THEA MUSGRAVE (b. 1928)A Suite o’Bairnsangs (1953)

This chapter discusses Thea Musgrave's settings of nursery rhymes from her native Scotland. The poems are aptly projected, in music of an approachable style, with some rhythmic quirks, all in an unmistakeably Scottish vein. A young and relatively inexperienced singer will feel happy and comfortable performing them, and should relish the challenge of enunciating the dialect words. For the faint-hearted, however, the author has made a straight English translation, but this could perhaps diminish the bracing effect of the piece. The composer has set the Scottish words meticulously, so some of the translations do not roll off quite so easily in the voice. Moreover, a light, clear tone is appropriate for the infectious, dancing lines, and there is plenty of contrast in mood and tempo, making it a beautifully balanced item for a recital.

Aldeburgh Festival 2013: Judith Weir, Sally Beamish, Charlotte Bray, Anna Meredith, Thea Musgrave, Jonathan Harvey

In Benjamin Britten's centenary year, the music of its founding father featured widely at the 2013 Aldeburgh Festival. However, there was also a strong showing of music by contemporary composers, including six new pieces for different ensembles co-commissioned by the Britten–Pears Foundation and the Royal Philharmonic Society to mark the bicentenary of the foundation of the RPS, as well as Britten's hundredth anniversary.

Thea Musgrave round-up

‘Pierrot Dreaming’. MUSGRAVE: Canta! Canta!; Ring Out Wild Bells; Threnody; Pierrot; Chamber Concerto No. 2. Victoria Soames Samek (cl), Gabrielle Byam-Grounds (fl), David Le Page (vn/va), Matthew Sharp (vc), Mark Troop (pno). Clarinet Classics CC0038.‘The Fall of Narcissus’. MUSGRAVE: Serenade; Narcissus; Impromptu for flute and cello; Wind Quintet; Impromptu No. 2 for flute, oboe and clarinet; Four Portraits for baritone, clarinet and piano. Victoria Soames Samek (cl), Members of English Serenata, David Le Page (va), Matthew Sharp (vc), Stephen Varcoe (bar), Rachel Masters (hp). Clarinet Classics CC0039.MUSGRAVE: Memento Vitae; Helios; Night Music; The Seasons. Nicholas Daniel (ob), Scottish Chamber Orchestra c. Nicholas Kraemer; BBC Symphony Orchestra c. Jac van Steen. NMC (ANCORA+) D074.‘Oriental Landscapes’. MUSGRAVE: Journey Through a Japanese Landscape. CHEN YI: Percussion Concerto. ZHOU LONG: Out of Tang Court. HOVHANESS: Fantasy on Japanese Wood Prints. Evelyn Glennie (perc), Singapore Symphony Orchestra c. Lan Shui. BIS CD 1222.

Record Review

Lepo Sumera's Fifth Symphony Mike SeabrookStephen Montague David DentonWeinberg's War Trilogy Paul RapoportBritish String Quartets Guy RickardsPerspectives in New Piano Music Raymond Head‘Isolamenti’ John WaterhouseThea Musgrave David DentonSwiss operas, Rhaetian and French Peter PalmerSamuel Barber Piano Music Calum MacDonaldHenri Sauguet's Symphonies Bret JohnstonIieder by Reger and Schoeck Peter PalmerBritish Chamber Music Tristram PuginToshio Hosokawa John Warnaby