Composer: Sir Peter Maxwell Davies
Performer: Aquarius, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies
Conductor: Nicholas Cleobury
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Naxos
Catalogue: 8572408
Release: 2014
Size: 254 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Suite from “The Boyfriend”
01. I. Honeymoon Fantasy
02. II. Sur la Plage
03. III. A Room in Bloomsbury
04. IV. I could Be Happy
05. V. The You-Don’t-Want
06. VI. Poor Little Pierette
07. VII. Polly’s Dream
Suite from “The Devils”
08. I. Titles
09. II. Sister Jeanne’s Vision
10. III. Exorcism
11. IV. Execution and End Music
Seven In Nomine
12. I. Taverner: In nomine
13. II. In nomine (for Benjamin Britten’s 50th birthday)
14. III. In nomine (for Michael Tippett’s 60th birthday)
15. IV. Bull: In nomine
16. V. In nomine (Canon in 6 parts)
17. VI. Blitheman: Gloria tibi trinitas
18. VII. In nomine
The Yellow Cake Revue
19. Yesnaby Ground
20. Farewell to Stromness
All the works on this recording have connections with the stage or theatre. The two suites are derived from scores that Maxwell Davies wrote for films by Ken Russell and could not be more different. The Boyfriend, based on a 1954 musicalby Sandy Wilson, introduces a large dance band and period motifs to great effect, while dramatic extremes depicting the film’s themes of corruption, exorcism and execution within a medieval religious setting are explored in The Devils.
Seven in Nomine evokes Maxwell Davies’ interest in medieval plainsong. The composer himself plays two of his most 8572408 popular piano pieces with their memorable evocations of Orkney landmarks.
This 2014 Naxos CD may seem a little familiar to collectors of Peter Maxwell Davies’ recordings because it is a reissue of material that first appeared on Collins Classics in the early 1990s. Adding to the retrospective feeling of the disc is the age of the pieces. The Suites from “The Boyfriend” and “The Devils” both date from 1971, and contain music Davies composed for films by Ken Russell, and the Seven In Nomine were composed between 1963 and 1965, partly in connection with the composition of the opera Taverner, as well as in tribute to fellow composers Benjamin Britten and Michael Tippett. The two piano pieces from The Yellow Cake Review that conclude the program, Yesnaby Ground and Farewell to Stromness, date from 1980 and are performed by the composer. Despite the age of the performances by Aquarius, a contemporary music ensemble formed by Nicholas Cleobury in the 1980s, who also conducts here, the sound of the recordings is quite fresh and vibrant, with a generous amount of acoustic resonance to give the musicians presence and depth.