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RECORDINGS
Howard Skempton:
Ben Somewhen
NMC
D135,
iTunes, Released: September 2007
Howard Skempton:
Chamber Concerto; Clarinet Quintet; The Voice of the Spirits; The Bridge
of Fire; Suite from Delicate; Roundels of the Year; Rise Up, My Love;
Ben Somewhen
'Skempton's music is
deceptively simple, affording familiar musical materials a gentle,
non-ironic regard... In recent years, Skempton has concentrated
more on vocal and choral music, which gets haunting performances by
EXAUDI. A delightful disc.' The Wire
'Sixty
this year, Howard Skempton has moved gradually from the margins of the
British musical mainstream, at a time when it was stylistically far more
doctrinaire, to somewhere much nearer the centre in these less
restrictive times. The simplicity of his music, and its tendency to
brevity - there are eight works in this collection, the longest of them
an 18-minute suite of ballet music - are all deceptive; what one gets
within the smallest frame is something totally memorable, perfectly
crafted and, in its way, unutterably strange. Skempton can use the
tritest musical device, yet cast it in a new light, invest a melody with
a haunting sense of nostalgia or regret, or turn a dance rhythm against
itself. Each of these pieces, whether the four written for ensemble or
those for chorus (settings of Shelley, Flecker, Drinkwater and the Song
of Solomon), manages to do something exquisite and totally personal; how
Skempton always does it with such economy is a wonder in itself.' The
Guardian
'Classic FM listeners
should be familiar with the poetic stillness of Howard Skempton's
Lento, a minimalist work that conveys maximum emotional weight. The
Voice of the Spirits and The Bridge of Fire, while more complex than
Lento in harmonic language, draw on gestures of ritual and timeless
repetition to create an atmosphere of hypnotic calm, eloquently
intensified by EXAUDI's peerless choral singing. Skempton stands or
falls on subtle inflections and tonal nuance. Certainly, grandstanding
is not an option here. Weeks and his collaborators prove the point in
performances of beguiling wit and beauty. An essential buy.' Classic
FM Magazine, 5 stars
'Howard’s music is
elegant, British, civilised, with a touch of anarchy. I see him as a
gentleman in a bowler hat, a briefcase — and sandals.' BBC Music
Magazine, 4 stars
Elisabeth Lutyens:
Choral and Chamber Works
NMC
D124,
iTunes, Released: October 2006
Elisabeth Lutyens:
Presages;
Motet (Excerpta Tractati Logico-Philosophici); Wind Trio;
Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis; String Trio; Verses of Love;
Fantasie Trio; The Country of the Stars
 'A timely and
beautifully performed tribute.' The Guardian
'The
neglected music of Elisabeth Lutyens (born 1906) fully deserves
celebrating. In her hands serial composition never produced cold fish:
take the plangent Présages for solo oboe (Melinda Maxwell, very
powerful), or the gravely beautiful Wittgenstein Motet, lyrically
dispatched by EXAUDI.' The Times
'Lutyens's centenary has
been sparsely celebrated, but at least we have this excellent production
from NMC. Expertly compiled by Bayan Northcott, it presents music
written between 1953 and 1970, which he finds her most inspired period.
Starting with the tautly mournful Presages, for oboe, finely
delivered by Melinda Maxwell, the sequence moves to the first of four
choral works, the extraordinary Motet, a setting of propositions
from Wittgenstein's Tractatus. EXAUDI show how gripping this can
be.' The Sunday Times
'James Weeks and EXAUDI
bring out the best in Lutyens...NMC's new disc is timely and poignantly
welcome...The singers and players of EXAUDI and Endymion turn in
eloquent, dedicated performances in first-rate sound, making every note
- as Lutyens intended - count.'
5 stars,
BBC Music Magazine
'A fitting tribute to a composer whose music
deserves to be heard far more often. Performances by EXAUDI in the
various choral pieces are simply breathtaking, rising to the many
challenges presented by the music and meeting them effortlessly... My
opening call for more performances is perhaps not realistic given the
obvious difficulties of the repertoire, requiring laser-guided pitching
ability and complete control of the voice.'
www.musicalpointers.co.uk
Christopher Fox: A Glimpse of Sion’s Glory
NMC
D114,
iTunes, Released: November 2005
Christopher Fox: A Glimpse of Sion’s Glory;
Open the Gate; Rendered
Account; The Missouri Harmony; American Choruses
 'Christopher
Fox is 50 this year, and it is hard to think of a better birthday present
than this marvelous disc of his choral music from EXAUDI. With works
spanning a 20-year period, both the evolution of Fox's ideas and the
enduring individuality of his compositional voice can be heard... EXAUDI
traverse the demands of this music with ease... Recommended'. 5 stars,
BBC Music Magazine
'Punchy performances from English choral group EXAUDI under
James Weeks.' The Wire
Michael Finnissy: Maldon and other choral works
NMC
D110,
iTunes, Released: April 2005
Michael Finnissy: Maldon;
Anima Christi; Palm-Sunday; Descriptive Jottings
of London; Forget-me-not; Vertue
 ‘An
enthralling disc…this music grips heart, mind and imagination alike.
Finnissy’s choral works are essentially an exploration of collective
memory, drawing on a rich mixture of influences, sources, evocations and
archetypes. EXAUDI are stunning advocates…the soloists are
outstanding…This is compulsive listening for admirers of Finnissy, and
will win many converts to his music.’ 5 Stars, BBC Music Magazine
‘A
powerful anti-war piece crowns this distinctive Finnissy survey…The
whole programme is brilliantly performed by the 12-strong EXAUDI ensemble,
and the highly atmospheric recording has an ideal clarity.’ Gramophone
‘This vividly performed sequence demonstrates Finnissy's literary as well
as musical absorptiveness.’ Sunday Times
‘EXAUDI perform with hair’s-breadth accuracy, while Richard Jackson is
excellent as the narrator of the bloody, tragic tale of the Battle of
Maldon.’ Times
'Top 10 Discs of 2005.'
Alex Ross, music critic for The New Yorker
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