1 CD
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€ 19.95
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Label Signum Classics |
UPC 0635212070925 |
Catalogue number SIGCD 709 |
Release date 05 August 2022 |
Signum Records are proud to present the seventh album from film and television composer Oliver Davis. Similarly to his previous album SOLACE, AIR was written during lockdown and draws on themes of nature, environment and the natural world. Davis’s previous albums with Signum have reached the top 10 on both iTunes Classical and UK Specialist Classical Charts multiple times, receiving numerous five-star reviews and well over a million streams on Apple Music.
British composer Oliver Davis has parlayed a long record as a composer of film and television scores into a successful career as a composer of orchestral music that in performance have attracted top-notch Lon- don orchestras and soloists. He has also been active as a composer of ballet – most recently premiering Lineage with choreographer Edwaard Liang at New York City Ballet’s prestigious Fall Fashion Gala.
Oliver Davis graduated from the Royal Academy of
Music in 1994 and has since composed numerous
concertos, ballet scores, albums, soundtracks and
television scores working with many of the major
London orchestras.
Davis’ debut album Flight, recorded by the
London Symphony Orchestra with soloist Kerenza
Peacock, was released in March 2015 and quickly
rose to number 2 in the UK Specialist Classical
Charts with 5 star reviews in both the UK and US.
In addition it was chosen as Featured Album of the
Week on Classic FM and was broadcast daily on
the station. After the release of Flight came Davis’
second album Seasons in October 2015. This
album featured his work Anno, a contemporary
take on Vivaldi’s Quattro Stagioni. This album also
charted in the UK top 10 and was Album of the
Week on Classic FM and in the Mail on Sunday.
Following this release came Dance, recorded by
the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road
studios and released in September 2016. This
too became Classic FM’s Album of the Week and
featured in their ‘Best of 2016’ show. Various
pieces from Dance and Flight were used to create
the ballet Dance Odyssey, choreographed by Peter
Walker and performed by New York City Ballet.
Davis’ fourth album, Liberty, was released in
February 2018. This reached number 1 in the
iTunes Classical Charts and was also Classic
FM’s Album of the Week. Pieces from Liberty
formed a new ballet Bacchus, choreographed
by Matthew Neenan for Pacific Northwest Ballet
and premiered in March 2019. Davis’ next album,
Arcadia, featured a piano piece of the same
name, which on its release achieved over a million
streams on Apple Music. The album reached
number 1 in the iTunes Classical Charts, number
4 in the UK Classical Charts and 15 in the US Billboard Charts. Solace was released in 2021. It was
a lockdown album which saw performers record
remotely all around the world. It entered the US
Billboard Charts at no.12 and was both Classic FM’s
and Scala Radio’s Album of the Week. Interviews on
both BBC Radio 3 and Scala Radio followed, with
the title piece being selected by Sidra Bell for her
choreographic debut at New York City Ballet’s
Fall Fashion Gala 2021. The following year saw
the release of the seventh album, Air. Its multi
genre style included songs performed by Grace
Davidson and Jeremy Budd, in addition to violin
concertos performed by Kerenza Peacock and
Benjamin Baker. Both violinists performed on the
ballet The Veil Between Worlds, which was written
for Edwaard Liang and Pacific Northwest Ballet.
Air was Classic FM’s Album of the Week and Scala
Radio’s Album of the Weekend. Blue was the
eighth release and was written for Dutch piano
duo Beth and Flo. It reached no.1 in the iTunes
Chart and was Album of the Week on Classic FM.
In April 2023 Davis collaborated with Celine
Gettins, Principal with Birmingham Royal Ballet,
to create Jubilate, a new ballet celebrating the
coronation of King Charles III. In 2024 Davis’
music was used in over 100 ballet performances
and on March 16th his music featured in five
ballets across the US and UK.
‘Light, bright, agile and pure are all words that have been used to describe Grace Davidson’s voice. Yet
beneath the gleaming surface of her crystalline sound and pinpoint technical accuracy lie rich reserves of emotional intelligence and expressive artistry. The British soprano's vocal and intuitive armoury en-
able her to project the vivid contrasts of mood at the heart of her favourite Medieval, Renaissance & Baroque repertoire with near-divine ease, especially so in the works of Hildegard von Bingen, Mon-
teverdi, J.S. Bach, Handel and Vivaldi.’
Her discography includes over a decade of recordings, many of which feature her as a soloist: Handel’s
Jephtha, Acis and Galatea, Sliente venti, Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, Pianto della Madonna, The
Lutheran Masses of J. S. Bach and the works by Purcell, Vivaldi and other Baroque composers, to
name a few. She has also recorded solo discs with music by Hildegard von Bingen and John Dowland.
Her singing in Fauré’s Requiem (with The London Symphony Orchestra and Tenebrae Nigel Short)
was reviewed on BBC Radio 3 by Richard Morrison quite simply ‘Grace Davidson’s Pie Jesu is
matchless.’
Grace has also forged fruitful relationships with many contemporary and film composers such as Joe
Hisaishi, Harry Gregson Williams, Hanz Zimmer, Howard Shore and Eric Whitacre, but most notably
Max Richter who chose her as the solo voice in his 8 hour piece ‘Sleep’ which has been performed all over the world, including Sydney Opera House and The Great Wall Of China. Davidson, born in Lon-
don, caught the singing bug during infancy and, after a short spell as a trainee chef, set the foundations for her career as a scholarship student at London's Royal Academy of Music.
Oliver Davis graduated from the Royal Academy of
Music in 1994 and has since composed numerous
concertos, ballet scores, albums, soundtracks and
television scores working with many of the major
London orchestras.
Davis’ debut album Flight, recorded by the
London Symphony Orchestra with soloist Kerenza
Peacock, was released in March 2015 and quickly
rose to number 2 in the UK Specialist Classical
Charts with 5 star reviews in both the UK and US.
In addition it was chosen as Featured Album of the
Week on Classic FM and was broadcast daily on
the station. After the release of Flight came Davis’
second album Seasons in October 2015. This
album featured his work Anno, a contemporary
take on Vivaldi’s Quattro Stagioni. This album also
charted in the UK top 10 and was Album of the
Week on Classic FM and in the Mail on Sunday.
Following this release came Dance, recorded by
the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road
studios and released in September 2016. This
too became Classic FM’s Album of the Week and
featured in their ‘Best of 2016’ show. Various
pieces from Dance and Flight were used to create
the ballet Dance Odyssey, choreographed by Peter
Walker and performed by New York City Ballet.
Davis’ fourth album, Liberty, was released in
February 2018. This reached number 1 in the
iTunes Classical Charts and was also Classic
FM’s Album of the Week. Pieces from Liberty
formed a new ballet Bacchus, choreographed
by Matthew Neenan for Pacific Northwest Ballet
and premiered in March 2019. Davis’ next album,
Arcadia, featured a piano piece of the same
name, which on its release achieved over a million
streams on Apple Music. The album reached
number 1 in the iTunes Classical Charts, number
4 in the UK Classical Charts and 15 in the US Billboard Charts. Solace was released in 2021. It was
a lockdown album which saw performers record
remotely all around the world. It entered the US
Billboard Charts at no.12 and was both Classic FM’s
and Scala Radio’s Album of the Week. Interviews on
both BBC Radio 3 and Scala Radio followed, with
the title piece being selected by Sidra Bell for her
choreographic debut at New York City Ballet’s
Fall Fashion Gala 2021. The following year saw
the release of the seventh album, Air. Its multi
genre style included songs performed by Grace
Davidson and Jeremy Budd, in addition to violin
concertos performed by Kerenza Peacock and
Benjamin Baker. Both violinists performed on the
ballet The Veil Between Worlds, which was written
for Edwaard Liang and Pacific Northwest Ballet.
Air was Classic FM’s Album of the Week and Scala
Radio’s Album of the Weekend. Blue was the
eighth release and was written for Dutch piano
duo Beth and Flo. It reached no.1 in the iTunes
Chart and was Album of the Week on Classic FM.
In April 2023 Davis collaborated with Celine
Gettins, Principal with Birmingham Royal Ballet,
to create Jubilate, a new ballet celebrating the
coronation of King Charles III. In 2024 Davis’
music was used in over 100 ballet performances
and on March 16th his music featured in five
ballets across the US and UK.