A Garland for John McCabe
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Gary Carpenter, Robin Walker, Martin Ellerby, John (Pierre Herman) Joubert, Robert Saxton, William Marshall, Elis Pehkonen, James Francis Brown, Peter Dickinson, Edward Gregson, Emily Howard, Robert Keeley, Malcolm Lipkin, Howard Skempton, Anthony Gilbert, David Matthews, (Edward) Gerard Schurmann, Christopher Gunning, Raymond Warren
Genre:
Chamber
Label: Divine Art
Magazine Review Date: 05/2018
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 80
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: DDA25166
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
A Rag for McCabe |
Peter Dickinson, Composer
Alistair Vennart, Viola John Turner, Recorder Linda Merrick, Clarinet Peter Dickinson, Composer Peter Lawson, Piano |
Exequy |
John (Pierre Herman) Joubert, Composer
Alistair Vennart, Viola John (Pierre Herman) Joubert, Composer |
John’s Farewell |
Edward Gregson, Composer
Edward Gregson, Composer John Turner, Recorder Peter Lawson, Piano |
A Little Prelude for John McCabe |
Robert Saxton, Composer
Alistair Vennart, Viola John Turner, Recorder Linda Merrick, Clarinet Robert Saxton, Composer |
Highland Song |
Howard Skempton, Composer
Alistair Vennart, Viola Howard Skempton, Composer John Turner, Recorder Linda Merrick, Clarinet |
Lament for the Turtle-Dove |
Elis Pehkonen, Composer
Elis Pehkonen, Composer Linda Merrick, Clarinet Peter Lawson, Piano |
And Will You Walk Beside Me Down This Lane? |
Robin Walker, Composer
Alistair Vennart, Viola John Turner, Recorder Linda Merrick, Clarinet Peter Lawson, Piano Robin Walker, Composer |
In memoriam John McCabe |
Malcolm Lipkin, Composer
Alistair Vennart, Viola Linda Merrick, Clarinet Malcolm Lipkin, Composer Peter Lawson, Piano |
Little Passacaglia |
William Marshall, Composer
John Turner, Recorder Linda Merrick, Clarinet Peter Lawson, Piano William Marshall, Composer |
Nocturnes and dawn (Patterdale) |
Martin Ellerby, Composer
Alistair Vennart, Viola Martin Ellerby, Composer Peter Lawson, Piano |
Elegy for John McCabe |
Robert Keeley, Composer
Linda Merrick, Clarinet Peter Lawson, Piano Robert Keeley, Composer |
Evening Changes |
James Francis Brown, Composer
Alistair Vennart, Viola James Francis Brown, Composer John Turner, Recorder Linda Merrick, Clarinet |
Memento |
(Edward) Gerard Schurmann, Composer
(Edward) Gerard Schurmann, Composer Peter Lawson, Piano |
The Flame has Ceased |
Anthony Gilbert, Composer
Alistair Vennart, Viola Anthony Gilbert, Composer John Turner, Recorder Peter Lawson, Piano |
Danse des Fourmis |
Christopher Gunning, Composer
Christopher Gunning, Composer John Turner, Recorder Linda Merrick, Clarinet Peter Lawson, Piano |
Chaconne |
David Matthews, Composer
Alistair Vennart, Viola David Matthews, Composer Linda Merrick, Clarinet Peter Lawson, Piano |
In nomine |
Raymond Warren, Composer
John Turner, Recorder Peter Lawson, Piano Raymond Warren, Composer |
Outback |
Emily Howard, Composer
Alistair Vennart, Viola Emily Howard, Composer John Turner, Recorder Linda Merrick, Clarinet Peter Lawson, Piano |
Edradour |
Gary Carpenter, Composer
Alistair Vennart, Viola Gary Carpenter, Composer John Turner, Recorder Linda Merrick, Clarinet Peter Lawson, Piano |
Author: Guy Rickards
The 19 works collected here, all composed in 2016, form a wonderfully balanced sequence of pieces large (Raymond Warren’s In nomine runs close to eight minutes long; the pieces by James Francis Brown, Joubert, Robin Walker and Elis Pehkonen are around six) and small. Although the prevailing mood is elegiac-to-wistful, encapsulated by Joubert, Gregson, Saxton and Keeley, there are plenty which remember John’s engaging, pithy sense of humour: A Rag for McCabe by Gramophone contributor Peter Dickinson, Brown’s Evening Changes (one of the few ensemble pieces to omit McCabe’s own instrument, the piano) and Christopher Gunning’s delightful Danse des Fourmis (all featuring John Turner’s recorder prominently); Gary Carpenter’s Edradour closes proceedings by celebrating John’s love of single malt whisky!
The musical styles are many and varied, from the formally dramatic, as in Gerard Schurmann’s Memento, the only piece for piano alone, the abstract (David Matthews’s Chaconne, Marshall’s Little Passacaglia), and straightforwardly tonal (Gunning, Skempton), to more complex harmonic tapestries, as in Anthony Gilbert’s The Flame has Ceased. Several works evoke Haydn, whose sonatas McCabe famously recorded in the 1970s and which have remained a benchmark recording ever since, or use musical ciphers derived from McCabe’s name, while Emily Howard’s Outback evokes McCabe’s Desert series. Beautifully performed by all four players and recorded to match, John would have been delighted.
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