A'e
Gowden Lyric: Songs by Ronald Stevenson
Susan Hamilton, soprano
John Cameron, piano
DCD34006
Edinburgh
native Susan Hamilton, well-known for her many appearances on the
early music circuit with ensembles ranging from the Collegium Vocale Ghent,
the King's Consort and her own Dunedin Consort, celebrates her debut recital
recording on Delphian this month. A'e Gowden Lyric (DCD34006) features
the lyric Scots poetry of Hugh MacDiarmid, Sorley MacLean, and William
Soutar and Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses
set by Borders composer Ronald Stevenson. John Cameron's sensitive accompaniment
runs a seamless thread on this journey through Stevenson's contemporary
song.
'"Susan Hamilton['s] crystal clear articulation and youthful declamation
are constant pleasures."
-BBC Music Magazine
Love of melody came early in the childhood years of Ronald Stevenson. Born into a working class family in Blackburn, Lancashire in March 1928, it was the songs of Burns and the Irish melodies of Tom Moore that awakened in him a legacy of his Scots antecedents. Among his musical influences he counts Busoni, Sorabji, Medtner, Szymanowski, Paderewski and Shostakovich. After moving to Scotland in 1952, he met poets like MacDiarmid, Soutar, Sorley MacLean, and George Campbell Hay and became acquainted with the music of Francis George Scott and Francis Collinson. From these and from the tree-clad hills of the Scottish Borders Stevenson drew his inspiration for the intimate musical language of his song settings.
Delphian Artist
Gordon Ferries spent some time last summer researching archives
in Paris's Bibliothèque Nationale de France for a recital of guitar
music from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Recorded in January
this year, Gordon's performs on baroque guitars from the Edinburgh University
Collection of Historic Instruments (EUCHMI) and reveals this subtle genre
as both sublime and seductive. Featuring many premiere recordings of works
by Corbetta, Carré, de Visée, Médard, and Grénerin, this
music is sure to warm the heart!
Gordon Ferries in a recording session.
The birth of the Dunedin Consort, dreamchild of Ben Parry (left) and Susan Hamilton, made Scotland all the more rich with early and contemporary music making. Ben has a colourful and versatile musical past which included composition for TV jingles and producing (and performing on) recordings with the Swingle Singers. He quickly became a pillar of Edinburgh's music-making, leading the SCO chorus, continuing his arranging and composition as well as being a leading figure in Dunedin's artistic programming. Ben recently secured the post of music teacher at St. Paul's School, London. Edinburgh will be the poorer for his absence, whilst he's not here. We are assured that Ben will regularly appear here in some of the Dunedin's more established dates, for example this month sees their St Matthew Passion tour--a firm and favourite fixture in Scotland's annual music diary. We are looking forward to working with Ben during the Peoples' Mass recordings later this month and wish him and his family all the best of luck with their move and future plans.
Those following our trail will be pleased to hear that since the New Year we are now distributed amongst the country's independent classical retailers. Our online shop carries the complete Delphian catalogue and soon will provide one-stop shopping for other titles as well. As a result of increasing activity, our workforce has grown. We now have part-time IT and accounting employees, and we have begun collaborating with other production teams whilst always insisting upon our own 24-bit hi-fidelity standards. 2003 is proving to be an exciting year for us. These news emails will greet your inboxes every few months. If you'd like to enquire further about anything enclosed, drop us an email or pick up the phone--we're happy to hear from you.
The complete
piano works of James MacMillan and Stuart MacRae's Piano Sonata
recorded by Simon Smith continues to perk the ears of listeners
and critics
'Anyone professing
an interest in Scottish musical affairs should regard as essential this
seminal recording... MacRae's piece is hugely demanding; Smith's logical
and structural performance is a model of lucidity. MacMillan's music,
played with consummate maturity by this astonishing young musician, ranges
widely in style, from the blistering Piano Sonata to the heartstoppingly
touching elegy, For Ian. A fabulous collection, wonderfully played.
*****'
- The Herald
©2003 Delphian Records Ltd
*You have received this email because either you or
someone on your behalf expressed an interest in receiving news from
Delphian Records.
To remove yourself from this list, please reply with 'unsubscribe' as
subject.