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It is always heart-warming to come across evidence that British composers are alive and kicking, and this recording certainly does that, with a selection of new works featuring the solo clarinet of Linda Merrick, whose appetite for new music must be duly praised, since without her most of the works on this disc might not have come in to existence. Throughout, we are treated to a diverse range of styles from some of the country’s top-rank composers, showing the versatility of the wind orchestra as a platform for new music. The opening piece is Battles and Chants by Nigel Clarke. A programmatic explanation is given by the composer in the liner notes, shedding much light on the work’s structure; the clarinet is literally pitted against the orchestra in a virtuoso battle that harks back to the concerto ideals of the nineteenth century. An ominous texture builds up in the first movement to release a passage of aggressive, driving rhythms through which the composer conjures up the title’s vivid images. The second movement begins in a similar manner to the first, but then veers towards a more contemplative mood; Merrick conveys the clarinet’s cries with fitting intensity, painting an aptly bleak picture. In the finale, the battle is illustrated with bold splashes of colour, the soloist’s frantic and shrill lines not able to escape the hammer-blows or diving chromatic lines in the orchestra. Guy Woolfenden’s Rondo Variations is a graceful work written in a beguilingly simple style that skilfully avoids an overtly saccharine flavour. The rondo theme exploits well the instrument’s character with playful leaps across wide intervals, a compact variation form that takes the listener through a series of mood changes away from the quirkiness of the opening towards more plangent and fluid melodic lines in the slower section; Merrick and the orchestra combine to make these changes highly effective.
My personal favourite piece on the CD is African Dances by Kit Turnbull; although the African influences are somewhat sanitised within a more mainstream style, they nonetheless provide an interesting palette through which Turnbull can show his keen ear for orchestration. A magical passage opens the work in which several flute parts entwine, heralding a stately march. More than elsewhere on the disc the percussion comes to the fore, a role that increases later in the piece. The performers certainly make the music dance, animating the music’s cross-rhythms with great energy. Martin Ellerby’s clarinet concerto starts with an infectious rhythmic vitality somewhere between North American minimalism and South American carnival. It is a work which shamelessly draws on lighter styles for its influences (the slow movement could easily be lifted from a film soundtrack), although they are utilised with both an integrity and craftsmanship that lifts them above the mundane. The feel-good factor continues through the last movement to leave the listener with a smile on their face that will no doubt ensure the work a regular place in the repertoire. Throughout, the sense of ensemble is excellent; this does not sound like a student orchestra and the conductors can be commended in their direction. Malcolm Arnold’s works have often incorporated popular styles and the Pre-Goodman Rag, which closes the CD, does this with cheek and humour. In a typically short movement, Arnold contrasts a cartoon-like rag with a pensive and lyrical middle section; the sublime encased in the ridiculous. Linda Merrick has brought some great and thoroughly enjoyable music to our attention with this recording; the composers should also be equally thankful that they have such an enthusiastic and willing champion.
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