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Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Complete Late Piano Works Op 116, 117, 118, 119 Peter Bannister - piano Capriccio Op. 116 n. 1 0:00 Intermezzo Op. 116 n. 2 02:20 Capriccio Op. 116 n. 3 5:55 Intermezzo Op. 116 n. 4 09:11 Intermezzo Op. 116 n. 5 13:13 Intermezzo Op. 116 n. 6 16:05 Capriccio Op. 116 n. 7 19:00 Intermezzo Op. 117 n. 1 21:27 Intermezzo Op. 117 n. 2 25:37 Intermezzo Op. 117 n. 3 29:29 Intermezzo Op. 118 n. 1 35:01 Intermezzo Op. 118 n. 2 36:46 Ballade Op. 118 n. 3 42:03 Intermezzo Op. 118 n. 4 45:35 Romanze Op. 118 n. 5 48:24 Intermezzo Op. 118 n. 6 52:13 Intermezzo Op. 119 n. 1 57:15 Intermezzo Op. 119 n. 2 1:00:39 Intermezzo Op. 119 n. 3 1:05:20 Rhapsodie Op. 119 n. 4 1:07:06 Recorded at La Tanière, Flagy (France), April 2023 Release: Transept Music, March 2026 Download program notes ("Clara Schumann's 'grey pearl' : the final piano works of Johannes Brahms"): https://qr-codes.io/FzAh66

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) Heimliche Aufforderung Op. 27 n. 3 (with score) Peter Bannister - baritone, piano Recorded at Les Arches Musicales, Cluny, France Transept Music Productions 2026 Was Richard Strauss, as he himself once half-jokingly remarked, a "first-class second-rate composer"? Even leaving aside the tragic ambiguity of his attitude towards the Third Reich, when his opportunist streak would lead him at least initially to inglorious compromise with the régime (although he was cleared of all charges by the Allies during the post-1945 de-nazification process), Strauss's place in music history remains controversial. One reason for this, it might be contended, is that while his musical vocabulary is thoroughly steeped in Romanticism, it can be hard to work out when Strauss is actually speaking "in the first person" - the very essence of the 19th century Romantic ethos - as opposed to engaging in musical depiction for maximum effect or shock value (he famously quipped that his music was capable of portraying the difference between a Pilsener and Kulmbacher beer!). There are of course instances in which Strauss attains to a genuine profundity of expression that is clearly not stage-managed (Metamorphosen (1945) perhaps being the supreme large-scale example), but the unsettling question frequently arises for the listener to his music: "will the real Richard Strauss please stand up?" Or, to put it still more bluntly, "is he being sincere or simply pretending?" It is here that the composer's Lieder perhaps provide an answer, given that the intrinsic limits of the genre naturally find Strauss at his least pretentious, as if protected by the small-scale setting against the temptation simply to dazzle with technique or to innovate for innovation's sake. Even those who struggle with the bombast of Ein Heldenleben or the Alpine Symphony can appreciate songs such as those of his early Op. 27 cycle of 1894 (which famously finishes with the evergreen 'Morgen'), in which Strauss provides one of the pinnacles of the post-Wagnerian Lied with 'Heimliche Aufforderung'. If John Henry Mackay's text may indeed be termed second-rate, Strauss's writing most certainly cannot. The spontaneous melodic expression of universal human experience, natural phrase-construction and seamless modulation are reassuring in that they demonstrate that Strauss did indeed possess the timeless qualities of musicianship of the highest order and was not simply 'outrageously talentless, yet quite full of pretensions', as Tchaikovsky cruelly remarked in 1888. Strauss's innate musicality would sometimes arguably be obscured by his 'Trickkiste' (box of tricks) in the course of his long career, perhaps to the detriment of his art, yet it would nonetheless survive until the very end, when again it would be Lieder that would bring them to the fore one final time - in his Four Last Songs. PB (It is interesting to listen to Strauss's own performance of 'Heimliche Aufforderung', accompanying the baritone Alfred Poell (1900-1968) with admirable virtuosity, especially considering that he reached 80 in the year of the recording (1944). Also noteworthy is his ability to adapt to a fair degree of rhythmic imprecision on the part of the soloist. As with the recording from the same period by Heinrich Schlusnus (1888-1952), the first bar of the piano accompaniment is repeated, departing from the published score.)

Hugo Wolf (1860-1903) Nun wandre, Maria (Spanisches Liederbuch) 0:00 Peter Bannister (1966 - ) Nun wandre, Maria 2:32 Nun wandre, Maria, nun wandre nur fort. Schon krähen die Hähne, und nah ist der Ort. Nun wandre, Geliebte, du Kleinod mein, Und balde wir werden in Bethlehem sein. Dann ruhest du fein und schlummerst dort. Schon krähen die Hähne und nah ist der Ort. Wohl seh ich, Herrin, die Kraft dir schwinden; Kann deine Schmerzen, ach, kaum verwinden. Getrost! Wohl finden wir Herberg dort. Schon krähen die Hähne und nah ist der Ort. Wär erst bestanden dein Stündlein, Marie, Die gute Botschaft, gut lohnt ich sie. Das Eselein hie gäb ich drum fort! Schon krähen die Hähne und nah ist der Ort. Now travel on, Mary, now travel forth. Already the cocks are crowing and the place is near. Now travel on, Beloved, my jewel, And soon we will be in Bethlehem. Then you will rest and slumber there. The cocks are crowing and the place is near. Well I can see, O Lady, that your strength is fading. Ah, it can hardly bear your pains. Courage! Surely we will find lodging there. Already the cocks are crowing and the place is near. If only your hour were come, Mary, I would give good reward for the glad tidings. For it I would give up the donkey! Already the cocks are crowing and the place is near. Spanisches Liederbuch. Text: Paul Heyse after the Spanish Image: Maria e José buscando guarida in Belém (Bento Coelho da Silveira) Peter Bannister - baritone, piano Lieder 2.0 Score and further details: https://www.universaledition.com/en/Works/Lauda-and-Litany-Three-songs-after-Hugo-Wolf/P0208565 Transept Music Productions 2025

Setting of the Latin hymn Salve Regina for voice and organ: Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiae, vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve. ad te clamamus exsules filii Evae, ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle. Eia, ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte; et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exsilium ostende. O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria. English: Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us; and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Peter Bannister - baritone, organ Transept Music Productions 2025 Image: "Vierge du Pilier" / Virgin of the Pillar, Notre-Dame de Paris Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Ibex73

The present piece is a tribute to one of modern jazz’s most seminal figures, the drummer, composer and pianist Jack DeJohnette, who died on October 26, 2025 at the age of 83. A complete musician capable not only of breathtaking virtuosity but also of creating a seemingly endless range of atmospheric textures and playing with the most diverse performers, I above all associate him with the legendary "Standards" Trio of Keith Jarrett alongside bassist Gary Peacock, in which he played for over 25 years. The title Gnossienne refers to the early piano music of Erik Satie (1866-1925) in this year of the 100th anniversary of his death, drawing its melodic material from Gnossiennes 1, 2, 3 and 5. Curiously, it was only after finishing the piece that I discovered that Jack DeJohnette had himself written an Ode to Satie for his piano album Return (2016). Peter Bannister, piano Transept Music Productions, November 2025 Image: Jack DeJohnette, Deutsches Jazzfestival, Frankfurt, 2015. Wikimedia Commons / Olivier Abels (modified)

Yithgaddal weyithkaddash scheméh rabba be’olmâ Diverâ ’khire’ outhé veyamli’kh mal’khouté behayyé’khön, ouvezome’khôu ouve’hayyé de’khol beth yisraël ba’agalâ ouvizman qariw weimrou: Amen. Yithbara’kh Weyischtaba’h weyith paêr weyithromam weyithnassé weyithhaddar weyith’allé weyithhallal scheméh dequoudschâ beri’kh hou, l’êla ule’êla min kol bir’khatha weschiratha touschbehatha wene’hamathâ daamirân ah! Be’olma ah! We ïmrou: Amen. May your glory, O King of Kings, be exalted, You who will renew the world and raise the dead. O Adonaï, may your reign be declared by us, the sons of Israel, today, tomorrow and for ever. Let all say: Amen. May your radiant name be loved, cherished, praised and lauded. May it be blessed, sanctified, exalted, your name which soars above the heavens, above our praises, our hymns, above all our consolations. May merciful heaven grant us tranquillity, peace and happiness. Ah! Let all say: Amen. Peter Bannister - baritone, piano Transept Music Productions 2025 In memory of the victims of the Sydney terrorist attack of 14.12.25 and of all violence targetting people of any religious communities throughout this year.

Lieder 2.0 (Lauda and Litany) is a series of re-imaginings of the Austro-German classics of the voice and piano literature, dealing with the perennial metaphysical questions that form a persistent undercurrent of the Lieder repertoire from Beethoven and Schubert onwards. While treating these "standards" (in the jazz sense) in a contemporary musical language that could be described as "classical crossover", all these pieces retain some elements of their models, which the listener will hopefully recognize. In some cases the references are overt (retaining the melody itself or the rhythm/phrase-structure of the vocal line); in others, the influence of the original settings is more indirect, with the new versions employing motivic elements derived from them or evoking a similar atmosphere. 1. Litanei after Franz Schubert (Litanei auf das Fest Aller Seelen D.343) 0:00 2. Im Abendrot after Franz Schubert D.799 5:22 3. Die Allmacht after Franz Schubert D.852 9:12 4. Requiem after Robert Schumann Op. 90 n.7 14:50 5. Mondnacht after Robert Schumann Op.39 n.5 18:39 6. In stiller Nacht after Johannes Brahms WoO 33 n.42 22:55 7. O Tod, wie bitter bist du after Johannes Brahms Op. 121 n.3 26:33 8. Nun wandre, Maria after Hugo Wolf 30:59 9. Schlafendes Jesuskind after Hugo Wolf 34:55 10. Mühvoll komm ich und beladen after Hugo Wolf 38:01 11. Um Mitternacht after Gustav Mahler 42:09 12. Urlicht after Gustav Mahler 47:51 Peter Bannister – bass-baritone, piano Recorded at Les Arches Musicales, Cluny (France), September-November 2025 Transept Music Productions

Two organ pieces Peter Bannister 2025 I. Trois tuyaux (three organ pipes) 0:00 This short piece refers to a symbolic vision recounted by the 13th century German mystic St Mechtilde, who saw the Heart of Christ in the form of three organ pipes "I offer you My Heart," [Jesus] said one day to St Mechtilde, addressing all her sisters through her, "I offer you My Heart," and at once she saw Him holding His Heart in His breast like a cup, and in this cup were gathered three organ pipes which signified the three dispositions of the divine Heart of our Lord on earth, dispositions in which He wished all to be who had recourse to His Heart. First, the Heart of Christ was towards His Father full of reverence and love. Secondly, the Heart of Christ was towards men full of mercy and charity. Thirdly, the Heart of Christ was in itself full of humility and abjection." And our Lord said to all who approached His Heart: "Drink and be inebriated, My dear friends." This vision of St Mechtilde is the starting-point for a solo organ piece in which no more than three pitches sound at any one time. A further self-imposed limitation is that in the chordal progressions, each chord is linked to the preceding one by at least one note. The challenge for the composer in this miniature game is to obtain a maximum of expression using a minimum of musical means - a sort of artistic practice of ‘voluntary poverty’ (freiwillige Armut). Among living composers, ‘sacred minimalism’ is most famously associated with Arvo Pärt: Trois tuyaux is dedicated to the great Estonian composer in honour of his 90th birthday year and in gratitude for our meetings over the years, most recently - and unexpectedly - at the Arvo Pärt Centre in Estonia in November 2024. II. Cor amandum Salvatoris 2:22 This piece takes its title from a Gregorian melody found in the Liber Usualis for the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to a Latin text of St Jean Eudes (1601-1680). The opening portion of the chant as quoted in bars 6-11 sets the words ‘Let all hearts cherish the loving Heart of the Saviour, source of sweetness and love.’ These two movements were composed as part of the project 'Le Livre du Coeur du Christ' (The Book of the Heart of Christ) in collaboration with the Sanctuaire de Paray-le-Monial in France for the 350th anniversary of the apparitions of Jesus to St Marguerite-Marie Alacoque (1647-1690). Peter Bannister - organ Notre-Dame de Cluny Transept Music 2025 www.transeptmusic.com https://www.universaledition.com/en/Works/Two-pieces-for-organ-2025/P0320386