In the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards' "KBB Music Best Classical Album" category, Atoll Records and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra have scored a hat trick -- an unprecedented first. Finalists include Anthony Ritchie's "A Bugle Will Do," Eve de Castro Robinson's "Releasing the Angel," and Christopher Blake's "Angel at Ahipara." Fresh laurels are guaranteed not only to Atoll founder Wayne Laird, who produced all three albums, but also to the NZSO who feature as a full ensemble on two albums; the strings section on the third.

In contrast to nominees from previous years, all 2012 finalists are New Zealand composers, and each album features a compilation of work by a single composer. Providing continuity with past nominees is conductor Kenneth Young who features on two of the recordings and the dynamic Tecwyn Evans is a welcome new addition to the cast. Romanian-born pianist Tzenka Dianova, and Kiwi David Chickering, cello, and Vea-Matti Lepp?nen, violin, all feature in a solo capacity.

Richie's "A Bugle Will Do" addresses the themes of conflict and peace. The title track is an overture dedicated to two-time Victoria Cross winner Sir Charles Upham. It also includes the debut recording of his Symphony No. 3, which received the The Listener’s Supreme Achievement Award for the best new classical piece in 2010. Critic Marion Poole found the symphony "compelling, rhythmically dynamic and unashamedly honest."

Richie was inspired to compose the third track, titled “Revelations”, by a near-death experience and his subsequent meditations on the possibility of eternal life. He describes the final work, "French Overture", which he composed in Paris, as “a Kiwi’s response to life in a big city with a long history”. Native Kiwi Tecwyn Evans conducts the NZSO through these recordings. Evans, whose recent work earned rave reviews in Australia and Europe, justifies his reputation with his superb interpretative rendering of Ritchie’s work.

“Releasing the Angel”, is again a symphonic album, but features two prominent soloists. David Chickering plays cello on the title track, and on the third track, titled “Other Echoes"; Tzenka Dianova, who studied in Auckland, is the pianist featured on “Peregrinations”. The Kelburn School's Lyrica Choir appears in a work originally written for Plunket. Len Lye, whose life story formed the basis for Eve de Castro Robinson's “Len Lye: The Opera”, is featured on the track "Len Dances" in the form of recordings of his kinetic sculptures.

Christopher Blake’s “Angel at Ahipara," comprising works for string orchestra, is based on four images from “A Journey” (1994) by Robin Morrison, an elegiac photo essay on Northland, New Zealand. Blake has already produced an impressive series of orchestral works, including a piano and violin concerto, and a diverse catalogue of works for other combinations. Currently serving as CEO of the NSZO, he deserves credit for many developments in New Zealand music and cultural policy.

"Angel at Ahipara," though originally commissioned by the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra, was performed for this recording by the NZSO strings under the superb leadership of Kenneth Young, also the conductor for "Releasing the Angel". Recently nominated for the SOUNZ Contemporary Award, Young has earned broad acclaim for his profound affinity for New Zealand music. He has stamped the orchestra with both the serenity and intensity of his trademark style.

This year's clean sweep of finalists for Best Classical Album is only the latest in a string of triumphs for Atoll. Under the direction of founder and visionary producer Wayne Laird, Atoll has carried off Best Album three years out of the past four, EMI Classics scooping the award in 2010. Earlier this year, the label was recognised for the recording of “Requiem – The Holocaust” by Donald Pigovat, and set up manufacture in the UK as part of a new international distribution model to make New Zealand music more widely available. Already on the market in the UK, North America and Europe,

Atoll is attracting positive notice from critics and retailers alike. This past June, it released ten flagship recordings, among them "Releasing the Angel," which along with “A Bugle Will Do” now features in a catalogue of more than 100 items being internationally released over the next two years. “Angel At Ahipara” was released in New Zealand earlier this year and will be readily available in North American, the UK and Europe in early 2013.

by Elizabeth Woollacott & Max Lindenman