The Path Above the Dunes: Chamber music by Nicola LeFanu

Featuring

Ian Mitchell
Clara Barbier Serrano
Ileana Ruhemann
Catriona Scott
Caroline Balding
Sophie Harris

Elsa Bradley
Aleksander Szram
Joby Burgess
Gemini
Nicola LeFanu

Did you know?

1/7

Performer Biography

The ensemble Gemini, directed by Ian Mitchell, has performed extensively worldwide and has released numerous recordings, including several by Nicola LeFanu.

Recording & Production

The original recording of "The Same Day Dawns" was released on LP in 1979 by Chandos, long before CDs emerged, and is re-recorded for this album.

Composition History

The work "The Same Day Dawns" was commissioned by the Fromm Foundation and premiered in Cambridge, Mass., in November 1974.

Composer Biography

Nicola LeFanu is the daughter of Irish parents; her mother was the composer Elizabeth Maconchy and her father William LeFanu was from an Irish literary family.

Compositional Technique

In "The Same Day Dawns," the composer Nicola LeFanu aspired to the economy and intensity of Chinese and Japanese art, using a lyrical idiom where each song is a monody shared between soprano and instrumentalists.

Recording & Production

This album is a retrospective of Nicola LeFanu's compositions, covering nearly fifty years of her work from 1974 to 2020.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Nicola LeFanu, the composer, states that her music is not intended to carry a specific message, but inevitably reflects her feelings and the world she lives in.