r The three solo recorder works on this disc by
Ian Shanahan stand in effective relief to the larger,
rn /lflll1 l'I/ SII t'I'
of both voi cs a re los t to the e th 't". R,) Iht'r Ivl II . '
sa y tha t th e we ll -tra ined and p ass iol1 ;ill' ly co mmit-
ted C()UI1t\.'r-ll'nor, such as Gra hClm l' lI .' hl'l' , I.'
ce rta inl y Ihe bes l op tion for u s tod ;)y - unk ss ,Wl'
on c' agCl in ci)11 ror the kriife!
I wOli ld d eiHly w ish \0
recomn1l' nd Ihi .' 'I )
w hok-hecHll'd ly b ut sad ty ther' a lT Iw ll t'!' ( ' I)s in
th e \ )I ;d og II L' ,) nd thi s record1l1 g dol'S Iwl s h() w
C r;)ha m I'li s hee's vo ice ~ tru e adV"" t.l l~I " WI' , Il w
li s ten in g pub lic w ho ha J e heard hiln li vt', kn()w
thi s to be Irli l' , One trus ts tha t th e ABC w ill t. lkt'
more lillll' ll vn n_'co rdinps,in th e rlllu J'( ' I() do
ju s li cL' 10 perrorm ers a nd hstencrs ;) ll kl' ,
I in a 17th-century setting. Slow trill fi gures and
J)(/( Iiti V. /\ I1 ,~,~ d/ is a f ree- Iall '(' ('0 11 II I I'/' 11'lIul' 111//(1
/IiI ,"; 7I1or/(('( / 711i/l1 Tile Australiall O /WI'II , nit , SOli.\:
COIII /!IIUl/lI lId (loriolls choral gro /l/ ! ,~ II ,'; ,. ; u/oisl
/l1 n> IIS//()/il !\II :o; lmlia. JHe mosl l'I'cC IIIlII tilrt'('/I 'ti
IIlIrI :O;IIIIS, III /III' o/'ell ing concerl ()j ll /(' Md /I() I1I'11I '
/1I1 ('/'IIlIliolllll ri':o; liual pfOrgnll 11I 1I11/IIIF' /( 'i1on /,
I trad itional lines is the three-part Phoenix Songs for
Pho enix ~ongs
C l' ll l'vic \'C La~ey - I ho('ni x S O il )',.'
MOVL digita l' MD 3 1b:)
Ce lw\'i '\'e Lacey (re onkr.' ), I\obl'r l
' hambc rlain (piano), Ann Ml "T h y
(h " rp s ichord) ) Davi d 'orlw l (Iiv!'
cic tro ni es), Hartl ey Nl'wn hdlll (v()ice)
/<I'Vil'7l'l'd li.'l Slfphen l~o l)i ll."' () 11
Mos t mu s icia ns e mbarking on th e OVl'r.' l';IS pMI or
th e ir eil r 'c rs sCl'k to I1Lark th e 0 i s ion w ilh"
fil rewe ll r 'ci ta I ,) nd a ferv farewe ll P" rt il's, Tr ue lo
he r d is pos iti on il S one who i n 'vcr con tc nt w ith
th e ord inary, Cl'ncv ieve; Lacey has produ ced a ' D
o f Au s tr,lii a n reco rder works both ,l S a sy mbo l of
he r pa s t a hi l'vemcnts and a a poin l!'r lo hc r
future d ire li o ns, In doing so s he ha s don e us a ll a
se rvi ce, 1 swirling flight of tiny bats, while the midd le
T hi s CD is a ll'st,1I11ent to th e s tren g lh of
compos iti ona l a nd performing la len t th at we have
19. 1995
L was a wonderful revelation.
Genevieve Lacey
in Aus tra lia, as well as to the support that this
ta lent is g iven by local recording comp,lIlies such
as Move Records. It also serves to s tre ngthen the
argu ment that Australia is taking a firm p lace
a mon gs t those at the forefront of d e ve lop ments in
con te l1'pora ry music.
Brenton Broadstock's Aureole 3 (lYH4 ) for
reco rder a nd harpsichord is the idea l s tar ting
po int for those who are used to these instruments
harpsicho rd ostinato accompanime nl s har k back
to traditional vocabularies but are tran s for med
into th e dramatic tonal and emotiona l language of
o ur ow n time. Lacey and harpsicho rd is t A nne
Murphy work well to create and susL1in the
dra ma tic intensity and musical depth of the work
from the opening solo recorder introd uction to the
final uneasy resolution. A work alon g s imilar
record ers and piano by Amanda Bake r. Robert
C hamberlain's piano provides a stron g ye t
sens itive foil to the formidable range and strength
of emotion which Lacey is able to draw fro m the
five recorders required by the compose r.
Works on this disc which make u se of more
ex tend ed instrumental techniques include Neil
C urry's Stopping by Woods 011 a Snowy Evening
(1985) in which he uses contemporary techniques
s uch as tongue/finger slaps, colour fin ge rings,
multiphonics and sung tones to successfu lly evoke
the atmosphere of a cold snowy nig h t. In Pipistrelli
gialli (Yellow bats) (1985), Benjamin Tho rn writes
for the bass recorder using similar te h niques with
the addition of live electronic manipul a tion of the
sound - executed with subtlety by D avid Corbet.
The two outer movements of this w ork treat the
listener to wonderfully dynamic images o f the
movement evokes the cathedral-like gra ndeur of a
large and mysterious underground cave rn.
Australia's Journal of Recorder and Early Music, No. 19, 1995, 27
more fully scored works. Each is a superbly
crafted miniature showing an understanding and
respect for the instrument and its ability to express
many moods; from humour to serene beauty, True
to the intention of the work to reflect the "silent
language of flowers," Lingua Silens Florum (1991)
Lacey takes leave of us with Ros Bandt's Flight
(1978), As she explains in the program notes, this
piece serves to embody her hopes that the re-
corder should break free of its traditional stere-
otypes and "be redefined as a valid contemporary
instrument with a growing repertoire." If this CD
is any indication, these hopes are well on the way
to being realised,
Genevieve Lacey has presented the listener
with authoritative and moving interpretations of
an interesting mix of styles from Australia's
contemporary music scene, The performances and
technical production are first class, the program
notes interesting and informative, and the works
represented have strong musical and artistic merit
in their own idiom. This CD offers a thousand
delights to those able to listen with fresh ears
connected to open hearts.
Stephel Robinson is Principal Oboe of the State
Orchestra of Victoria and a member of the interna-
tionally acclaimed ELISION contemporary music
ensemble. He is a part-time member of staff at the
University of Melbourne and the Victorian College
of the Arts,
Harpsichord Recital
Nicholas Parle - Harpsichord Recital
IS. Bach, Rameau, Scarlatti, W.P. Bach
Tall Poppies TP057
Recorded March 1994, St. Scholastica's
Convent, Glebe, Sydney
Harpsichord by William Bright, Barrabra
NSW, 1979 after Dulcken (c. 1740)
Playing time 68' 22"
Reviewed by David Collyer
The recording quality of this CD is excellent, with
a delightfully subtle reverberation added by the
chapel interior, The harpsichord, a two-manual
instrument with one 4' and two 8' stops, has an
wonderfully rich treble register and a clear but
somewhat metallic bass. No information is given