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Well performed

The Sunday Times, Paul Driver


 

THIS DISC from an enterprising new label surveys Birtwistle’s wind and solo piano music, from Refrains and Choruses for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon (1957) – his opus one – to Five Distances (1992) for the same combination, and reveals how great and how little is the distance he has come. Refrains, with its savoured dissonances, north-country assertiveness, and chunky ritual structure, is already pure Birtwistle though a tyro piece. Five Distances calls on a far more cosmopolitan technique, but makes clear that this is not a composer given to stylistic revolutions. The attractive (flute) Duets for Storab, suave Verses for clarinet and piano, and ingenious An Interrupted Endless Melody for oboe and piano are among the 12 mostly rare items, all of them well performed.

 

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Incisive, confident and well-tuned

BBC Music Magazine, Anthony Burton

Crisp articulation

Stephen Francis Vasta, MusicWeb International

Excellent playing, well-balanced and full of character

Gramophone, Geoffrey Norris

Played with verve

The Northern Echo

The glittering talent that is the Galliard Ensemble

What’s on in London, Duncan Hadfield

Superbly played

Andrew Farach-Colton, Gramophone

Galliard Ensemble Ref 17 Please Credit Stan Papior Smed
Sheer wit and panache

Rian Evans, The Guardian

Performed with assurance and flair

BBC Music Magazine, Anthony Burton

These will become reference performances

O Publico, Teresa Cascudo

They have technique, style and high spirits in spades

Time Out, Martin Hoyle

Immaculate performances … a pure delight … unreservedly recommended

MusicWeb International, Hubert Culot

Pure pleasure

Gramophone

Demands that were easily met

The Times

A young ensemble of considerable merit

Gramophone, Arnold Whittall

Superb sound

Richard Whitehouse

Excellently played

BBC Music Magazine, Nicholas Williams

One of the highlights

Paul Conway, The Independent

Stunning music and extraordinary playing

 

The Observer, Edward Bhesania

The performances are simply breath-taking

Gramophone, Andrew Achenbach

Endlessly fascinating

The Guardian, Andrew Clements

Excellent ensemble playing and vivid recording.

Classical Music on the Web UK, Peter Grahame Woolf

Galliard Ensemble
Like angels sent from heaven

Paul Patterson

Beautiful, delicate and fluent playing

Aberdeen Press and Journal, Alan Cooper

A highly talented wind quintet

West Somerset Free Press, Trevor L Sharpe

Galliard Ensemble
Immaculately prepared

Seen & Heard, Peter Graham Woolf

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08/02/2025