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DCD34157-CD
£14.99
Eddie McGuire is one of Scotland’s greatest living composers. A renaissance man, his compositional voice is informed by a broad wealth of cultural experience and by an unlimited melodic creativity. In this intensely beautiful and unpretentious music, folk-like tunes appear naturally, taking their place in a world of invention large enough to contain minimalist gestures, intense romanticism, meditative silence and sudden drama. In the second of two discs programmed to initiate their new recording partnership with Delphian, Red Note Ensemble bring passion and care to this music – a token of the regard in which McGuire is held by Scottish musicians of all generations.
"the disc offers a lively collection of McGuire's chamber music. Much of the disc is highly affirming, notably Euphoria (1980), a delicious, effervescent work composed at the height of Cold War frost and the Thatcherite government"
"A beguiling, lyrical grace weaves through much of this Scottish composer’s chamber music, and these performances well capture its questing expressiveness...Scottish contemporary music band Red Note Ensemble’s performances are as vital and coherent as the music itself. Andrew Stewart’s informative and perceptive booklet notes are the icing on the cake."
"Refreshingly and compellingly, the Scottish composer’s music disdains allegiance or aversion to any-ism. Quintet 2’s atonal modernism, from 1987, is as eloquent as the folkish eclecticism of Elegy. The 1986 String Trio evokes unpredictable springtime dramas, while McGuire’s strong socialism sounds its voice in Euphoria and Entangled Fortunes, which is all about interconnectedness."
"Red Note is the ideal ensemble to champion McGuire’s folk-rich music: the players shift between silvery laments, robust dances and angular squalls in a blink"
"[Eddie McGuire is] a composer of immense sincerity, supreme craftsmanship and creative integrity. Red Note’s warm and sensitive performances are an equal match."
"The ascetic Quintet 2 and variegated String Trio are richly contrasted in vivid detail and vital interplay of voices. The Edinburgh-based Red Note Ensemble build on their recent, equally excellent John McLeod recital (also on Delphian...) with assured, articulate aplomb"
Category: Chamber, Contemporary, Red Note Ensemble