 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Updated 18/04/2008RECENT AND FORTHCOMING PERFORMANCES * * * *
A descriptive drama for harpsichord, Macbeth by John Blood portrays the events, settings and characters of the Shakespeare play. In ten contrasted pieces which skilfully exploit the harpsichord’s varied registers, we hear Macbeth’s encounter with the witches, his dark broodings, and Lady Macbeth’s wily powers of persuasion – an increasingly manic Valse diabolique. The growing mayhem eventually leads to the appearance of Banquo’s ghost, and Macbeth’s defeat at the hands of Macduff. Vivid, spooky and exciting. Grade 6-8 technical level. Duration: 23 minutes. Overture: The Yeomen of the Guard by Arthur Sullivan, in a new arrangement by John Blood. This string octet (4 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos) is a brilliant solution to the conundrum which arises whenever string players gather to play the Mendelssohn Octet: What else can we play? Arthur Sullivan’s sparkling overture lends itself with uncanny ease to this combination of players, and each part happily weaves in and out of the ever-changing contrapuntal textures of this witty curtain-raiser. A new work for alto saxophone and piano by Giles Swayne, Leonardo’s dream, commissioned by saxophonist Hannah Marcinowicz with funds provided by the RVW Trust and the Britten-Pears Foundation, was premiered by Hannah Marcinowicz and Giles Swayne at the Purcell Room, London, on 8th January 2008. This piece is a set of variations on a melody by Leonardo da Vinci –the only surviving fragment of music by the Renaissance artist, who as a young man in 1480s Florence was famous as a musician and singer. His lifelong dream (which he pursued both in his art and in scientific experiments) was that of human flight. Threnody by Giles Swayne. For string quartet. A tribute to Swayne’s friend, Christopher Rowland, who died in June 2007. On his deathbed, cocooned in a morphine-induced bubble, Rowland spent hours singing the slow movement of Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante K.364. This piece weaves variations on a modified version of Mozart's theme. To inaugurate the Gonzaga Carol Series, we are delighted to publish two new carols. Send us Angels, by Roger Steptoe, is already arousing interest in Britain and abroad, and was performed in two concerts by combined choirs from Bournemouth schools in the Pavilion Theatre in November; Alison Bauld's Please put a penny in the old man’s hat is a characteristically sharp and catchy round for children's voices. Steptoe: Send us Angels (voices, piano)
RECENT AND FORTHCOMING PERFORMANCES
18th March 2008 The programme includes the premiere of Agnes Wisley’s Chillout Fantasy by Giles Swayne
Agnes Wisley’s Chillout Fantasy, commissioned by a consortium of six British music colleges including the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, will receive its premiere by the Guildhall Symphonic Wind Ensemble on 18th March at the Barbican Main Hall. It is scored for wind orchestra with timpani, three percussion, two harps, piano doubling celesta, and double bass and lasts 14 minutes.
“. . . the highlight of the evening was Swayne’s Stabat Mater. . .” Gill Redfern, Classical Source, March 18th 2008
8th January 2008 10th December 2007 1st December 2007 28th November 2007 27th and 28th November 2007
27th November 2007 23rd November 2007 17th November 2007 14th November 2007 11th November 2007
The Mitteldeutscher Rundfunkchor, an outstanding 80-strong professional radio choir based in Leipzig, under their musical director Howard Arman plans to release a CD of Giles Swayne's choral music, including his powerful Stabat Mater, his 1995 setting of Blake's The Tiger and his 1997 requiem-cum-cello concerto, The silent land.
NEW!
GILES SWAYNE – MUSIC FOR CELLO AND PIANO Delphian Records (DCD34073) Robert Irvine (cello), Fali Pavri (piano) Four lyrical pieces, Op. 6 (1970)
This new CD of Swayne’s complete work for cello (to date) contains two recent pieces published by Gonzaga - Sonata for cello and piano (GZ 060) and Suite no. 1 for solo cello (GZ 074). Both are world premiere recordings, and the CD as a whole – apart from presenting sensationally good performances recorded in the highest possible sound quality, is a fascinating overview of the development of Swayne’s music over nearly forty years. “Two challenging examples of Swayne’s recent chamber work make their mark. Delphian follows up its disc of Giles Swayne’s characterful and accomplished choral music . . . with this survey of his compositions for solo cello and cello and piano. Superbly played by . . . Robert Irvine and Fali Pavri . . it projects that positive tone and enquiring spirit which represent this composer at his considerable best” The Gramophone, March 2008 “This is a really delightful disc . . . One of its main effects was to remind me of how distinctive and intriguing a musical voice Swayne has, and to want to listen again to Cry (available on NMC) and Havoc, premiered enjoyably as a late-night Prom.” Julie Williams Gonzaga Music price: £13.00 plus P & P To order this CD find GA 003 in ORDERS
CRY, Swayne’s monumental work for 28 amplified and electronically treated voices, was commissioned by the BBC in 1978 and first performed by the BBC Singers under John Poole in October 1980. It was hailed almost immediately as an important landmark, and has since received three very successful London performances - at the Proms in 1983 and 1994 (one of the few works by a living composer to be given an entire Prom to itself) and at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in 1988. CRY has been performed worldwide, notably at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw in 1982, the Wien Modern Festival (Vienna) in 1997, and at Indiana University in 1997 and 2005. This CD, recorded in 1983 and released on vinyl in 1985, was transferred to CD by the excellent record company NMC, which has done a vast amount to further the cause of modern British music during a period when it has been undermined by chronic lack of public subsidy. Special Gonzaga Music price: £10.50 plus P & P To order this CD find GA 002 in ORDERS  CONVOCATION (Delphian Records) Giles Swayne: The coming of Saskia Hawkins, Magnificat I, The Tiglet, Four Passiontide Motets, A convocation of worms, Winter solstice carol, Midwinter, Missa Tiburtina. National Youth of Great Britain; Laudibus; Stephen Wallace (counter-tenor), Michael Bonaventure (organ); Philippa Davies (flute); Mike Brewer (conductor) Gonzaga Music price: £10.75 plus P & P To order this CD find GA 001 in ORDERS Some reviews of Convocation: “This is big music, employing the widest possible resources of rhythm, tuning and characterisation . . . I struggle to think of groups that could do it better . . . The Passiontide Motets and the Mass, with its elision of visceral atonality and balm-like chording both hit the solar plexus pretty hard, and that is what will make this disc hard to forget.” “Swayne pushes at the boundaries of choral singing to create works of excitement and beauty. The extract from his 1995 setting of Blake’s the Tiger crackles with dark, dangerous mystery in a thrilling performance by Laudibus . . . for whom it was written . . . the counter-tenor Stephen Wallace expresses the terrifying madness in the solo cantata A convocation of worms with almost psychopathic feverishness. Swayne is undoubtedly the finest choral composer writing today.” Rick Jones, The Times, October 2006 “The National Youth Choir and Laudibus . . . easily deal with the challenges . . . whilst also revelling in the passages with intense harmonic interest . . . a rendition with rhythmic bite and enthusiasm . . .a real gem, The Tiglet (part of Swayne’s work The Tiger) features some wild syllabic interjections . . . which have to be heard to be believed! Other highlights include the Four Passiontide Motets and a complete Missa Tiburtina, both of which are mindblowing, contrasting moments of awesome power coupled with poignant emotion . . . This disc is staggeringly good . . .These are committed and astonishing performances that deserve to be heard widely. Church Music Quarterly, December 2006 “His music never stays still: its rhythms are complex and multi-layered; its protean melodies respond directly to the texts; its harmonies restlessly surf the continuum between extreme dissonance and consonance. Yet there is always clarity. . . The Missa Tiburtina . . . playing gorgeous harmonies against rhythmically intricate passages of great vitality. The final, refulgent Dona nobis pacem . . . is magical, bringing both the Missa Tiburtina and the disc to a restful end. The performances are equally magical. Bonaventure’s sense of drama matches countertenor Stephen Wallace’s in A convocation of worms to perfection, while the National Youth Choir and Laudibus . . . under the direction of . . .Mike Brewer, exhibit a precision and exuberance that are further enhanced by a rich, vibrant sound. This is choral singing of the very first rank. Excellent recorded sound and superb booklet notes by Anthony Burton complete a virtually perfect release.” Robert Levett, International Record Review, January 2007 |
Biography of Giles Swayne updated 13/09/2007
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
