Sound

Gloup Fishermen’s Memorial photographed by
Robert Alan Jamieson librettist of Beyond the Far Haaf
Beyond The Far Haaf
Part 3 – ‘The Returning’ (23 mins)

Graham Titus, Margaret Cable, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conductor Jerzy Maksymiuk

The Gloup disaster of July 1881 claimed the lives of fifty-eight men when a sudden storm rose out of a peaceful sky. This was a blow from which the community of Gloup, Yell, Shetland never recovered. In 1881 the shores of the sea inlet Gloup Voe were well inhabited on both sides. In 1989 when Beyond the Far Haaf was written there were only four households, all on the east side of the voe. While he was writing the piece, DW lived eight miles from Gloup and his nearest neighbours were descended from families involved in the disaster.

Lino cut by Clare Melinsky Radio Times 6 August 1984
for the first broadcast of The Snow Queen

The Snow Queen (libretto by Kevin Ireland)
Robber Girl scene (8 mins)

Sonata Fantasia
complete (19 mins)

Rohan de Saram (cello)
Druvi de Saram (piano)

Click here for a PDF of the score
(opens in a new tab)

It may seem a little whimsical to have written such a backward looking ‘almost in C minor’ piece in 2001 for the cellist for whom Berio was writing his last sequenza and who a few years before had been the cellist in the premiere of Stockhausen’s ‘helicopter quartet’. Nevertheless Rohan & Druvi took it seriously and were wonderfully effective in displaying the internal relationships of the piece, while Rohan’s cello really sang.

A Full Moon in March
(a setting of the play of the same name by W B Yeats)
1) Part 2 complete
2) Part 2 in separate sections:
a) Recit & 1st Attendant’s song
b) Dance to the head
c) Song of the head
d) The Queen laughs & then dances with the head
e) Final song

Stephen Varcoe, Linda Hirst, Twentieth Century Ensemble, conductor Edwin Roxburgh

Prelude to Act 3 of Jack’s Engagement
(13 mins)

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Jerzy Maksymiuk

String Quartet No 4 (1 minute excerpt)

String Quartet No 5 (final minute)

String Quartet No.6
(complete)

Bingham String Quartet
Score PDF
(opens in a new tab)

Piano Sonata (21/2 minute excerpt)

Graeme McNaught

Cello Concerto no. 1
Last movement (18 min Adagio and Cadenza)

Ross Pople / BBC Symphony Orchestra / Norman Del Mar

e-mails from Palestine

Recording of the live 1st performance in 2010

Emily White (vocals, trombone, alto sackbut, violin & percussion)
Steve Bingham (5 string electric violin, electric bass violin, violin, percussion & live loops from bass violin)
Recorded speaking voice of Jane Frere

Click on the cover picture to open a PDF of a programme note with the full sung and spoken words in a new tab

Clarinet Quintet (first two movements)
1) Slow-Fast
2) Scherzo

Shinobu Miki / Saltire Quartet

String Quartet No 7

Recording of the 1st performance
with a spoken introduction from Emily White who speaks first about Huntly-based composer Ronald Center (1913–1973) in a concert celebrating the centenary of Center’s birth

Isla Quartet

Philippa Mo and Emily White (violins), Rachel Stott (viola), Rebecca Rees (cello)

Cello Concerto no. 2 (middle movements)
1) Slow movement
2) Scherzo and Trio

Rohan de Saram / Southbank Sinfonia / Simon Over

Variations for Cello and Orchestra (complete)

Ross Pople, London Festival Orchestra, conductor Edwin Roxburgh

Dreaming of a Distant Love

Score PDF

(A two minute miniature instrumental paraphrase of my opera Cupid & Psyche)

FourSight
Victoria Soames Samek (Alto Sax) Steve Bingham (Violin) Chris Brannick (Percussion) Adrian Sutcliffe (Electric Piano)

Arias and Cadenzas

Video Stream of premiere on 5 November 2017 including Q & A with the audience

Rohan de Saram (Cello) Suren de Saram (Percussion) Kausikan Rajeshkumar (Piano)