of us kneel to play two steel pans) as a contrast to the more explosive side of our performances—this is alluded to in the title he chose for this work.
Dance play: Marimba and vibes dance to the drums—occasionally stopping for balance—in Nick’s work. The soundworld becomes darker and less focused halfway through. Light is allowed in again in the final coda until the inevitable rest.
Sound asleep: Sound asleep is a trip brimming with serpentine memories, melodies, music boxes and imaginary meetings between George Formby and Paco Peña, Les Dawson and Beethoven, Charlie Parker and Haydn—all bathed in the dazzling light of a Northumberland sunrise.
Breather: ensemblebash has worked with Stewart for most of the life of the group. Breather is chock-full of shapeshifting rhythms, grumbling bass and jagged corners—all propelled by an unrelenting drum set.
Echolalia: Echolalia is the automatic repetition of another’s vocalisations. Two pairs of players play a game where musical phrases are tossed around, ricocheting off the walls and bouncing off different instruments.
Dance of the dragonfly: Keith’s skittering, jittery piece is descriptively based on the short life of a dragonfly. Fast, intricate rhythms and long silences adorned with water drop pings create a snapshot of life on the riverbank for this most beautiful of creatures.
ensemblebash © 2012
