CD orders

Icarus

Hymn to the Sun; Like Icarus ascending; Chamber Concerto No 3: In constant flight; Parabola; Icarus drowning

Rohan Smith (violin); Annette Tesoriero, Richard Moore (voices); Terra Australis incognita; Kowmung Festival Ensemble; Andrew Ford (conductor).

"Icarus drowning , most strikingly of all, takes Brueghel's painting The Fall of Icarus as a starting point (in which all that can be seen of him are his two feet disappearing into the water) and in music of extreme slowness and growing intensity charts his descent through the water, recalling his ascent and flight as he does so. the poetic coda, with distant gongs and bells, was suggested by the site of first performance . . . and sounds both final -- it refers back to the opening of the violin piece -- and like a tolling lament. It is the most impressive piece in the cycle. "

Michael Oliver, The Gramophone

Tall Poppies TP150 CD

Harbour

A Martian Sends a Postcard Home; Clarion (alto sax version); Epithalamium; Harbour; Composition in Blue, Grey and Pink; Dancing With Smoke; A Salt Girl; Female Nude; And Now; Five Cabaret Songs

Gerald English, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Hector MacDonald, Stephanie McCallum, Marshall McGuire, Ian Munro, James Nightingale, Kathleen Gallagher, Daryl Pratt
et al

Tall Poppies TP128 CD

"Harbour, a Tall Poppies CD of pieces by Andrew Ford, one-time faculty member at the University of Wollongong, again proves that there is much worthy music being produced Down Under.

Despite the predominance of pieces for tenor voice, no hint of monotony encroaches upon this splendid release. Ford shows a striking variety of approach in his vocal compositions, ranging from the special-effects laden flair of A Martian Sends a Postcard Home to the folksy unpretentiousness of Epithalamium, the crystalline conciseness of A Salt Girl, the unalloyed triadic warmth of And Now, and the often humorous, sometimes touching ennui of Five Cabaret Songs. The title selection, a sizable and ambitious cycle for singer and string orchestra, is perhaps the most impressive of all. Ensemble writing, obliquely influenced by entities such as Lutoslawski’s Trauermusik, perfectly combines dramatic flair and experimental inventiveness. And as in all these works, Ford composes imaginatively for the vocalist, combining fine text setting with an unerring ear for good tenor sound regardless of the register or effect employed.

The non-vocal selections, while brief, are just as enjoyable. Originally written for solo alto clarinet, Clarion shows no lessening of effectiveness in its alto saxophone version. The work states two ideas (one static and tritone based, the other fast and nervous) then cleverly varies and integrates them. Composition in Blue, Grey, and Pink, despite its restrictive percussion scoring and dynamic range, contains nary a dull moment, contrasting and superimposing rhythmic layers in ways that would fascinate an African drummer. The amplified alto flute entity Female Nude, replete with breathy exchanges of sung and played pitches, palpably swoons with sensuous ardor. And all exhibit unusual, yet effective solutions to delineating larger formal concerns.

Performances are uniformly splendid. Tenor Gerald English is the star here and deservedly so, possessing both a ringing, highly flexible voice that sounds great in every register and clean, crisp diction. James Nightingale (saxophone), Kathleen Gallagher (alto flute), Marshall McGuire (harp), Daryl Pratt (congas), Hector McDonald (horn), and Ian Munro (piano) head up a first-class group of instrumentalists. Special mention should also be made of the Australian Chamber Orchestra (conductor David Stanhope), who passionately support the singer with some ferociously fine string playing in the title selection. Production values are top-notch and sound quality is excellent.

David Cleary, 21st-Century Music

Whispers:
Chamber Music of Andrew Ford

The Art of Puffing: 17 elegies for Thomas Chatterton; Pastoral; Sacred Places; Whispers

Duo Contemporain, Tasmanian Symphony Chamber Players, Gerald English, Griffiths University Ensemble

Tall Poppies TP053 CD

The Crantock Gulls
for two drummers

Match Percussion
Daryl Pratt and Alison Eddington
Water Settings
Tall Poppies TP 183

"The Crantock Gulls, named after the small Cornish village, were prey to polymetre squawking seagulls according to Ford and if his music successfully conveys it – and I’ve not misunderstood it – it was also raining like crazy... The arresting tattoos are
increasingly and uncomfortably fractious."

Jonathan Woolf, Musicweb International

Memorial
for cello and digital delay

David Pereira
Electric Cello
Tall Poppies TP 180

"Andrew Ford’s Memorial refers to the handing back of ‘Uluru’ (Ayers Rock) to its traditional guardians (the [CD] booklet says ‘owners’, but that’s another debate). Ford wrestled with his reluctance to engage with Aboriginal culture, but ultimately, seeing Uluru’s physical presence as a kind of memorial, almost a cenotaph in the middle of Australia, expressed this
partly as a lament, partly as a celebration of the strength and endurance of the Aboriginal people. The cello is treated with a delay which in fact makes
it sound as if it is placed in a vast acoustic. The echoes come to us as if from the inside of caverns measureless to man, and to me very movingly
express the loneliness and incredible hugeness of the Australian outback."

Dominy Clements, Musicweb International

Four Winds
for saxophone quartet

Continuum Sax
Icon
CSAX-02
Australian Music Centre shop

Swansong
for solo viola

Patricia Pollett
Australian music for viola
Tall Poppies TP162 CD

Rough Magic
for solo harp

Marshall McGuire
ABC Classics/Polygram 456 696-2 CD

Getting Blue
for alto sax and vibraphone

Duo Contemporain
Globe GLO 5176 CD

Wassails and Lullabies
for chamber choir and percussion

Adelaide Chamber Singers/Carl Crossin
ACSCD 002 CD

Spinning
for alto flute

Geoffrey Collins, flute
Tall Poppies TP069

Wassails and Lullabies
for chamber choir and percussion

Sydney Philharmonia Motet Choir/Walker
ABC Classics/PolyGram 446 975-2 CD

The Laughter of Mermaids
for six voices

The Song Company/Peelman

Vox Australis VAST016-2 CD

A Kumquat for John Keats
for solo piano

Lisa Moore
Tall Poppies TP040 CD

Patapan
for orchestra

Australian Youth Orchestra/Abbott
Tall Poppies TP016 CD

Ringing the Changes
for piccolo, bass clarinet and piano

HET Trio
Attacca-Babel 9161-4 CD

Australian String Quartets

Sydney String Quartet
ABC Classics/PolyGram 426 992 CD and cassette

Boatsong

Duo Contemporain
[Pro Viva ISPV 140] LP