Deirdre GRIBBIN (b. 1967)
Venus Blazing (2002)a [31:16]
Unity of Being (2001) [10:55]
Empire States (2003) [13:10]
Bradley Creswick (violin)a
RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra/Gavin Maloney
rec. National Concert Hall, Dublin, 12-13 May 2008 and 24-25 November 2008
RTÉ LYRIC FM CD 125 [55:22]
Deirdre Gribbin’s music is still too little known and recorded. This
disc is most welcome in providing a survey of her present output. Incidentally,
some of her chamber music was - and may still be available - on Black Box
BBM1015, a disc worth seeking out.
By far the most substantial work here is her violin concerto Venus Blazing.
It is in three large movements of which the first Aphrodite Terra,
though conceived on a fairly traditional large-scale arch-form, is formally
quite original and unusual. The soloist’s part unfolds almost independently
over a seamless orchestral background of varying density and intensity, the
music building to an impressive climax before dying away quietly. The second
movement Ishtar is the meditative and almost static heart of the work
with a long lyrical line played over a sparse accompaniment. Textures, however,
briefly thicken in a short central section of ritualistic character. The final
movement Bonon: Flying Bird is a brilliant and extrovert piece
of music in which the music moves along at great speed and with much exuberance.
Contrast is again provided by slower and calmer episodes. The movement - and
the work - ends with an appeased coda touching in its utter simplicity. In
her liner-notes the composer mentions that she wanted to add some theatrical
character to the performance of the work. She does so by having the soloist
moving around the orchestra during the performance, something that Thea Musgrave
also did in some of her concertos. On top of that, theatricality has also
been brought one step further by having the composer - or presumably someone
else - “clad in other-worldly costume, tousled wig and long red nails”
with full theatrical lighting. I have never been able to attend a staged performance
of Venus Blazing but I very often wonder whether this sort of
things really brings something more to the music which is and remains the
most important aspect of the work. From this point of view I must say that
the work succeeds completely and stands on its own without any extra-musical
device. Bradley Creswick’s immaculate playing of the taxing and almost
uninterrupted solo part is impressive indeed both in terms of technical assurance
and sheer musicality. Venus Blazing is one of the finest recent
violin concertos that I have heard over the last few years. It’s quite
beautiful and a great piece that clearly deserves wider exposure.
Unity of Being opens forcefully with brass fanfares and pounding
drums. There follows a calmer but no less active slower section soon gaining
again in intensity recalling the opening material. There is much interplay
between various blocks of sound thus providing plenty of contrast. This leads
to a drum and timpani cadenza introducing an almost static section that brings
the work to its conclusion.
The opening of Empire States suggests “the cacophony and
mayhem of the busy city [New York]” as the composer has it. Again there
is much contrast in the music alternating brash, raucous and more capricious
episodes painting some not always pleasant urban landscape - a siren may even
be briefly heard. The music here may sometimes bring that of some American
composers to mind such as, say, Christopher Rouse, Tobias Picker or John Corigliano.
As in the other works it is superbly crafted and displays a remarkable orchestral
flair.
These performances and recording are excellent and up to the high standards
that one has come to expect from RTÉ lyric fm. A most welcome introduction.
Allow me however to express my habitual complaint about the all-too-short
playing time that would have allowed for the inclusion of another of Gribbin’s
orchestral scores. This, however, should not deter anyone from investigating
this release. It has much fine and often beautiful music to offer.
Hubert Culot