BBC Philharmonic
Elena Schwarz, Martyn Brabbins, Andrew Gourlay conductors
NMC NMCD261
Tom Coult, born in London in 1988, has had considerable success in a variety of musical genres and is currently composer in association with the BBC Philharmonic. That orchestra on this disc, under three different conductors, prove themselves comfortable with and attentive to the needs of his enticing sound world.
Three Pieces that Disappear (2021) are linked by the concept of music that is remembered, forgotten, misremembered, imagined or deteriorating. The final movement intriguingly features a fixed audio element in the shape of fragments of a 1951 recording of Schoenberg’s Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra (itself based on Handel). It could have been gimmicky but works very well in the context. Conducted by Martyn Brabbins the light and shade of the work is clearly heard.
After Lassus, a 15.5 minute work for soprano and orchestra, features Anna Dennis as soloist and Andrew Gourlay conducting. The work takes six duets by the late-Renaissance composer Lassus and refashions the musical material, as the composer says, ‘like plasticine – reshaping, stretching and compressing them, combining them, putting them in unfamiliar surroundings, and generally getting the coloured paint out.’
If all that sounds alarming, it is not, and the work is a highly effective addition to the repertoire. There are some wonderful touches of orchestration paying homage to the old, but very much of the present day. Section 4 is full of surprises! Miss Dennis has a wonderfully rich and seductive tone.
She is once again the soloist in Beautiful Caged Thing. I reviewed a live performance of the work by Philippa Boyle in June’s issue, and it is every bit as effective here. It sets words from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, selected and arranged by the composer. The orchestra, augmented by extra instruments including an alto flute, bass clarinet, 5 tuned gongs, vibraphone, and marimba, are beautifully captured by the engineers.
The 2020/23 violin concerto Pleasure Garden was composed for Daniel Pioro who is an ardently eloquent soloist here with Elena Schwarz conducting. The three movements take inspiration from various images and stories about constructed ‘natural spaces’ in and around cities throughout the globe. While it is in no sense travelogue music, the last movement, inspired by Japanese rock gardens, is quite magical in its subtle evocation of a Japanese landscape and instruments.
This is one of those discs that NMC do so well, a wonderful selection box of works by a composer who deserves to be more well known.
Review by Paul RW Jackson