Singing Stone | Music of Christopher Sainsbury
A CD from the guitarist Ken Murray
With Joel Brennan (trumpet), Don Immel (trombone), Merinda Dias-Jayasinha (soprano), Laila Engle (alto flute)
One of Australia’s all time great guitarists, Ken Murray, does an important service in promoting the music of Christopher Sainsbury in this CD of music that spans Sainsbury’s output from 2000 to 2021. Murray is a renowned soloist, chamber musician, teacher and academic and he brings to the fore all these accomplishments in his collaboration with the composer and his fellow musicians.
Many listeners will find the music on this CD most approachable and it should be a hit in the ‘drive time’ slots on radio stations all across Australia. The repetitive innocence of the guitar solo Simple Truths is masterfully interpreted by Murray as are the other solo works North Country Sketches and Labyrinth.
One of the longest works/movements, My Eye Has Seen My Desire, with Laila Engle on alto flute, allows Sainsbury to develop his material more extensively than the majority of short movements that make up this album. Delightful and evocative playing from both Engle and Murray. The other longish work is Pacifica and here Murray teams up with his Melbourne Conservatorium colleague, trumpeter Joel Brennan. Brennan seems so at home in this work as he matches the tonal variety of Murray with hushed moody tones, beautiful muted phrases, languid here, heroic there. Two great performers at the top of their game.
The 5 movements of North Country Sketches are more like musical aphorisms than fully developed compositions and here Murray brings to the fore his skills as a colourist. In compositional approach Brackish Songs and North Country Sketches complement each other as they take one idea and display it with clarity. Soprano Merinda Dias-Jayasinha is a fine protagonist in this work.
In the 5 movments of Singing Stone the performers are in fact the trio Ensemble Three, a group who have been great ambassadors for new music from across the globe for the last decade or so. Murray and Brennan are joined by trombonist Don Immel and their knowledge of each other’s playing brings additional layers of meaning and interpretation to this work. Although there are disparate sections there is a continuing thread of material throughout this work. Lush tone from Immel and wonderful little licks from all make this work worthy of repeated hearings.
This is an important addition to the recorded music of guitar and new works for chamber music with high production values and the CD itself is well presented. Congratulations to ABC Classic for this CD and it is also available through streaming services.
This music is available through ABC classic ABC L0086D >>
Track List
CHRISTOPHER SAINSBURY
1 My Eye Has Seen My Desire
Laila Engle alto flute
2 North Country Sketches
Kakadu Oenpelli Dry Mango Tango The ‘T-O’ (The Traditional Owner)
7 Simple Truths
8 Brackish Songs
Bulbararing Koel Moon in the Seagrass Storm Whale Two Tides Emerson in Avoca 43 Degrees Yari-yarara Green Boulders Firefly
Merinda Dias-Jayasinha soprano
19 Labyrinth
20 Singing Stone First Stuff Allegro moderato and Habanera Waltz Dance of Dialects Last Stuff
Joel Brennan trumpet, Don Immel trombone
25 Pacifica
Joel Brennan trumpet
