| Composer | John McLeod |
|---|---|
| Artist | Red Note Ensemble |
| Instruments | violin, clarinet, cello, piano and percussion |
| Label | Delphian (DCD34155) |
Increasingly acclaimed at home and abroad, Aberdeen-born John McLeod's music bears all the hallmarks of exuberant colour and precisely imagined fantasy that his early associations with Lennox Berkeley and Witold Lutosławski would lead one to expect. Recorded during the composer's eightieth birthday year, this landmark collection brings together McLeod's four mythological 'songs' - powerful dramatic scenes in which instruments are elevated to voice-like expression - and a further work which crystallises the theme of a single moment with a long expressive 'shadow'.
Works Featured:
McLeod: The Song of Icarus for violin & piano
McLeod: The Song of Dionysius for percussion & piano
McLeod: A Moment in Time for violin, clarinet, cello & piano
McLeod: The Song of Phryne for clarinet & piano (with pre-recorded tape)
McLeod: The Song of Leda for cello & piano
Critics have been unstinting in their praise for John McLeod's new CD:
"Five arresting and resourceful works … This music, in turn dramatic, serene and - in The Song of Phryne - thoroughly erotic, is brilliantly performed"
The Sunday Times
"Violent and fragmented, the first movement [of Moments in Time] is uncomfortably visceral, before giving way to a calmly beautiful threnody, tastefully played by Red Note Ensemble. The rest of the disc is taken up with a survey of the 81-year-old composer's four testingly virtuosic "songs"."
The Observer 31 May 2015
"Combative and assured playing by the Scottish contemporary music band Red Note Ensemble."
Gramophone August 2015
"Here we have five bold and bright chamber pieces, chiefly inspired by mythologies from the ancient world…the members of Red Note Ensemble, superb Scottish specialists in the contemporary, deliver every piece with precision and relish"
BBC Music Magazine October 2015
“Your comments about Kapustin are entirely accurate! I'm certain to be ordering much of it in the near future.” Ben, Lincoln, USA
“Thank you for the information and support. The order arrived today without any problems.” Denis, Sao Paolo, Brazil
