Stephen DODGSON: Chamber Music, Volume Five: Music for Winds II
This fifth album in the Toccata Classics survey of the chamber music of London-born Stephen Dodgson (1924–2013) offers a second instalment of his many works for woodwinds, as well as a duo for the unusual combination of horn and harp. Much of it brings Dodgson’s sense of fun to the fore, often through rhythmic mischief or an insouciance that recalls Poulenc. It can have a spiky vivacity that suggests Janáček, too, and a hint of Baroque formality – but it also has that particularly English strain of lyricism that suggests the impermanence of beauty.
Magnard Ensemble
Suzannah Clements, flute (Tracks 16–20, 24)
Mana Shibata, oboe (Tracks 1–6, 16–20, 24)
Joseph Shiner, clarinet (Tracks 1–13, 15–20, 24)
Catriona McDermid, bassoon (Tracks 1–20, 24)
Jonathan Farey, horn (Tracks 1–2, 16–24)
Suling King, piano (Tracks 1–2, 7–15)
Olivia Jageurs, harp (Tracks 21-23)
Listen To This Recording:
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Quintet for Winds and Piano (1958)
- I Poco lento – Allegro – Poco lento: come al Principio
- II Allegro
- I Poco lento
- II Allegro ben moderato
- III Andante
- IV Vivace
- Introduction: Andante maestoso
- Theme: Poco allegro, amabile
- Var. 1: Alla Mazurka
- Var. 2
- Var. 3: Scherzando
- Var. 4
- Var. 5: Più tranquillo: semplice
- Var. 6: Allegro vivace
- Further, freer Variations
- I Ouverture
- II Pastorale
- III Menuets 1 and 2
- IV Musette
- V Rondeau
- I Andante
- II Allegro scherzando
- III Moderato
- Promenade II for Wind Quintet
Serenade for Oboe, Clarinet and Bassoon (1959)
Baermann’s Treasure for Clarinet and Piano: Introduction and Six Variations on a theme by Weber (1986)
Baermann – The Sequel (1995)
Suite for Wind Quintet (1965)
Duo for Horn and Harp (2004)
Promenade II for Wind Quintet (1988)
FIRST RECORDINGS
MusicWeb International :
‘Excellent playing and another varied program serve to show what a vastly underrepresented composer Dodgson was. […]
There is much to enjoy in the second volume of Dodgson’s wind chamber music, pieces composed between 1958 and 2004.[…]
The Magnard Ensemble has recorded another excellent disc. It highlights the skill and expertise of Stephen Dodgson the composer. This series of chamber music discs from Toccata Classics has been quite a treat. […] The variety of music on this disc, with its complex and varied combinations, has shown the Magnard Ensemble at their very best. This applies equally to the harpist Olivia Jageurs. They are once again aided by the beautifully engineered sound of the Menuhin Hall, warm and welcoming. There also are the informative and detailed booklet notes that introduce this music very well indeed. A wonderful and highly recommendable disc.’
—Stuart Sillitoe, MusicWeb International