Gemini & Ian Mitchell
Biographie Gemini & Ian Mitchell
Gemini
is one of the leading British chamber ensembles and has supported many contemporary composers over the years. Their association with Philip Grange goes back to the mid 1990s. Philip Grange’s earliest published compositions date from the late 1970s, and include Cimmerian Nocturne, written for Peter Maxwell Davies’ Fires of London – and inspired by Grange’s studies with Max. His compositions have been performed around the world to great acclaim and many have been recorded. The most recent work here is Shifting Thresholds completed in 2016 on a Gemini commission to celebrate the composer’s 60th birthday. This work incorporates techniques new to Grange’s work and is potentially a classic in the making. Apart from Homage to Chagall, all works on this album are receiving their first recording. Each work pays homage in name but also by absorbing elements of each artist’s work – composer John Casken, painter Marc Chagall, and writers Edward Thomas and Samuel Beckett. Gemini was formed in 1973 and presents a richly varied repertoire from standard works from the 18th through 20th centuries, contemporary music, and theatre music. The ensemble has a busy educational aspect to its work carrying out workshops and concerts for communities and schools including music from the 11th century to the modern day. It has won several prizes including an Arts Council Incentive Award. The ensemble was also an instigator of the Hidden Sounds festival in London, which evolved into the influential ‘Women in Music’ organization.
