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Maxwell Davies: Suites From The Boyfriend / Maxwell Davies, Cleobury, Aquarius
Naxos

Maxwell Davies: Suites From The Boyfriend / Maxwell Davies, Cleobury, Aquarius

$19.99

Details

Composer
DAVIES, MAXWELL
Artist
Aquarius, Cleobury
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
Mar 25, 2014
Catalog #
8572408
UPC
747313240876

About



MAXWELL DAVIES The Boyfriend: Suite. 1 The Devils: Suite. 1 Seven in Nomine. 1 The Yellow Cake Revue: Excerpts 2 • 1 Nicholas Cleobury, cond; 1 Aquarius; 2 Peter Maxwell Davies (pn) • NAXOS 8.572408 (71:02)


After listening to much of Maxwell Davies’s “regular” music, the suite from The Boyfriend, written for the Ken Russell movie, certainly sounds a bit strange to say the least, being a take-off on 1920s “Jazz Age” music. The interesting thing about it is that both the music and its orchestration are not only more subtle but better both as music and scoring than a great deal of real “Jazz Age” pop, particularly the majority of Paul Whiteman’s output. It has a wonderful charm about it, and as a suite it holds together extremely well, something you might not at all expect from movie music specifically crafted to tie into a certain period. In a way, it almost sounds like a suite of early Gershwin tunes arranged by a master. Or, to put it another way, the music is “bound” organically, despite its allusions to 1920s songs, in a way that even some modern music is not properly tied together. Moreover, the chamber orchestra Aquarius is having an absolute ball with this music, playing it with a verve and a kick one might never expect from a British chamber orchestra (a dance band, yes, but a chamber orchestra, not necessarily). I was absolutely enchanted from first note to last with the Boyfriend suite, though I didn’t expect to be. Bravo!


The suite from The Devils, a score for a film based on Aldous Huxley’s The Devils of Loudon, is quite the opposite: dark, moody, often ominous-sounding music. An uncredited soprano sings very well in a portion of the Sanctus during the second piece, “Sister Jeanne’s Vision,” and here we encounter the type of “madness” music that Maxwell Davies reworked so effectively in his song cycle, Eight Songs for a Mad King (written around the same time). One certainly couldn’t imagine a sharper contrast in styles than between these two film scores—except for, believe it or not, a bit of 1920s-style music in the midst of track 10, “Exorcism.” The soprano returns, after which we inexplicably get another short bit of 1920s dance music. (Apparently, those devils of Loudon liked to do the Charleston.)


Seven in Nomine, dating from 1965, quotes the tune of John Taverner’s Gloria Tibi Trinitas in four of the seven pieces, only one of which actually bears Taverner’s title. Written for the unusual combination of a wind quintet, string quartet, and harp, it reveals yet another side of the composer, the ability to paraphrase earlier music while taking it to a new level. I found it interesting, considering that this is technically a modern work, that the solo strings of Aquarius play with straight tone. You just can’t break the British of that nasty habit. Yet the music itself is evocative, atmospheric, and very beautifully scored, with Maxwell Davies’s unusual modern harmonies creeping in such that they almost seem to have been part of the original piece, so organic do they sound. Since the music maintains a soft volume level and generally slow tempos (one notable exception being the low-volume but cheerful outburst of winds on track 16), it also generates a feeling of calm and well-being.


A similar calm, albeit more syncopated in places, emerges from his two piano solos from The Yellow Cake Revue. This was Maxwell Davies’s contribution to a campaign against mining uranium discovered on the Orkney Islands, where he lives. Both pieces here, the slightly jaunty “Yesnaby Ground” and the reflective “Farewell to Stromness,” are built around a repeating chords pattern in the left hand with undulating melodies in the right. The latter piece almost sounds like Minimalism, but is much more attractive than any American Minimalist piece I’ve yet heard.


All in all, a good if unusual album in Naxos’s Maxwell Davies collection, and one that you will probably want if you are a fan of this composer.


FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley

Tracklist 20 tracks

  1. 1 I. Honeymoon Fantasy - 02:11
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Honeymoon Fantasy -
    Duration
    02:11
    Composer
    Peter Maxwell Davies
    Ensemble
    Aquarius
    Conductor
    Nicholas Cleobury
  2. 2 II. Sur la Plage - 02:01
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Sur la Plage -
    Duration
    02:01
    Composer
    Peter Maxwell Davies
    Ensemble
    Aquarius
    Conductor
    Nicholas Cleobury
  3. 3 III. A Room in Bloomsbury 03:22
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. A Room in Bloomsbury
    Duration
    03:22
    Composer
    Peter Maxwell Davies
    Ensemble
    Aquarius
    Conductor
    Nicholas Cleobury
  4. 4 IV. I could Be Happy - 03:56
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. I could Be Happy -
    Duration
    03:56
    Composer
    Peter Maxwell Davies
    Ensemble
    Aquarius
    Conductor
    Nicholas Cleobury
  5. 5 V. The You-Don't-Want - 02:41
    Track
    5
    Title
    V. The You-Don't-Want -
    Duration
    02:41
    Composer
    Peter Maxwell Davies
    Ensemble
    Aquarius
    Conductor
    Nicholas Cleobury
  6. 6 VI. Poor Little Pierette - 03:19
    Track
    6
    Title
    VI. Poor Little Pierette -
    Duration
    03:19
    Composer
    Peter Maxwell Davies
    Ensemble
    Aquarius
    Conductor
    Nicholas Cleobury
  7. 7 VII. Polly's Dream 07:41
    Track
    7
    Title
    VII. Polly's Dream
    Duration
    07:41
    Composer
    Peter Maxwell Davies
    Ensemble
    Aquarius
    Conductor
    Nicholas Cleobury
  8. 8 I. Titles 02:12
    Track
    8
    Title
    I. Titles
    Duration
    02:12
    Composer
    Peter Maxwell Davies
    Ensemble
    Aquarius
    Conductor
    Nicholas Cleobury
  9. 9 II. Sister Jeanne's Vision 05:01
    Track
    9
    Title
    II. Sister Jeanne's Vision
    Duration
    05:01
    Composer
    Peter Maxwell Davies
    Ensemble
    Aquarius
    Conductor
    Nicholas Cleobury
  10. 10 III. Exorcism 04:36
    Track
    10
    Title
    III. Exorcism
    Duration
    04:36
    Composer
    Peter Maxwell Davies
    Ensemble
    Aquarius
    Conductor
    Nicholas Cleobury
  11. 11 IV. Execution and End Music 08:34
    Track
    11
    Title
    IV. Execution and End Music
    Duration
    08:34
    Composer
    Peter Maxwell Davies
    Ensemble
    Aquarius
    Conductor
    Nicholas Cleobury
  12. 12 I. Taverner: In nomine 02:13
    Track
    12
    Title
    I. Taverner: In nomine
    Duration
    02:13
    Composer
    Peter Maxwell Davies
    Ensemble
    Aquarius
    Conductor
    Nicholas Cleobury
  13. 13 II. In nomine (for Benjamin Britten's 50th birthday) 05:10
    Track
    13
    Title
    II. In nomine (for Benjamin Britten's 50th birthday)
    Duration
    05:10
    Composer
    Peter Maxwell Davies
    Ensemble
    Aquarius
    Conductor
    Nicholas Cleobury
  14. 14 III. In nomine (for Michael Tippett's 60th birthday) 01:14
    Track
    14
    Title
    III. In nomine (for Michael Tippett's 60th birthday)
    Duration
    01:14
    Composer
    Peter Maxwell Davies
    Ensemble
    Aquarius
    Conductor
    Nicholas Cleobury
  15. 15 IV. Bull: In nomine 02:57
    Track
    15
    Title
    IV. Bull: In nomine
    Duration
    02:57
    Composer
    Peter Maxwell Davies
    Ensemble
    Aquarius
    Conductor
    Nicholas Cleobury
  16. 16 V. In nomine (Canon in 6 parts) 01:13
    Track
    16
    Title
    V. In nomine (Canon in 6 parts)
    Duration
    01:13
    Composer
    Peter Maxwell Davies
    Ensemble
    Aquarius
    Conductor
    Nicholas Cleobury
  17. 17 VI. Blitheman: Gloria tibi trinitas 01:57
    Track
    17
    Title
    VI. Blitheman: Gloria tibi trinitas
    Duration
    01:57
    Composer
    Peter Maxwell Davies
    Ensemble
    Aquarius
    Conductor
    Nicholas Cleobury
  18. 18 VII. In nomine 02:34
    Track
    18
    Title
    VII. In nomine
    Duration
    02:34
    Composer
    Peter Maxwell Davies
    Ensemble
    Aquarius
    Conductor
    Nicholas Cleobury
  19. 19 Yesnaby Ground 02:27
    Track
    19
    Title
    Yesnaby Ground
    Duration
    02:27
    Composer
    Peter Maxwell Davies
    Performer
    Peter Maxwell Davies
  20. 20 Farewell to Stromness 05:41
    Track
    20
    Title
    Farewell to Stromness
    Duration
    05:41
    Composer
    Peter Maxwell Davies
    Performer
    Peter Maxwell Davies