The Nash Ensemble, the performers on this album, has been the resident chamber ensemble at Wigmore Hall since 2010 and is known for its adventurous programming.
Composer Biography
Sir Harrison Birtwistle, the composer, initially felt he was not a "natural" musician or instrumentalist despite composing pieces and mastering the clarinet in his youth.
Performer Biography
The Nash Ensemble has premiered over 300 new works, most of which were specially commissioned, and has won two Royal Philharmonic Society awards.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Birtwistle developed an independent musical language centered on "line and pulse," avoiding traditional forms like fugue or sonata and their goal-directed sense of musical time.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Birtwistle's musical form concept is like a fixed landscape continually crossed by different paths, reflecting an older, "circular" sense of time analogous to revolving seasons.
Recording & Production
This recording was made from January 4th to 6th, 2021, at Kings Place in London, England, using microphones by Sennheiser, Neumann, Earthworks, and Calrec.
Critical Reception
The unique character of Birtwistle's music gained public attention with the triumphant 1965 premiere of his ensemble piece Tragoedia, which presented a new sound and sensibility in British music.
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