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In Time of Daffodils
John Metcalf
Thomas Bowes - violin
Gerard McChrystal - saxophone
Jeremy Huw Williams - baritone
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Grant Llewellyn - conductor
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"The Welsh Orchestra was outstanding from the downbeat"
Washington Post
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"I have to concede it's difficult not to be charmed ... The
strength of Metcalf's score lies in its horse-sure sense of shaping
over an extended, one-movement span and his creative handling of the
orchestra ... The strength of Metcalf's score lies in its horse-sure
sense of shaping over an extended, one-movement span and his creative
handling of the orchestra"
Grampohone
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"Paradise Haunts ... The music, as in the other works of Metcalf, is often warmly melodic and lyrical as well as strongly expressive ... Three Mobiles ... In Time of Daffodils"
MusicWeb International
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World renowned Welsh composer, John Metcalf presents his new work, In
Time of Daffodils. A song cycle, originally set for voice & piano,
Metcalf has extended his own work into an orchestral masterpiece, setting
the words of much loved poets to the six concluding songs of the cycle.
Metcalf drew on material from 12 years of creative work to
produce the three works which appear on his latest release. Metcalf emphasises
the connections in the way the movements were conceived; originating as a whole
or in part as works with piano. Metcalf embraced the pan-diatonic or ‘white
note’ style when composing Paradise Haunts and Three Mobiles
encompassing a sense of minimalism in each, yet the movements are both
distinctive; Three Mobiles has a larger rhythmic complexity than the more
sublime former.
The BBC National Orchestra perform beautifully with Thomas
Bowes and Gerard McChrystal interweaving with leading lines on violin and
saxophone. The final movement, In Time of Daffodils is a collection of
beautiful songs performed by Jeremy Huw Williams, (baritone). The songs are
based on texts from 7 poems by poets including William Wordsworth and Amy
Lowell, based around the central theme – and emblem of Wales – the daffodil.
| In Time of Daffodils
Including the settings of:
Wordsworth, Keats, Lowell, Housman & Herrick.
Also featuring two other Metcalf works:
Paradise Haunts...
Three Mobiles |
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