Christo Curtis
Christo Curtis is the recording and mastering engineer behind many Tall Poppies chamber, brass, vocal and film scores, capturing Australian new music with clear detail, natural warmth and the space for electronics, delay and large ensembles to bloom.
His work runs through Westlake’s companionable chamber hits and the Blue Mountains film score, Edwards’s sacred stillness and Maninya dances, Pereira’s cello-and-delay programmes, Munro’s witty rags, Stanhope’s brass fanfares and Graingeresque folksongs, Wesley-Smith’s quirky political chamber pieces, Halcyon’s commissioned lullabies and Kingfisher songs, Gyger’s glistening vocal cycles, and sacred choral scores including Edwards’s Mass of the Dreaming. Reviewers single out finely detailed yet warm sound, unforced instrumental colour, and the technical poise that lets complex textures and live concert energy read cleanly. Whether balancing solo cello against samples, cathedral choir against resonance, or full brass against Angel Place, the recordings stay lucid and inviting.
Credits
Twenty-Five (DVD)
After a break from the Chopin Op. 10 études and Godowsky studies, David Stanhope returns to some of the most fiendish piano repertoire: the Godowsky Studies on Chopin's Études, Op. 25.
I Was Dancing with a Gnat: Music by Ekaterina Komalkova
Duo pianists Aura Go and Ian Munro bring the music of Russian composer Ekaterina Komalkova to Western listeners for the first time in this generous collection of eighty re-imagined national songs.
David Stanhope: Live in Concert
In an era of ubiquitous digital streaming, it is good to be reminded of the energy and excitement of live performance. This concert, with its scintillating late-Romantic repertoire, recalls what a diet of studio recordings can leave out.
From the Hungry Waiting Country
Three astounding works by Elliott Gyger are presented by Halcyon, featuring the thrilling voices of Jenny Duck-Chong and Alison Morgan with some of Australia’s best performers. Challenging music that rewards every listen, full of mystery and glistening textures, its narrative holds you to the end.
Mass of the Dreaming
It is remarkable that 2016 brought the first recording by an Australian choir devoted entirely to Australian sacred choral music. This disc fills that long gap with newly commissioned and recent works.
Kingfisher
This CD is the result of a daring project to commission 21 composers to write new works for Halcyon's two singers, Jenny Duck-Chong and Alison Morgan. Presented over two concerts in their 15th anniversary year, and then recorded at Trackdown.
Close Your Eyes and I'll Close Mine: Lullabies Old and New
Lullabies (or berceuses) have been around as long as humans have been singing their children to sleep. This CD presents a unique collection of mostly modern lullabies, many written for this project.
Merry-Go-Round
Australia's foremost chamber group meets one of the country's most engaging composers. Martin Wesley-Smith draws on politics (East Timor, Afghanistan), Lewis Carroll, and personal tributes to Don Banks and Peter Platt.
Sydney Brass Plays Stanhope
David Stanhope has been writing music for brass ensembles for over 30 years. The works are performed widely and remain a favourite of brass players around the world.
Mastering Engineer: Mastered By
Blue Rags
Ian Munro plays contemporary piano rags by Elena Kats-Chernin, Ann Ghandar and himself, with Graeme Koehne’s Blues and Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky’s composer-portrait Silhouettes.
Mastering Engineer
Electric Cello
David Pereira plays solo Australian cello works, each scored for cello with pre-recorded tape or delay. The Wesley-Smith and Ford pieces are world premiere recordings.
The Potato Factory
The Channel 7 mini-series of Bryce Courtenay’s The Potato Factory screened in Australia in July 2000. With Lisa McCune, Ben Cross and Sonia Todd, it is a ripper yarn of Dickensian London and early colonial life.
Recording Engineer: Recording Engineer
Viola Power
It's hard to imagine a CD of Australian music for the viola, but here it is. From Grainger's chirpy love song through Ross Edwards' intricate dance to Peter Sculthorpe's masterful work with percussion.
Mixing Engineer
The Edge
This music was written for an IMAX film about the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. The film concerns itself with the environment, the ancient Aboriginal presence and the recently discovered prehistoric Wollemi Pines.
Ecstatic Dances: Chamber Music, Vol. 1
One of Tall Poppies' most successful releases, this collection of Ross Edwards's chamber music sets his meditative sacred style beside the buoyant energy of his Maninya pieces.
Onomatopoeia
Long-awaited performances of Nigel Westlake’s most acclaimed chamber works, with outstanding Australian players. One of Tall Poppies’ most successful releases.