NMC Recordings is a British recording label and a charity which specialises in recording works by living composers from the British Isles.

History

The composer

Colin Matthews Colin Matthews, OBE (born 13 February 1946) is an English composer of contemporary classical music. Noted for his large-scale orchestral compositions, Matthews is also a prolific arranger of other composer's music, including works by Berlioz, ...

founded NMC in 1989, with financial assistance from the

Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

Foundation. NMC is an abbreviation for "New Music Cassettes", which refers to the intended main means of packaging its recordings at the time. Matthews continues as a producer of NMC's recordings. NMC was originally administered through the

Society for the Promotion of New Music The Society for the Promotion of New Music (SPNM), originally named The Committee for the Promotion of New Music, was founded in January 1943 in London by the émigré composer Francis Chagrin, to promote the creation and performance of new music in ...

. In 1992, NMC became independent, and Matthews invited Bill Colleran to become NMC's first board chairman. Colleran served in this capacity from 1993 to 2004. Additional financial support for NMC resulted after the 1993 Copyright Duration Directive (93/98/EEC), which extended the copyright term from 50 to 70 years. As a result, the music of Gustav Holst came back into copyright, and NMC obtained increased funding. However, it has fallen out of copyright again, and the Holst Foundation will stop its activities in 2015, leaving NMC with a significant gap in funding. As a charity, NMC is presided over by a board of trustees.

Recordings

NMC's first recordings, from 1989, were of Jonathan Harvey's ''Bhakti''
NMC D001
and a recital of contemporary solo piano music by

Michael Finnissy Michael Peter Finnissy (born 17 March 1946) is an English composer, pianist, and pedagogue. An immensely prolific composer, his music is "notable for its dramatic urgency and expressive immediacy". Although he rejects the label, he is often r ...

NMC D002
. NMC's first opera recording was of

Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include ''Th ...

The Mask of Orpheus ''The Mask of Orpheus'' is an opera with music by Harrison Birtwistle, electronic music realised by Barry Anderson and a libretto by Peter Zinovieff. It was premiered in London at the English National Opera on 21 May 1986 to great critical acclaim ...

NMC D050
. Its single best-selling issue is of

Anthony Payne Anthony Edward Payne (2 August 1936 – 30 April 2021) was an English composer, music critic and musicologist. He is best known for his acclaimed completion of Edward Elgar's third symphony, which subsequently gained wide acceptance into Elga ...

's realisation of the sketches for

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

's Symphony No. 3
NMC D053
. NMC's catalogue has now over 200 recordings. NMC releases 10 to 12 discs per year. NMC has several sub-categories within its releases: * Archive series: important works and historical recordings from the 20th century * Ancora series: reissues of recordings deleted from other labels (e.g. Collins Classics) * Debut Discs series: release of 12 discs devoted to a single composer's work and in partnership with Graphic Design students from Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design, who created the artwork for each album's cover. The releases are: #Huw Watkins: ''In my Craft or Sullen Art'' #Sam Hayden: ''presence/absence'' #Dai Fujikura: ''Secret Forest'' # Joseph Phibbs: ''The Canticle of the Rose'' #Richard Causton: ''Millennium Scenes'' #Larry Goves: ''Just stuff people do'' #Ben Foskett: ''Dinosaur'' #Helen Grime: ''Night Songs'' #Charlotte Bray: ''At the Speed of Stillness'' *Sinfonietta Shorts: short pieces by today's leading composers, commissioned and premiered by the principal players of the London Sinfonietta. The series started in 2008 to celebrate the ensemble's 40th birthday. The works are: #Harrison Birtwistle: ''Duet 3'' ''(supported by Nick & Claire Prettejohn)'' #Mark Bowden: ''Parable'' ''(created on Writing the Future, generously supported by Michael and Patricia McLaren-Turner and Anthony Mackintosh)'' #Dai Fujikura: ''es'' ''(supported by Robert Clark and Susan Costello)'' #Jonathan Harvey: ''Little Duo'' ''(supported by Sir John and Lady Tusa)'' #Anna Meredith: ''Axeman'' NMC has an overriding principle of maintaining all its titles in its catalogue and not deleting any issues.

Charity status and funding

NMC is a registered charity (no 328052) because of the public benefit it provides through its contribution to enriching British cultural life. It operates as a limited company and within Charity Commission guidelines. As the recordings it releases rarely break even, NMC needs the financial support of trusts, foundations and individuals to operate. All profits from sales are invested back in the organisation and recordings are selected through an Artistic Panel, which ensures that they are chosen based on quality and in order to maintain balance in the catalogue. NMC is receives core funding from the Holst Foundation and the Britten-Pears Foundation. It is also supported by the following trusts and foundations: Angus Allnatt Charitable Foundation, The Amphion Foundation Inc, The Eric Anker-Petersen Charity, Anonymous, The Astor Foundation, The Aurelius Charitable Trust, The Boltini Trust, The John S Cohen Foundation, Colwinston Charitable Trust, The Delius Trust, The Fenton Arts Trust, The Finzi Trust, The Garrick Charitable Trust, Nicholas and Judith Goodison’s Charitable Settlement, Hargreaves and Ball Trust, The Hinrichsen Foundation New Initiatives programme, The Nicholas John Trust, Lord and Lady Lurgan Trust, The Mercers’ Charitable Foundation, The Monument Trust, The Peter Moores Foundation, Stanley Picker Trust, The Radcliffe Trust, The Roche Foundation, The RVW Trust, The N Smith Charitable Settlement, The Steel Charitable Trust, The Surrey Square Charitable Trust, The Richard Thomas Foundation, The Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust, The Zochonis Charitable Trust.

Celebrating 20 years:The NMC Songbook

To mark its 20th anniversary in 2009, NMC Recordings commissioned ''The NMC Songbook'', a collection of art-songs from 96 composers, each on the general theme of "Britain", scored for one or two voices, and various instrumental accompaniments. NMC recorded the collection of songs (NMC D150) for commercial release in April 2009. This recording received the Gramophone Contemporary Award in 2009. In parallel, the label curated a series of 4 concerts, the first public performances of the songs, at

Kings Place Kings Place is a building in London’s Kings Cross area, providing music and visual arts venues combined with seven floors of office space. It has housed the editorial offices of ''The Guardian'' newspaper since December 2008 and is the for ...

, London from 1–4 April 2009.

Celebrating 25 years: Opera releases and other projects

Anniversary Opera Releases

To celebrate its 25 years, NMC released three major British contemporary operas, funded by a special anniversary appeal. NMC managed to raise over £40,000, thanks to eight trusts and foundations and more than 50 individual donors, in order to produce these landmark works and to give them a permanent place in its catalogue. The three operas are: *

's Gawain
NMC D200
''

Gramophone Award The Gramophone Classical Music Awards, launched in 1977, are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry. They are often viewed as equivalent to or surpassing the American Grammy award, and refer ...

'' in 1996 (Collins Classics)) *

Judith Weir Judith Weir (born 11 May 1954) is a British composer serving as Master of the King's Music. Appointed in 2014 by Queen Elizabeth II, Weir is the first woman to hold this office. Biography Weir was born in Cambridge, England, to Scottish paren ...

's The Vanishing Bridegroom
NMC D196
* Gerald Barry's The Importance of Being Earnest
NMC D197
, inspired by the song he contributed to ''The NMC Songbook''

Partnership projects

Over recent years, NMC has developed a lot of partnerships with various organisations. In its anniversary year, it furthered these partnerships by working closely with the London Sinfonietta (on Larry Goves's Just stuff people do, NMC D198) and the Hallé (on John Casken's Orion over Farne, NMC D189 and Helen Grime's Night Song, NMC D199). For the first time, NMC teamed up with leading dance companies – Sadler's Wells and Rambert – to release Mark-Anthony's UNDANCE. The year of NMC's 25th Anniversary will also see the creation of a partnership with the Science Museum and Aurora Orchestra.

Next Wave

NMC, in collaboration with

Sound and Music Sound and Music is the UK's national agency for new music, established on 1 October 2008 from the merger of four existing bodies working in the contemporary music field: the Society for the Promotion of New Music (SPNM), the British Music Inform ...

, offered professional support, mentoring and commissioning to a dozen student composers for the Next Wave project, aiming at bridging the gap between composing in a university setting and pursuing a career as a professional composer.

Wigmore Hall

For its 25th anniversary, NMC decided to rebalance its catalogue and to remedy to its lack of string quartet compositions. Therefore, it collaborated with Wigmore Hall to commission six quartets, premiered and released in two volumes over the next couple of years featuring:

Mark-Anthony Turnage Mark-Anthony Turnage CBE (born 10 June 1960) is a British composer of classical music. Biography Turnage was born in Corringham, Essex. He began composing at age nine and at fourteen began studying at the junior section of the Royal College of ...

+ Belcea Quartet;

Simon Holt Simon Holt (born 21 February 1958) is an English composer. Biography Simon Holt was born in Bolton, Lancashire on 21 February 1958. Educated at Bolton School, Holt immersed himself in organ, piano and visual art during his sixth form years. ...

+ Jack Quartet; Anthony Gilbert + Carducci Quartet;

Helen Grime Helen Grime (born 1981) is a Scottish composer whose work, ''Virga'', was selected as one of the best ten new classical works of the 2000s by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Though she was born in York, England, Grime's parents returned ...

+ Heath Quartet;

Donnacha Dennehy Donnacha Dennehy (born 17 August 1970) is an Irish composer and leader of the Crash Ensemble specializing in contemporary classical music. According to musicologist Bob Gilmore, Dennehy's "high profile of his compositions internationally, togeth ...

+ Doric Quartet; and

Paul Newland Paul Newland is a composer, musician, and founding member of the group out and the electric guitar duo, exquisite corpse (David Arrowsmith/Paul Newland). He studied composition at the Royal Northern College of Music with Anthony Gilbert and visi ...

+ Elias Quartet.

Awards

Several NMC releases have won critical awards: *

Robin Holloway Robin Greville Holloway (born 19 October 1943) is an English composer, academic and writer. Early life Holloway was born in Leamington Spa. From 1953 to 1957, he was a chorister at St Paul's Cathedral and was educated at King's College School, ...

: ''Second Concerto for Orchestra''
NMC D015M
1994 ''

Gramophone Magazine ''Gramophone'' is a magazine published monthly in London, devoted to classical music, particularly to reviews of recordings. It was founded in 1923 by the Scottish author Compton Mackenzie who continued to edit the magazine until 1961. It was ac ...

'' Award) *

: ''The Mask of Orpheus''
NMC D050
1998 ''Gramophone'' Award) * Jonathan Harvey: ''Body Mandala''
NMC D141
2008 ''Gramophone'' Award) *

Julian Anderson Julian Anderson (born 6 April 1967) is a British composer and teacher of composition. Biography Anderson was born in London. He studied at Westminster School, then with John Lambert at the Royal College of Music, with Alexander Goehr at Cambri ...

: ''Book of Hours''
NMC D121
2007 Pizzicato Supersonic Award) *

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

: ''Britten on Film''
NMC D112
2008 MIDEM Classical Award) * ''The NMC Songbook''
NMC D150
2009 ''Gramophone'' Award) *

: ''Night's Blackbird''
NMC D156
2011 ''Gramophone'' Award) *

: ''Night's Blackbird''
NMC D156
2012 ''BBC Music Magazine'' Award) *

: ''Symphony No. 3''
NMC D053
Classic CD Award 1998) Reissues, now available on NMC Ancora series, that have won awards on other labels: *

John Casken John Arthur Casken (born 15 July 1949) is an English composer. Casken was born in Barnsley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. While at Barnsley Grammar School in the 1960s his music teacher played a recording of Berg's Violin Concerto, which h ...

: ''Golem''
NMC D113
''

'' in 1991 (Virgin Classics)) *

: ''Punch & Judy''
NMC D138
''

'' in 1980 (Decca Headline)) *

: ''Gawain''
NMC D200
''

'' in 1996 (Collins Classics)) *

: ''Secret Theatre''
NMC D148
''

'' in 1988 (Etcetera))

References

External links

Official NMC homepage
{{Authority control Contemporary classical music Classical music record labels British independent record labels IFPI members