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British Music Society

Howard Skempton (born 1947), has for over 50 years followed his own compositional path. His big success was the orchestral Lento for orchestra (1991), which was released on the NMC label to great acclaim.

This was an unusual work for him as most of his compositions are for solo or small groups of instruments and he is essentially a miniaturist. This excellent disc covers a fascinating range of instrumental colours, utilising ancient and foreign instruments as well as more traditional ones.

We open with The Man, Hurdy Gurdy and Me scored for that instrument, soprano, medieval harp and percussion. Setting a poem by Alison Golding it instantly conjures the world of Hildegard of Bingen from a thousand years ago; not pastiche but beautiful and timeless.

The next track stuns our ears with a duet for oboe and vibraphone. What a combination! The dry reediness of the oboe contrasted with the shimmering sound of the metallophone. Like a rare creature it fascinates and tantalises and then suddenly disappears.

The disc continues in this vein; short, instantly captivating, melodic works, for unusual groupings or ensembles. There are pieces for lute, viol, accordion and harpsichord alone and combined.

There are two works for gamelan instruments each one of the two tunings common for that ensemble. The first with singer Sara Stowe sounds like a child’s music box while the second for three instruments is more stylistically idiomatic.

The larger works on the disc are brilliant arrangements for small forces of two concertos. In the one for hurdy- gurdy we are in Dr Who’s Tardis, time travelling through the whole historic world of this fascinating instrument.

We open in the European middle ages, move through the Jacobean uprising, the Middle East, Impressionism. Is that Lionel Hampton ghosting on marimba? It really shouldn’t work but all the ideas are so good and the form so convincing that it does. The Concerto Oboe and Accordion, is Baroque in nature but with ever changing asymmetrical rhythms; foot tapping dances for multi – limbed creatures.

This disc is such a feast for the ears; beautifully arranged, constantly surprising and exceptionally well played by the ensemble. A fine introduction to a fascinating composer.