Composer: Frederick Septimus Kelly
Performer: Alex Wilson
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Toccata
Catalogue: TOCC0524
Release: 2020
Size: 1.2 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
12 Studies, Op. 9
01. No. 1 in F Major
02. No. 2 in B-Flat Major
03. No. 3 in F-Sharp Minor
04. No. 4 in E-Flat Minor
05. No. 5 in B Minor
06. No. 6 in D Major
07. No. 7 in G Minor
08. No. 8 in E-Flat Major
09. No. 9 in G-Sharp Minor
10. No. 10 in E Major
11. No. 11 in C Minor
12. No. 12a in D Minor
13. No. 12b in A Major
24 Monographs, Op. 11
14. No. 1 in C Major
15. No. 2 in E Minor
16. No. 3 in B Major
17. No. 4 in G-Sharp Minor
18. No. 5 in E Major
19. No. 6 in A Minor
20. No. 7 in A Major
21. No. 8 in C-Sharp Minor
22. No. 9 in A-Flat Major
23. No. 10 in F Minor
24. No. 11 in D-Flat Major
25. No. 12 in F-Sharp Minor
26. No. 13 in G-Flat Major
27. No. 14 in B-Flat Minor
28. No. 15 in F Major
29. No. 16 in D Minor
30. No. 17 in B-Flat Minor
31. No. 18 in E-Flat Minor
32. No. 19 in E-Flat Major
33. No. 20 in G Minor
34. No. 21 in D Major
35. No. 22 in B Minor
36. No. 23 in G Major
37. No. 24 in C Minor
Frederick Septimus Kelly, born in Sydney in 1881, was on the way to becoming one of Australia’s most important early composers when he was killed during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. His Twelve Studies and 24 Monographs are the most significant contributions to the Romantic piano literature by any Australian, although they have never been recorded in their entirety before now. The influence of Chopin and Skryabin is plain to hear, although the pastoral echoes of the gentler pieces suggest an affinity with his English contemporaries – men like Elgar, Ireland and Vaughan Williams – and the wild sweep of the more passionate numbers points to Kelly’s familiarity with the music of Brahms and Schumann. Each piece, though a ‘miniature’, contains a world of feeling and emotional resonance, suggesting that Kelly stood on the threshold of greatness.