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 founded NMC in 1989, with financial assistance from the Holst 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. 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) NMC Recordings | contemporary classical music and a recital of contemporary solo piano music by Michael Finnissy (NMC D002). NMC's first opera recording was of Harrison Birtwistle's The Mask of Orpheus (NMC D050). Its single best-selling issue is of Anthony Payne's realisation of the sketches for Edward Elgar'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.