Maconchy Music for Voices
A centenary tribute that surveys Maconchy’s civilised settings
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Elizabeth Maconchy
Genre:
Vocal
Label: Lorelt
Magazine Review Date: 4/2008
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 80
Mastering:
Stereo
DDD
Catalogue Number: LNT127

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Creatures |
Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer
BBC Singers Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer Odaline de la Martinez, Conductor Richard Pearce, Piano |
Nocturnal |
Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer
BBC Singers Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer Odaline de la Martinez, Conductor Richard Pearce, Piano |
(4) Miniatures |
Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer
BBC Singers Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer Odaline de la Martinez, Conductor Richard Pearce, Piano |
Siren's Song |
Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer
BBC Singers Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer Odaline de la Martinez, Conductor Richard Pearce, Piano |
Prayer before birth |
Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer
BBC Singers Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer Odaline de la Martinez, Conductor Richard Pearce, Piano |
This Day |
Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer
BBC Singers Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer Odaline de la Martinez, Conductor Richard Pearce, Piano |
On Stephenses day |
Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer
BBC Singers Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer Odaline de la Martinez, Conductor Richard Pearce, Piano |
Two Epitaphs |
Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer
BBC Singers Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer Odaline de la Martinez, Conductor Richard Pearce, Piano |
Propheta Mendax |
Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer
BBC Singers Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer Odaline de la Martinez, Conductor Richard Pearce, Piano |
(A) Hymn to God the Father |
Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer
BBC Singers Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer Odaline de la Martinez, Conductor Richard Pearce, Piano |
(The) Ribbon in her Hair |
Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer
BBC Singers Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer Odaline de la Martinez, Conductor Richard Pearce, Piano |
(The) Voice of the City |
Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer
BBC Singers Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer Odaline de la Martinez, Conductor Richard Pearce, Piano |
(The) Armado |
Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer
BBC Singers Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer Odaline de la Martinez, Conductor Richard Pearce, Piano |
Still falls the Rain |
Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer
BBC Singers Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer Odaline de la Martinez, Conductor Richard Pearce, Piano |
Author: David Gutman
No choral specialist at the start, Maconchy later responded to all manner of commissions, setting poetry ancient and modern. The wit and point of the lighter fare seem somewhat lost in the acoustic of St Paul’s, Knightsbridge. Elsewhere the resonance suits just fine. Sample the evocative “Sirens’ Song” (1974), recalling VW in “Full fathom five” mode while going further harmonically. As her composer daughter, Nicola LeFanu, writes in a helpful booklet-note: “The men’s voices are the hapless sailors, the high voices the sirens, whose gently spiralling melodies continue to haunt us…”
“A Hymn to God the Father” (1931) is a remarkable student essay revealing Maconchy as potential heir to the Tudor polyphonists. Simpler pieces with piano are different again, demonstrating her Irish republican and communist sympathies in items for the Workers’ Music Association. Despite the championship of Odaline de la Martinez and the expertise of the vocal ensemble, I suspect that a less vibrato-rich group, further forward in the balance, might have made a greater impact. This is repertoire which for all its fascination tends to lack melodic distinction. That said, all credit to Lorelt for producing an attractive package with full texts. A CD of orchestral works is planned.
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