Leighton Complete Cello Chamber Works
Music of staying power and tugging emotion, championed by two Raphaels
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Kenneth Leighton
Genre:
Chamber
Label: BMS
Magazine Review Date: 10/2011
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 61
Mastering:
Stereo
DDD
Catalogue Number: BMS439CD

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Partita |
Kenneth Leighton, Composer
Kenneth Leighton, Composer Raphael Terroni, Piano Raphael Wallfisch, Cello |
Elegy |
Kenneth Leighton, Composer
Kenneth Leighton, Composer Raphael Terroni, Piano Raphael Wallfisch, Cello |
Sonata for Solo Cello |
Kenneth Leighton, Composer
Kenneth Leighton, Composer Raphael Wallfisch, Cello |
Alleluia Pascha Nostrum |
Kenneth Leighton, Composer
Kenneth Leighton, Composer Raphael Terroni, Piano Raphael Wallfisch, Cello |
Author: Andrew Achenbach
Likewise the meaty and rewarding Sonata for solo cello that Leighton wrote for Joan Dickson in the summer of 1967 amply repays close scrutiny, its enviably concentrated and exhilaratingly resourceful finale (“Flourish, Chaconne and Coda”) ultimately returning to the elegiac mood (and material) of the work’s introduction. Last, but certainly not least, is Alleluia Pascha Nostrum, written in August 1981 and subtitled “Meditation on plainsong melodies from the 12th‑century Salisbury Chant for Easter Day”. This piece crams a wealth of deeply personal inspiration, taut argument and passionate fervour into its 13-minute span.
Suffice it to report, Wallfisch and Terroni are superbly persuasive exponents, the performance of Alleluia Pascha Nostrum in every way a match for dedicatee Wallfisch’s own blistering world premiere recording with his father, Peter, on Chandos (5/93). Truthfully engineered by Paul Arden-Taylor and lucidly annotated by Adam Binks, this valuable BMS anthology merits the heartiest of plaudits.
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