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Metier

A Pocket Full of Tunes

$18.99

Details

Composer
David Hackbridge Johnson
Artist
Peter Sheppard Skaerved
Format
CD
Label
Metier
Released
Jul 24, 2026
Catalog #
MEX77148
UPC
809730714825

About

July 2026, Metier presents David Hackbridge-Johnson's A Pocketful of Tunes, a collection of fascinating works for solo violin and viola written for and performed by internationally acclaimed violinist Peter Sheppard Skaerved, resulting from their friendship and hugely creative collaborations. All the works are inspired by, written for and recorded on great historic instruments, bringing the past vividly alive. There are joyful dances and elegant suites evoking dance movements of the Baroque and Roccoco eras alongside works responding to modern life, a showcase of David Hackbridge-Johnson's wide range of techniques. Hackbridge-Johnson started attending Peter Sheppard Skaerved's London Church Concerts in 2019 and the two soon formed a friendship around shared passions of literature, history, and railways. Many pieces emerged from these concerts which stem from Peter's deep interest in violin composers, their lives and instruments and the buildings they played in. There are three works for solo viola, all recorded on the oldest known English viola, the extraordinary Rayman 1641: the sonic commentary on abandoned railways Three Disused Stations, the dance based Seven Versets and Three Preludes. All of these showcase the instrument's glorious dark woody tone. The Rayman was made in Southwark in 1641 at the time the 'south bank' became London's entertainment hub. Peter felt that "this instrument is a direct link, a portal even, to London's greatest theatrical age, to the thunderous musicks of Shakespeare, Webster, and even... Marlowe.." Six Preludes for Charles II were inspired by a London violin, the Charles II '1664', after hearing Peter play it at St Margaret Lothbury, the medieval church rebuilt by Wren after the fire of London. The 'Six Preludes' balances these various pasts and the present, forming a suite that could have been written by a composer of that time. On this recording the Preludes are played on a 1629 Girolamo Amati violin, as are all the works for violin on the album. Inspired by Peter sharing a comic story of 18th century violinist Will Rosin, who like Peter resided in Wapping, David wrote the Will Rosin of Wapping suite, with extracts from the Tatler Volume 1709 story read by David in between each movement. Some works were written in the span of less than 24 hours, including Alleyway, Pastoral, River Falls. On a visit to Wisconsin Peter shared a photo with David in the morning to which David spontaneously responded with a new work that Peter performed that night in a concert! Divisions on Mr Simons' Prelude was inspired by hearing the exquisitely melancholy F minor Prelude (1700) by the mysterious 'Mr Simons' at one of Peter's City Church concerts in 2021, after emerging from 18 months of lockdown. David felt "That beautiful F minor thread reaches out to us over the centuries" and he used the prelude as the basis for a set of variations. Playing for dancing was always a key function of the violin and was driven by developments in the ballroom, country-dance and hop. A Pocket Full of Tunes was inspired by a French dancing-master's piccolo violin, played here on a 'full-size' Amati. Violinist Peter Sheppard Skaerved is acclaimed internationally for performances and recordings of a vast range of solo repertoire from the late 16th century to hundreds of works written for him by major composers to the many young composers with whom he collaborates worldwide. David Hackbridge-Johnson is a multi-instrumentalist, conductor, recitalist and writer as well as composer. Among his 600 or so compositions are eighteen symphonies, over a dozen tone-poems and concertos, and hundreds of songs and chamber pieces. His most recent commissions have been operatic including Blaze of Glory!, written for the 75th anniversary of Welsh National Opera.

Tracklist 36 tracks

  1. 1 No. 1. Beeches Halt 03:38
    Track
    1
    Title
    No. 1. Beeches Halt
    Duration
    03:38
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  2. 2 No. 2. Brill 03:40
    Track
    2
    Title
    No. 2. Brill
    Duration
    03:40
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  3. 3 No. 3. Evercreech Junction 03:34
    Track
    3
    Title
    No. 3. Evercreech Junction
    Duration
    03:34
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  4. 4 No. 1. Flessible 01:13
    Track
    4
    Title
    No. 1. Flessible
    Duration
    01:13
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  5. 5 No. 2. Allegro 01:51
    Track
    5
    Title
    No. 2. Allegro
    Duration
    01:51
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  6. 6 No. 3. Andante 02:13
    Track
    6
    Title
    No. 3. Andante
    Duration
    02:13
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  7. 7 No. 4. Allegramente 01:26
    Track
    7
    Title
    No. 4. Allegramente
    Duration
    01:26
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  8. 8 No. 5. Lento 02:27
    Track
    8
    Title
    No. 5. Lento
    Duration
    02:27
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  9. 9 No. 6. Vivace 02:01
    Track
    9
    Title
    No. 6. Vivace
    Duration
    02:01
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  10. 10 Divisions on Mr Simons' Prelude, Op. 408 06:33
    Track
    10
    Title
    Divisions on Mr Simons' Prelude, Op. 408
    Duration
    06:33
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  11. 11 I. Tooting Hey 00:55
    Track
    11
    Title
    I. Tooting Hey
    Duration
    00:55
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  12. 12 II. The Graveney Gyp 01:55
    Track
    12
    Title
    II. The Graveney Gyp
    Duration
    01:55
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  13. 13 III. Upper Fool's Stomp 01:01
    Track
    13
    Title
    III. Upper Fool's Stomp
    Duration
    01:01
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  14. 14 IV. Amen Corner 01:15
    Track
    14
    Title
    IV. Amen Corner
    Duration
    01:15
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  15. 15 V. The Antelope 01:18
    Track
    15
    Title
    V. The Antelope
    Duration
    01:18
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  16. 16 VI. Tooting Hobby Horse 01:46
    Track
    16
    Title
    VI. Tooting Hobby Horse
    Duration
    01:46
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  17. 17 No. 1. Moderato 01:52
    Track
    17
    Title
    No. 1. Moderato
    Duration
    01:52
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  18. 18 No. 2. Allegro 01:05
    Track
    18
    Title
    No. 2. Allegro
    Duration
    01:05
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  19. 19 No. 3. Lento e rubato 01:20
    Track
    19
    Title
    No. 3. Lento e rubato
    Duration
    01:20
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  20. 20 No. 4. Allegretto - alla danza 01:22
    Track
    20
    Title
    No. 4. Allegretto - alla danza
    Duration
    01:22
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  21. 21 No. 5. Charles Péguy - Chemin de Croix - Lento 01:47
    Track
    21
    Title
    No. 5. Charles Péguy - Chemin de Croix - Lento
    Duration
    01:47
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  22. 22 No. 6. Tempo di valse - malizioso 01:24
    Track
    22
    Title
    No. 6. Tempo di valse - malizioso
    Duration
    01:24
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  23. 23 No. 7. Moderato 02:09
    Track
    23
    Title
    No. 7. Moderato
    Duration
    02:09
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  24. 24 Alleyway, Pastoral, River Falls, Op. 439 03:15
    Track
    24
    Title
    Alleyway, Pastoral, River Falls, Op. 439
    Duration
    03:15
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  25. 25 No. 1. Moderato flessibile 03:11
    Track
    25
    Title
    No. 1. Moderato flessibile
    Duration
    03:11
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  26. 26 No. 2. Allegretto 01:15
    Track
    26
    Title
    No. 2. Allegretto
    Duration
    01:15
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  27. 27 No. 3. Poco lento 03:31
    Track
    27
    Title
    No. 3. Poco lento
    Duration
    03:31
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    Peter Sheppard Skærved
  28. 28 I. This degenerate age… 02:08
    Track
    28
    Title
    I. This degenerate age…
    Duration
    02:08
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    David Hackbridge Johnson, Peter Sheppard Skærved
  29. 29 II. For she is a woman… 02:38
    Track
    29
    Title
    II. For she is a woman…
    Duration
    02:38
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    David Hackbridge Johnson, Peter Sheppard Skærved
  30. 30 III. For her gallant, Mr Ezekial Boniface… 01:25
    Track
    30
    Title
    III. For her gallant, Mr Ezekial Boniface…
    Duration
    01:25
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    David Hackbridge Johnson, Peter Sheppard Skærved
  31. 31 IV. Far gone in that distemper… 02:34
    Track
    31
    Title
    IV. Far gone in that distemper…
    Duration
    02:34
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    David Hackbridge Johnson, Peter Sheppard Skærved
  32. 32 V. The occasion of her melancholy… 02:47
    Track
    32
    Title
    V. The occasion of her melancholy…
    Duration
    02:47
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    David Hackbridge Johnson, Peter Sheppard Skærved
  33. 33 VI. A perjured wretch… 00:49
    Track
    33
    Title
    VI. A perjured wretch…
    Duration
    00:49
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    David Hackbridge Johnson, Peter Sheppard Skærved
  34. 34 VII. Laughed at all over Wapping… 01:09
    Track
    34
    Title
    VII. Laughed at all over Wapping…
    Duration
    01:09
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    David Hackbridge Johnson, Peter Sheppard Skærved
  35. 35 VIII. Here is a man of tranquillity… 01:20
    Track
    35
    Title
    VIII. Here is a man of tranquillity…
    Duration
    01:20
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    David Hackbridge Johnson, Peter Sheppard Skærved
  36. 36 IX. Who would believe… 02:49
    Track
    36
    Title
    IX. Who would believe…
    Duration
    02:49
    Composer
    David Hackbridge Johnson
    Performer
    David Hackbridge Johnson, Peter Sheppard Skærved