New recording online: “Canzoni et Ricercari”

You can now listen to my recent piece Canzoni et Ricercari online. Performed by the amazing 12 Ensemble, this piece was commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society for the 2021 Cheltenham Music Festival and premiered at Gloucester Cathedral on 9th July this year. It’s great to finally be able to share this recording.

The piece is scored for onstage string ensemble of 9 players and 3 offstage violins. The fractious relationship between these two groups is at the heart of the piece. There are two movements of roughly equal length, each building to a climax in a different way, and each involving canons or ricercars on some level, hence the Frescobaldi-inspired title. The atmosphere is sometimes solemn, sometimes playful, and sometimes a bit of both. You can view the score here.