Shakespeare’s Globe has made an unexpected move into the recorded music industry with the launch of its own record label Globe Music.
Bill Barclay, director of music at Shakespeare’s Globe, announced the launch of Globe Music, stating that the new label will be “releasing music straight from the venue’s candle-lit, indoor theatre: the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse.” The indoor theatre is acclaimed for its acoustics and will serve as an ideal recording location for the label.
Globe Music’s first recording, Ian Bostridge and Xuefei Yang’s Songs from Our Ancestors, will be released on September 2nd 2016.
The release is a collection of English and Chinese folk songs captured for the first time on disc. The album is described as a carefully selected collection of songs spanning the past 2,000 years that reflects their respective heritages.
Commenting on the launch, Barclay, said: “I am hugely pleased and proud to be able to announce our new record label Globe Music, which will allow for bigger audiences than ever to experience the flickering house concert energy in our special Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. There is no better way to be launching our label than with our dear friends Ian and Xuefei for what promises to be an intimate and extraordinary release.”
Emma Rice, artistic director at Shakespeare’s Globe, added: ‘‘Globe Music’, our very own record label, celebrates the breadth of musicality that happens at the Globe. And oh! The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is the perfect place to record with its unique and intoxicating acoustic. Music has always been an integral part of my life and work, so it’s wonderful to see the creation of a music label that makes it possible to share this fantastic work with the wider world.”
