I thought we were
going to have ‘I was born under
a wandering star’ with the opening
low tones of Psalm 124. This
is one of Davies’s earlier pieces
referring to mediaeval and renaissance
sources for some of the musical
material. The slow unfolding of
relatively straightforward intervals,
transparent instrumentation including
solo guitar recitatives, and low
marimba, cello and bass clarinet
sonorities gives the work a timeless,
remote sort of feel. Gentle variations
with flute and glockenspiel over
the top add colour and sparkle in
the opening, but the central bass
clarinet solo sounds a little flat
to me – not so much out of tune
as giving little in the way of phrasing
and tonal interest. Rather than
fading, the piece rises to a sort
of climax – one of those ambiguous
ones to which you could effectively
add a recapitulating coda, but the
piece just stops.
Dove, Star-Folded
is a string trio, and was written
as a memorial for Sir Steven Runciman.
This time the music has its origins
in a Greek Byzantine hymn, referring
to Sir Steven’s researches into
Byzantine history. This is not an
element which is immediately apparent,
and Christopher Mark’s booklet notes
indicate that the piece has been
compared with the atmosphere to
be found in late Beethoven Quartets,
Op.132 for instance. Longer periods
of introverted repose and some unexpected
angular contrasts might give that
idea, but I’m afraid the piece rumbled
along without making much of an
impression on me – probably because
I’ve been listening to too much
Shostakovich. The last minutes from
6:50 do however have their own serene
beauty.
By way of contrast,
Economies of Scale opens
with an explosion of notes. The
most recent piece in this programme;
there are echoes of Messiaen in
some of the piano writing, the birdlike
phrases and the almost inevitable
association with sonorities such
as flautando violin and clarinet.
The music has a fascinating narrative,
almost programmatic content to my
ears, seeming to pass through related
events rather than flow in a way
in which memory connects shapes
to create structure over time. The
intensity of the opening is counterbalanced
by the serenity of the conclusion,
creating a short story which you
immediately want to read again.
At nearly half
an hour, Ave Maris Stella is
by a long way the most substantial
work on this disc. Written for the
ensemble The Fires of London, the
virtuosic nature of the music reflects
the avant-garde credentials of this
legendary group, which was on a
par with the London Sinfonietta.
Their composer-directed recording
on Unicorn-Kanchana is still available,
and is still something of a must-have
if you are interested in British
contemporary music of the flared
jeans and long hair period. There
is a description in the booklet
notes of the magic square matrix
used in formulating the material
for this piece, but it suffices
to say that this is more of a springboard
from which compositional processes
can begin, rather than a strict
serial technique à la Webern.
While the plainchant from which
the title derives appears to be
and is part of the fabric of the
piece, there is a greater sense
of atonality in much of this music,
making for something more of a sustained
intellectual challenge for the listener.
With a little extra concentration,
and attention to the atmosphere
and instrumental colours in the
writing you should in fact discover
that there are fewer problems than
you might imagine. Each section
is well enough defined, with contrasts
between, for instance, an extended
marimba solo, and a subsequent movement
in which a rich interaction between
the other instruments gathers seemingly
disparate arguments into the more
lyrical and expressive solos of
the next. The ticking marimba in
the exquisite final movement may
or may not be a nod in the direction
of colleague and clock fan Harrison
Birtwistle, with whom Davies founded
the Pierrot Players, predecessors
of The Fires of London.
Gemini has performed
and recorded extensively since its
formation in 1974, working in music
education as ensemble-in-residence
at a number of institutes, and winning
prizes and awards along the way.
Like the builder’s broom, the various
bits have changed over the years,
but they make a fine noise: playing
with great panache on this disc,
and with a clear affinity with the
composer’s craftsman-like idiom.
The studio recording, while a little
on the dry side, is also very good.
Dominy Clements
see also
review
by Gary Higginson
Gemini/Ian Mitchell 
