Recordings of Lennox Berkeley's music
British Harpsichord Music
Format: This recording includes Berkeley's two early pieces for harpsichord, written for his friend Vere Pilkington while both were still at Oxford in the 1920s: Mr Pilkington's Toye and For Vere. They are played by the young Welsh harpsichordist, Christopher D. Lewis, who is studying Berkeley's harpsichord music as part of his PhD programme at Southampton University; he writes about this in the 2016 issue of the Berkeley Society Journal. The Berkeley works come in a compilation of modern British harpsichord music, with works by Herbert Howells, John Jeffreys and Gavin Bryars, on Naxos 8573668. (Synopsis by Tony Scotland)
- For Vere
- Mr Pilkington's Toye
Performed by Christopher Lewis (harpsichord)
The Evening Hour: British Choral Music from the 16th and 20th Centuries
Format: CD & Digital downloadThe Choir of Jesus College Cambridge’s new release on Signum blends a selection of ancient and modern works from the 16th and 20th Centuries, all centred on the theme of evening.
- The Lord is My Shepherd (op. 91 part 1)
Performed by the Choir of Jesus College Cambridge & Mark Wilson (conductor)
Music for Solo Piano and Piano Duet
Format: CDThe piano was Lennox Berkeley’s own instrument and his piano works represent a microcosm of his very best compositional talents. Influenced harmonically by French models, his music is suffused with lyricism and subtle harmonies. The Sonata, Op. 20 possesses a particularly haunting beauty in its slow movement, while simple but distinctive melodic and rhythmic ideas permeate the Six Preludes, Op. 23 and Five Short Pieces, Op. 4. The Theme and Variations, Op. 73, recorded here for the first time, offers a favourite Berkeley vehicle for conveying a highly individual and personal language. (Synopsis by Naxos)
- Five Short Pieces (op. 4)
- Sonata for Piano (op. 20)
- Six Preludes (op. 23)
- Sonatina (op. 39)
- Theme and Variations (op. 73)
- Palm Court Waltz (op. 81 part 2a)
Performed by Raphael Terroni (piano) & Norman Beedie (piano)
French Connections
Format: CDThe breadth of repertoire on French Connections showcases Ainsley's range, expansive vocal colour, expressive voice and exceptional understanding of text. Accompanying Ainsley is Malcolm Martineau, to whom Heggie's Friendly Persuasions is dedicated.
The American composer pays homage to Poulenc with four imaginative songs, each of which recreates in miniature a transformative friendship in Poulenc's life. In 2008 Ainsley and Martineau gave the world premiere performance of Friendly Persuasions at Wigmore Hall, London.
The recital also includes three works by Poulenc: Fancy, Bleuet and Tel jour telle nuit, a beautifully conceived and shaped cycle; considered Poulenc's greatest vocal work it is reminiscent of the great cycles of a century earlier such as Winterreise or Dichterliebe.
Despite French heritage and fluency in the language Berkeley's friendship with Britten led him to set verse by the English poet, W.H. Auden instead. His Five Poems are some of the best of their kind; a cohesive and satisfying collection, Berkeley perfectly captures both the fanciful and reflective elements of Auden's poetry.
Auden in turn re-introduced Britten to the works of John Donne, which Britten went on to set in his Holy Sonnets; darkly moving and highly demanding, they are among his finest work. (Synopsis by Linn Records)
- Five Poems (op. 53, W. H. Auden)
Performed by Malcolm Martineau (piano) & John Mark Ainsley (tenor)
Chamber Music for Horn, Violin and Piano
Format: CD- Trio (op. 44)
Performed by Bruce Bonnell (horn), Hai-Xin Wu (violin) & Zhihua Tang (piano)
Between the Worlds
Format: CD & Digital downloadFirst audio CD by German classical guitarist Katrin Endrikat with works by A. Barrios, A.Tansman, J.S.Bach and others. A beautiful selection of original pieces and arranged works for classical guitar.
- Sonatina (op. 52 part 1)
Performed by Katrin Endrikat (guitar)
Works for String Orchestra
Format: CD"Let us composers, too, remember what Boyd Neel has done for us. Not only has he asked for and used new music but – here's the difference – he has used it many times. If Boyd Neel and his orchestra like and believe in new music, they play it over and over again until the audience get used to it and begin to like it too; not for it a first performance and then the dusty shelf." This heartfelt tribute was written by Benjamin Britten, whose 'Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge' was written for the Boyd Neel Orchestra and premiered by them at the 1937 Salzburg Festival, thereby cementing the international reputation of both composer and performers. The off-air recording of a BBC Third Programme broadcast from 31 January 1961 featured on this disc offers further evidence of the debt composers working in Britain owed to Neel. (Synopsis by Lyrita)
- Sinfonietta (op. 34)
Performed by the London Chamber Orchestra & Anthony Bernard (conductor)
Guitar Recital by Ekachai Jearakul
Format: CD & Digital downloadIn 2014 Ekachai Jearakul became the first Asian guitarist to win the prestigious Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition (GFA). Winner of numerous awards and an international artist, he has selected a recital that takes the listener on a journey from the baroque beauties of Weiss through nineteenth-century classics by Mertz and Legnani, concluding with three modern compositions influenced by jazz. (Synopsis by Naxos)
- Sonatina (op. 52 part 1)
Performed by Ekachai Jearakul (guitar)
For the Wings of a Dove: Music for Supplication and Hope
Format: CD & Digital downloadThis recording concludes with a setting of one of the best-known psalm texts, 'The Lord is my Shepherd'. Composed in 1975 to celebrate the 900th anniversary of Chichester Cathedral, the music by Lennox Berkeley has a directness and simplicity that belies its harmonic subtlety. A sense of confidence and security is created by the strong tonal centre (on G major) which casts into greater relief the dissonances that Berkeley uses to depict ‘the valley of the shadow of death’. As in Mendelssohn’s ‘Hear my prayer’, the division of text between soloist and chorus captures both the personal and the universal nature of the psalmist’s text. (Synopsis (c) Silas Wollston, 2014)
- The Lord is My Shepherd (op. 91 part 1)
Performed by the Choir of Queen's College Cambridge & Silas Wollston (conductor)
Lennox Berkeley: Chamber Works
Format: CD & Digital downloadFollowing their acclaimed debut recording (Clarion Call - RES10127), the Berkeley Ensemble returns with a programme of chamber works by the British composer Lennox Berkeley, one of the two composers (father and son) after whom the group gets its name.
Featuring a number of world premiere recordings, the ensemble presents a selection of works that covers most of Berkeley’s creative life from the early Francophile clarinet 'Sonatine' written in Paris while a student of Nadia Boulanger to the inventive 'Introduction and Allegro' for double bass and piano. Also featured are the 'Three solo pieces' for viola and the large scale 'String Trio' Op. 19 and 'Sextet' Op. 47 for clarinet, horn and string quartet, and the emotive miniature 'In Memoriam Igor Stravinsky'. (Synopsis by Resonus)
This recording is supported by a grant from the Lennox Berkeley Society.
- Introduction & Allegro (op. 11)
- String Trio (op. 19)
- Sextet (op. 47)
- In Memoriam Igor Stravinsky
- Piece
- Sonatine
- Three Pieces
Performed by the Berkeley Ensemble