Reviews

There’s something very English about it all – a satisfying collection that strikes the right balance of being slightly challenging yet without being off-putting. A warm selection of works, varying, rich and complex.

English pianist Roderick Chadwick loves nothing more than a musical challenge, and he has consistently found it over the years in the music of Olivier Messiaen. Catalogue d’oiseaux is not so much music for its own sake as it is the application of musical technique, in the way of harmonic progressions and Messiaen’s unique concept of musical time. It seems to embody the essence of all Messiaen was striving for.

Roderick Chadwick’s 2020 ‘La mer bleue’ set a notable marker for the pianist’s credentials in Messiaen. These are amply consolidated in [this] follow-up. Chadwick projects [virtuosity] with unfailing assurance. An impressive achievement such as warrants urgent investigation.

The appealing ballet music of Sergei Prokofiev lends itself extremely well for a transcription for clarinet and piano. This CD is magnificent, if only for the always surprising twists and atmospheres which Prokofiev derives from his ballet music. The music in combination with the arrangement – because of its great impact of melody and rhythm – remains very strong, so this version will take some beating.

Testament to John Turner, whose work for the recorder has helped to put contemporary English music for the instrument on the map. Ensemble is impeccable, and there is a wonderful sense of play from Turner, who is also clearly a consummate master of the recorder. The programming is carefully considered. This is a massively varied twofer, then, and a testament to Turner’s devotion to and command of his instrument. The recording quality is splendid throughout.

The music of Ed Hughes rarely fails to impress; this is a superb disc. More proof, if proof were needed, of Hughes’s stature as a composer, all held in fine performances. Beauty and affection are present in bucketloads here. Hughes’s musical vocabulary is wide, and [he] very much has his own voice.

Honeybourne is both gripping and stylish in his playing throughout these testing compositions. Divine Art have brought this composer out of obscurity, hopefully to reach a bigger audience. Excellent and very helpful notes and texts are supplied by the artists, together with clear and warm sound. This is certainly recommended.

Carefully calculated to be within the reach of amateur performers – none of it unduly challenging. There’s a pleasing succinctness in the way the story unfolds a competently constructed tunefulness that will please many a chorus.

Allen’s music feels international in tone, upon an English base. The music is tonally based, although fairly freely. There are no weak pieces here: consistency is one of Allen’s strong suits. There is no denying Murray McLachlan’s winning advocacy, each sonata persuasively presented with commendable limpidity, alive to the many nuances of Allen’s unorthodox, not unchallenging pianistic manner. Métier’s recordings are beautifully clear, providing the music with the finest possible platform.

Tchaikovsky could not have found a more sympathetic exponent than this pianist. We cannot fail to capitulate to the ravishing sensuality of the playing. My guess is that you will embrace her ravishing execution with the same enthusiasm as I did.

Serious and complex works… kudos to director David Hoose for holding the challenging instrumental parts in balance.

Barbara Karaśkiewicz and Michał Rot play sublimely with a command of the grand Romantic style seldom heard these days. In the same manner, the superbly accomplished members of the Huberman Piano Trio bring to life [the trio works] in impeccably delivered readings.

Messiaen’s birds provide the linking thread through pieces from books 2 to 5 of Catalogue d’Oiseaux with other piano works. Chadwick’s playing is keenly focused.

Robin Stevens is one of many composers, [with an] impeccable ear for luminous sonorities, working outside the ‘new music’ mainstream who clearly deserve greater attention. As so often with this label performances and sound are exemplary.

Bearing in mind the positive effect that music can have on mental health and wellbeing, listening to this recording could well do us all good.

Performed splendidly by Honeybourne, who makes a convincing case for these pieces—and who also wrote the fine program notes. Pullin sings the five songs with fine expression and clear articulation of the words. This album is a bittersweet reminder of a composer whose early compositions showed such promise.

This piano writing is anything but stereotypically pianistic… It is easy to imagine the orchestra’s colors. Cook’s language is fairly tonal, but the harmonies and the progression of the music contribute to an alluring and effective atmosphere of meditation … I found this piece compelling.

What makes this recording unique isn’t the music or the performances (both fine). It’s the seamless textual garment that [Simon] Mold has woven from Scripture.

This is a lively and imaginative collection of works, which has much to offer. Cowie is clearly a skilled composer whose writing is both effective for the instruments and extremely evocative. This is a significant body of work.

A splendid new disc with inspiring music in glowing recorded sound. The performances are first class and the documentation is superb. This disc is especially interesting because it includes pieces which have never been commercially released before. I defy anyone to hear these new performances of William Baines’s solo piano pieces and not be swept away by the music, the performance and the recording.