Whitacre: Seal Lullaby | Bennett: Country Dances | Rossini: William Tell Overture | Frances-Hoad: Star Falling | Finnis: Quartet No 1 ‘Aloysius’ | Kloppers: Last Rose of Summer | Feery: Boreal
Clouds, valleys, breezes, waves, mountains, petals and stars – all are woven together in this homage to nature, the great teacher. Whitacre’s choral music is celebrated the world over, and here his Seal Lullaby is performed by strings and piano. Edmund Finnis’ 2018 first string quartet was praised by The Times for its ‘affecting rocking patterns, expressive musings on gravely beautiful polyphony by Byrd, and natural ease.’ Nature is at the basis of much folk music, so we hear jazz-infused transcriptions for saxophone by Richard Rodney Bennett of 16th century country dances, and a lyrical arrangement by Jacobus Kloppers of Irish tune The Last Rose of Summer. To conclude the programme, organist Richard Pinel joins pianist Libby Burgess in their own flamboyant duet arrangement of the William Tell Overture (better known to some as ‘The Lone Ranger’).
Jamie Campbell (violin) | Alessandro Ruisi (violin) | Kasia Ziminska (viola) | Rosalind Ventris (viola) | Nathaniel Boyd (cello) | Libby Burgess (piano) | Richard Pinel (organ) | Christian Forshaw (saxophone)