1-3. Soundscapes ROB BUCKLAND
1. i. Mojito
2. ii. Fjord
3. iii. Bosh

4. The Effra Parade MISHA MULLOV-ABBADO

5-8. Pandemic Suite ANDY PANAYI
5. i. Huanan Market
6. ii. The Traveller is Named
7. iii. The Traveller Goes Forth
8. iv. Lockdown Release

9. Neo CHARLOTTE HARDING

10. Karatina Market TOBY STREET

13. Bach in Barbados DAN JENKINS

12. Arriba MARK NIGHTINGALE

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The Tailleferre Ensemble, founded in 2019 by Nicola Hands and Penelope Smith, is a UK-based chamber collective whose principal aim is to promote women in music. The group is a flexible chamber ensemble of varying line-up who perform works of diverse instrumentation and genre, from works by established composers to those that are lesser-known and contemporary. As a group they have been praised for their fine performances and ‘extensive palette of timbres’, and they work to redress the balance of works performed by men and women composers in classical music.

The Ensemble has performed across the country since its inception, ranging from prestigious venues and chamber music festivals to local chamber series, and have also collaborated with other groups.  In 2021 they were grateful to receive funding from the Ambache Charitable Trust to make recordings of works by Cecilia McDowall and Rhian Samuel. In 2022 they were invited to perform for a production of the under-played Mass in D by Ethel Smyth. Since then, they received further invitations to collaborate on similar performances.

This album is the group’s first recording, exemplifying their work, featuring music from various historical periods and for different ensemble sizes. Of particular note is the première recording of Sonate Champêtre by the group’s namesake, Germaine Tailleferre: they are very pleased to be sharing this work in recorded form for the first time. Another piece they are glad to introduce is the première of Little Duos by Rhian Samuel, dedicated to the group’s founders Nicola Hands and Penelope Smith.

Most of the album comprises works by living composers, but lesser-known pieces from further back, by Röntgen and Hoffmann, also feature. There are Things to be Said byIngrid Stölzel inspired the album’s title, evoking concepts of loneliness and struggle but also reflects the hopefulness, determination and creativity of this new chamber collective.

'An exemplary debut with There are Things to be Said. ... Many things recommend the collection, from superb musicianship to an inspired and varied set-list.'
Textura, March 2023

'The Tailleferre Ensemble excels in subtlety... Their performances contain all musical pastel shades, which together form one lovely colored palette. This is partly due to the various instrumentations that provide transparency and clarity, but certainly also due to the excellent interplay, the beautiful and well-groomed intonation and the lively appearance. ... The Ensemble switches style and instrumentation with ease and gives each composition the warm intention that it deserves.' Mattie Poels, Music Frames, 15 March 2023

ALBUM DETAILS

Germaine Tailleferre, Sonate Champêtre (première recording)

I. Allegro moderato
II. Andantino
III. Allegro vivace: Gaiement

Ingrid Stölzel, There Are Things to be Said (2009)
 
Bill Douglas, Three Lyrical Pieces
                                                                                              
I. Wings of the Wind
II. The Hills of Glencar
III. Autumn Song
                         
Jenni Brandon, Metamorphosis *

I. Vulnerable
II. Evolving
III. Transformation
IV. Rebirth
V. Transfiguration
VI. Breaking through the mold
VII. Regeneration
VIII. Emerging
IX. “The Metamorphosis excites in the beholder an emotion of joy…”

* First performance and recording by Dr Lindabeth Binkley (oboe) with Dane Philipsen (oboe) and Mary Jo Cox (piano) on Dr. Binkley’s album FROM EARTH AND SKY: MUSIC OF JENNI BRANDON on Blue Griffin Record label in 2020.
 
Rhian Samuel (première recording), Little Duos for oboe and cor anglais

I. Morning Glow
II. Whispers
III. Sentries
 
Cecilia McDowall, Century Dances: Trio for oboe, clarinet and bassoon

I. Allemande
II. Menuet – ghost dance
III. Mazurka
IV. Tango
V. Last Dance 

Melchior Hoffmann, Trio Sonata in G minor

I. Adagio
II. Allegro
III. Adagio
IV. Vivace

Julius Röntgen, Trio for Flute, Oboe and Bassoon in G Major, Op. 86

I. Allegretto con Spirito
II. Poco andante, quasi una fantasia
III. Allegretto

The Tailleferre Ensemble

Emma Halnan and Nicola Crowe, flute
Nicola Hands and Penelope Smith, oboe / cor anglais
Jennifer Dunsmore and Helen Pierce, clarinet
Amy Thompson, bassoon
Lana Bode, piano

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SRCD412 British Cello Works Volume 2
Smyth, Delius, Gibbs, Britten
Lionel Handy, cello, Jennifer Walsh, piano

Also Available: British Cello Works, Volume 1
Lionel Handy, cello and Jennifer Walsh (née Hughes), piano
Lyrita Records SRCD.383; UPC: 5020926038326

'A key figure in the British musical renaissance, Dame ETHEL SMYTH (1858-1944) was critically acclaimed for her music and for her writing during her lifetime. Smyth’s Sonata in A minor for cello and piano, Op.5 was written in 1887 and published the following year by C. F. Peters in Leipzig. The score is dedicated to the German cellist Julius Klengel, whom she met through her friendship with the Röntgen family.

In her A minor Sonata, Op. 5, as in her earlier Sonata in C minor for cello and piano (1880), Ethel Smyth favours expressivity over virtuosity, emphasising the cello’s warm and lyrical tone. The piano enjoys a key role in all three movements and is often invited to present the chief subject matter rather than merely playing a supporting role accompanying the cello line. Thus, the piece constitutes a true ‘sonata for cello and piano’. Fluent and tightly constructed,the score reveals a gift for melody, pacing and characterisation which the composer would use to good advantage in her stage works.

One of Delius’s most satisfying chamber works, the Cello Sonata is distinguished by the expressive power of its material. Both instruments enter at the same time, the cello unfolding a songlike, long-limbed line, while the piano presents the main idea. A second key theme, introduced by the cello over the piano’s rippling, arpeggiated chords, is more forthright and sharply defined.

In the late 1940s and the 1950s, Cecil Armstrong Gibbs wrote a series of instrumental works, two of them written for, and dedicated to, the cellist Eileen Croxford. They consist of Three Pieces, Op. 121 and the Cello Sonata in E, Op. 132. The Sonata is dated 12 January 1951 and was published by Oxford University Press the following year. The opening Allegro moderato is a substantial movement in sonata form. Over a syncopated, chordal piano accompaniment, the cello unfurls a sweeping, unsettled melody which contains some unexpected tonal shifts and covers a wide dynamic range.

Britten’s Cello Sonata is a challenging, bravura piece that benefits immeasurably from the natural affinity between composer and player which would inspire Britten to produce four more major works for Rostropovich over the next decade. Rostropovich wrote of the work, ‘This is a sonata full of surprises, innovations for any cellist, gifts for the musician flowing freely from the horn of plenty. We meet not merely a novelty in finger-work but, what is most important, a new kind of expressive and profound dramatic composition.'

© Paul Conway, 2022

'Handy and Walsh play with conviction and flair.'
Janet Horvath, Interlude: 22 February 2023

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