The Clarinet

Fumiko Miyachi is a Japanese Composer who currently lives in Britain. Transitional Metal is her first portrait release, featuring six pieces written between 2003 and 2016 with a variety of instrumentations. Her composition is atonal, but straightforward and lyrical.

Two Shakespeare Songs, Ag47 (Silver) is one work on this recording that features the clarinet. It is based on two Shakespeare sonnets, each with 14 lines and rhyme schemes for soprano, clarinet and piano. The piano mainly plays a simple, accompanying role. The rhymed text in the voice is portrayed with atonal harmony and sharp rising intervals. The clarinet melodies serve multiple functions, such as echoes of the voice line, countermelodies, and solo voices, as if the instrument is the second voice in the composition.

Suzie Purkis sings expressively in the “text painting” sections. Jack McNeill, the clarinetist, is a sensitive player with extreme dynamic contrasts, clean technique, and pure tone quality. The ensemble playing is excellent regarding balance and is clearly a chamber music collaboration, rather than voice with instrumental accompaniment. It reminds me of Schubert’s “Shepherd on the Rock.”

This fine recording presents a convincing performance of a fine composition.

—Jun Qian