CAUDEL, STEPHEN - COMPENDIUM (2026 GTR/KEYS INSTRUMENTALS/G-F CARD)

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New from one of the UK’s leading long-standing exponents of melodic guitar driven, often majestic, symphonic rock & classically influenced instrumentals!

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"Compendium is an album I have wanted to make for some time, bringing together and recording some of the most diverse music that I have written and performed to date.”
Stephen Caudel – 2026

Stephen Caudel’s music is often described as “crossing the divide between popular, rock, romantic and classical”.
From solo classical meditations to cinematic rock soundscapes, the nine tracks on ‘Compenium’ are all singular in identity, each telling its own short story.
Some of the pieces have their origins in the years Stephen lived in London where he made lifelong friends, some of whom are no longer around. He has really enjoyed revisiting that music and redefining it in a new way. Other pieces are much more contemporary. There’s even a piece that he had only written the main theme for, but nothing else. It was literally during the recording process that it took shape in Stephen’s mind and found its final form.
The diversity of the music makes this album different to anything he has recorded before.

How we at CDS first discovered Stephen Caudel:
Stephen Caudel and Dave at CD Services relationship goes back a long way… before this company even existed in fact!
Stephen is a brilliant British multi-instrumentalist that first came to Dave’s notice back in the early 80's.
“It was just about the time that the CD format had started to break in the UK and I remember hearing his ‘Wine Dark Sea’ album playing in a local record shop (remember when they used to do that!) and - being a symphonic Prog fan - I was blown away by it. Needless to say I purchased a copy, and it turned out to be one of the first CDs I ever bought! So, when I started CDS, this was an album that I just had to promote to our new and quickly growing CD customers … and they loved it!

‘Wine Dark Sea’ was recorded in collaboration with ‘Tubular Bells’ producer Tom Newman and released in the mid 80's on Coda's ‘Art Of Landscape’ imprint, just at the time when CDs were first starting to make their mark.
The work was premiered in London with a full orchestra conducted by Louis Clark.
Easily the best of all of the Coda label group releases in the 80's, music from ‘Wine Dark Sea’ was regularly featured (almost on a daily basis!) on televisions' ‘Art Of Landscape’ programmes.

Stephen has since toured all over the world performing for audiences that were already familiar with his music through that TV series and his superb debut album. He also supported superstars such as Art Garfunkel at high profile concert venues such as the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Caudel’s early music could only be described at the time as "one man rock symphonies" that started in the realms of Progressive Rock and crossed right over the music spectrum to touch on Classical music, with its rich, at times grandiose displays of craftsmanship intricate guitar work and superb sweeping keyboard orchestrations.
Had Mike Oldfield not emerged from the depths of Virgin's Manor studios with his ‘Tubular Bells’ epic under his arm, then Stephen Caudel may have made it big with his own brand of melodic multi-instrumental sound painting, but I dare say Richard Branson may not have been too happy about that!

During the 80’s, DJ Alan Freeman gave ‘Wine Dark Sea’ his full support on his then Virgin Radio ‘Rock Show’ –and knowing “Fluff's” musical tastes as we did back then it was hardly surprising he was championing Caudel's music.

In 1988 Stephen released his follow-up to: ‘Wine Dark Sea’ with ‘Bow Of Burning Gold’, then during the 1990’s a couple of acoustic guitar based albums were issued, followed in 1997 by his self-released Symphonic Rock epic entitled: ‘Earth In Turquoise’, a concept album of sorts based on episodes in the life of King Arthur that was a majestic symphonic work similarly structured to his debut album.

After that Stephen pulled out of the music business altogether to concentrate on family and building a new business venture - a successful Web Design & Marketing company.

Over 35 years down the line since the release of ‘Wine Dark Sea’, in 2021 Stephen Caudel re-emerged with a re-imagined version of his instrumental Symphonic Progressive masterpiece and called it: ‘Return To Wine Dark Sea’.

Come 2026 and Stephen Caudel has released his latest instrumental epic: ‘Compendium’.

More about Stephen Caudel:
Originally from Sheffield, England, Stephen took up guitar at the relatively late age of 15. Regular visits to the Sheffield City Hall introduced him to a wide array of music: Classical, Jazz and Symphonic Rock.
He studied at Leeds Conservatoire where he learned the complexities of orchestration and, after leaving Leeds, moved to London to pursue a career as a composer and guitarist.
As a composer he has worked in British film and TV and had World Premieres of orchestral music including the ‘Edel Rhapsody’, which was a world first.
As a performer he has toured extensively in the UK, Europe and Japan (a country that has embraced Stephen’s music from the beginning of his career) and performed at world-renowned venues such as London’s Ronnie Scott’s Club and the Royal Albert Hall. His concerts have been broadcast live on national radio (Capital FM) and his albums have sold globally.
Collaborative work includes renowned names such as: Art Garfunkel who invited him to perform as Special Guest on a UK tour; Louis Clark of ELO for whom Stephen played part of the Rodrigo Guitar Concerto on the multi-million selling ‘Hooked On Classics II’. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, Stephen enjoyed every minute of that recording session – he’s a big Beatles fan! Friendships with legendary jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli and guitarist John Williams have also added to his musical influences.

‘Compendium’ is released in the 20th of February 2026.

Also available by STEPHEN CAUDEL …
EARTH IN TURQUOISE (1997 Guitar / Keyboards Symphony) CD – Stock # 570804
REFLECTIONS IN BLUE (2017 Album of Guitar Orchestrations) CD – Stock # 2002093
RETURN TO WINE DARK SEA (2021 Re-Imagining of his Classic Deut Album) CCCD – Stock # 2205511

STEPHEN CAUDEL: COMPENDIUM Track List:

01. Guardian At The Gate (6:47)
02. A Promise Fulfilled (5:44)
03. Drawbridge Let Fall (4:48)
04. Oliver (6:08)
05. Celebration (3:41)
06. Song Of Autumn (3:04)
07. Adieu (2:52)
08. Shadowlands (4:42)
09. Sleigh Ride (5:04)

TPT - 42:52