The Cello concerto no 1 was composed in 1984 and containes a moving quality about its first movement, joined by a jolly extrovert scherzando second movement in which darkness returns and the closing section is extended in which the cello soliloquy lifts rather than depresses the listener. There is more to be said about the gestation of the Second concerto for cello and voices, for in the composer's letters it is another valedictory work whose three movements (Threnody, Estampie, and a touching Sarabande) associate in the composers consciousness with his childhood memories of the destruction of Hiroshima. The vocal accompaniment moves from chorale lyricism to exuberance, before the final return to tranquillity.
Political concerns also lie behind the concerto-grosso-like Third concerto which pits solo cello ('The Prisoner') aganist an 'orchestra of celli' (the World).The composer tells us that the mystical conclusion reflects also the suffering and final release of Christ: 'The captive world awakened and found the prisoner loose , the jailer bound'.
The performances are dedicated and persuasive Gérard Leclerc plays with warmth and intensity and finds ready bravura for the scherzando passages. As a gentle postscript, the tale of The Emperor and the Bird of Paradise, written by Cavid Kelsey and narrated by Joanna Lumley (of 'Avengers and AbFab fame), is also about a caged prisoner being freed, a wonderous work with flautist Paul-Edmond Davies, the English Chamber Orchestra directed by Stephen Barlow. An important CD of new music for cello and friends.........
Track List:
1. Concerto No. 1 for cello, strings and percussion mov.1
2. mov. 2
3. mov. 3
4. Concerto for cello and voices :Threnody
5. Estampie
6. Sarabande
7. Cello Concerto No. 3 'The Prisoner' for solo cello and 8 celli
8. The Emperor and the Bird of Paradise, for flute and narrator
Suggested CDs:Other Genres:
Political concerns also lie behind the concerto-grosso-like Third concerto which pits solo cello ('The Prisoner') aganist an 'orchestra of celli' (the World).The composer tells us that the mystical conclusion reflects also the suffering and final release of Christ: 'The captive world awakened and found the prisoner loose , the jailer bound'.
The performances are dedicated and persuasive Gérard Leclerc plays with warmth and intensity and finds ready bravura for the scherzando passages. As a gentle postscript, the tale of The Emperor and the Bird of Paradise, written by Cavid Kelsey and narrated by Joanna Lumley (of 'Avengers and AbFab fame), is also about a caged prisoner being freed, a wonderous work with flautist Paul-Edmond Davies, the English Chamber Orchestra directed by Stephen Barlow. An important CD of new music for cello and friends.........
Track List:
1. Concerto No. 1 for cello, strings and percussion mov.1
2. mov. 2
3. mov. 3
4. Concerto for cello and voices :Threnody
5. Estampie
6. Sarabande
7. Cello Concerto No. 3 'The Prisoner' for solo cello and 8 celli
8. The Emperor and the Bird of Paradise, for flute and narrator
Suggested CDs:Other Genres: