Reviews

Passiontide was conceived as an alternative to Stainer’s Crucifixion, telling the story of Holy Week in the manner of a small oratorio. The sound is reverential, gentle and respectful – sincere and honest, and calming too. Anyone who likes choral music and / or church music should have a listen; it’s reverent without being overwhelming and is nicely traditional.

The works share a theme, that of grief, either personal or for the plight of people blighted by war. Unsettling and a little hard to listen to in places but it is those best of all things, interesting, and it’s got a moreish nature to it.

A revealing overview of the composer’s musical and wider aesthetic convictions. Does it all work? It does. Is it recommended? Very much so. Excellence of performers and performances is matched by sound.

This is a work worth hearing both for true believers and for those interested in English music. I certainly cannot think of anything else quite like it. The principal part goes to tenor, Philip Leech. His voice comes across as earthy and emotionally involved, which in this work I thought was right. Baritone Stephen Cooper as Jesus is particularly good, as is Jeremy Leaman’s deep voiced Pilate. Soprano Helen Bailey is excellent in a number of parts. The Knighton Consort are brilliant. There are many different style changes in Mold’s writing. Overall, lavish romantic English song is to the fore in many pieces alongside more traditional church choral writing.

Iman reveals his concern for respect for the score. The performer highlights the harmonic emanations, (Four stars awarded)

This CD has definitely prompted to me look again at Robert Saxton’s whole body of serious work. Performances throughout are excellent, and the sound never less than very good.

Stylistically, [the works] range from the naïve to the pretentiously avant-garde; most of them fit into the tonal, approachable, fun and enjoyable category. It would be a pity to miss some of the gems presented here. The music ranges from grade pieces for tyros to major recital works. Almost all of them would enhance a recorderist’s concert. The performance and the recording are beyond reproach. John Turner and Peter Lawson make a hugely talented team.

This is a thoroughly delightful disc. Ian Scott had the idea of replacing the orchestra with the solo instrument and having “the freedom to interpret the ravishing melodies”. In this he has been totally successful alongside accompanist Jonathan Higgins. There is an all-round quality to this issue in every respect.

[The] music is tonal, but no one will doubt its modernity. Performances all sound capable and committed. The 36 players of the St Paul’s Sinfonia sometimes sound far more numerous and play with excellent ensemble. The chamber pieces are done with fervor, their momentum helped by accurate, aggressive attacks with good phrasing. In the song cycle, baritone Williams turns in his customary stellar rendition.

A most engaging and rewarding experience. This is highly accomplished, heartfelt, and expressive music that I believe will appeal to all who gravitate toward contemporary music with a decidedly lyrical orientation. Warmly recommended.

In all three of the works presented here, Lister proves he has a distinctive and secure compositional voice, one that is one well worth exploring by those who are seeking new and arresting music. This disc receives my firm recommendation.

The UK-based record label Metier has a habit of picking winners, and the music of Rodney Lister is no exception. Lister’s range of emotion and sheer range of imagination is most impressive. This is a wonderful disc, faultlessly produced and recorded. Maybe it is Rodney Lister’s time for full recognition; on the basis of this evidence, I do hope so.

The music is arresting and absorbing. This release deserves a recommendation to general listeners with adventurous ears, but in particular I think that anyone fascinated by Ives, American history, and our complex fate will find the music a rewarding experience.

A wide range of tempos and dynamics asks for and gets virtuoso responses. The performances leave nothing to complain about.

This is a very carefully planned program, and beautifully executed on all fronts. Constellations of sound, performed with such beauty, make this one of the most memorable of recent contemporary recordings.

The music of Coal wholeheartedly embraces the “New” and “Avant-Garde.” I found the recording to be an intense and thought-provoking experience. If Dorone Paris has sought to express the anguish, fear, and helplessness engendered by the [various current] crises, she has succeeded in impressive fashion. And this she achieves in music that requires virtuoso execution by the musicians [who] play with the utmost skill and intensity. Recommended for the adventurous.

The influences appear multiple, clear but intelligently assumed and combined. From Chopin and Liszt to Scriabin and Debussy but all with something undoubtedly personal, [an] abundance of expression. This album reveals very well how much [of Baines’ music] remains to be heard.

This is a very interesting and impressive album. The recording engineering is sound, the music interesting, the performers are outstanding, and very clear and explanatory programme notes make this a disc to have… I feel this is a very worthwhile and creative disc.

What a remarkable talent William Baines was… there is a strong sense that he intuitively understood keyboard writing; this is complex yet confident writing. This music is never less than very attractive, certainly individual and always intriguing.

On dazzling form, Alastair White’s new opera, recorded live, creates seductive, virtuoso textures from just two singers and three pianos. Both singers dazzle in the way they despatch White’s elaborate vocal lines. To enter White’s world is to enter a parallel universe… a dazzling fantasy that explores alternative ideas and realities. All five performers are impressive in their grasp of the complexities of White’s language, and the way these complex lines are woven into a whole which transcends the virtuoso elements. The whole is profoundly seductive, a sound world that dazzles and intrigues.