| Composer | Sally Beamish / Lyell Cresswell / Edward Harper / David Johnson / Kenneth Leighton / Roger Williams |
|---|---|
| Artist | Alison Wells / John Turner / Keith Elcombe / Jonathan Price |
| Instruments | mixed ensemble | Label | Metier (MSV CD92036) |
Listen to a sample from Animal Heaven
Lyell CRESSEWELL
Prayer to appease the Spirit of the Land
Kenneth LEIGHTON
Animal Heaven
Sally BEAMISH
Four Findrinny Songs
Roger WILLIAMS
Oh! Mr Lear!
David JOHNSON
God, Man and the Animals
Animal Heaven features 6 Scottish and Scottish-based composers writing for soprano and instrument(s). While the combination of recorder, cello and harpsichord might suggest the hues of a baroque continuo ensemble, in the hands of Harper, Leighton, Williams and Johnson, this trio provides a vivid spectrum of timbral colour.
Alison Wells, particularly well known from her appearances with ensembles in the music of Birtwistle, Barraqué and others, emerges as a chamber musician of utmost subtlety and flexibility, delivering the poems of Edward Thomas, Walt Whitman, Edward Lear and others with clarity and passion.
A hugely rewarding disc of unusual works superbly performed.
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