Malcolm Dedman: Piano Music, Volume One
A number of diverse influences have helped shape the musical language of Malcolm Dedman (born in London in 1948 but resident in provincial South Africa since 2007), among them Bartók and Messiaen, his Bahá’í Faith and, more recently, his new South African homeland. Points of contact with other composers can be heard, too, not least Debussy, Ravel, Barber and Ginastera. These piano works embody a wide range of moods, from gentle introspection to energetic, dissonant vigour.
Nancy Lee Harper, piano
Listen To This Recording:
- Reformation (2009)
- I Vigoroso
- II Lamentoso
- III Spiritoso
- I Love of Man for Man – Unity of Spirits
- II Love of Man for God – Divine Spirit
- III Love of God for Man – Inexhaustible Graces
- IV Love of God towards the Self – God is Love
- I Struggle: Andante
- II Overcoming Difficulties: Andantino, alla Scherzando
- III Spiritual Guidance: Lento e Passionato
- IV Fulfilment – Into the Light: Allegro – Lento
Piano Sonata No. 2, ‘In Search’ (1984)
Four Kinds of Love (2008)
Piano Sonata No. 3, ‘To the Memory of an Angel’ (2021)
FIRST RECORDINGS
South African Music Studies :
‘Malcolm Dedman’s (1948-) contributions to solo piano literature are well-captured and presented in this album spanning four decades of his creative output. This collection of tone poems and sonatas provides a unique view into the evolution of his stylistic approaches and perspectives throughout his middle period and into his late style. In the process, his compositional language is revealed as a collection of remarkable consistencies on the one hand and clear, sometimes highly contrasting, developments on the other.’
—Antoni Schonken, South African Music Studies, Volume 43_44, Issue 1, June 01 2024