John McLeod: Moments in Time Red Note Ensemble

• John McLeod (1934):
• 1 The Song of Icarus 09:22
• 2 The Song of Dionysius 11:58
• 3 A Moment in Time: I. Metamorphosis 08:57
• 4 A Moment in Time: II. Threnody 03:51
• 5 The Song of Phryne 11:16
• 6 The Song of Leda 13:46
• Total Runtime 59:10

Info for John McLeod: Moments in Time

Increasingly acclaimed at home and abroad, Aberdeen-born John McLeod’s music bears all the hallmarks of exuberant colour and precisely imagined fantasy that his early associations with Lennox Berkeley and Witold Lutosławski would lead one to expect. Recorded during the composer’s eightieth birthday year and released to mark Red Note Ensemble’s new recording partnership with Delphian, this landmark collection brings together McLeod’s four mythological ‘songs’ – powerful dramatic scenes in which instruments are elevated to voice-like expression – and a further work which crystallises the theme of a single moment with a long expressive ‘shadow’. The extraordinary chamber musicians gathered here, two of them Delphian solo artists of long standing, display unequalled virtuosity and passion on a disc which is sure to confirm Red Note as among the UK’s premier contemporary music ensembles.

„This music, in turn dramatic, serene and — in The Song of Phryne — thoroughly erotic, is brilliantly performed“ (Sunday Times)

„Combative and assured playing by the Scottish contemporary music band Red Note Ensemble“ (Gramophone)

„Here we have five bold and bright chamber pieces, chiefly inspired by mythologies from the ancient world … the members of Red Note Ensemble, superb Scottish specialists in the contemporary, deliver every piece with precision and relish“ (BBC Music Magazine)

Red Note Ensemble

Red Note Ensemble
is a Scottish-based professional music ensemble, dedicated to developing and performing contemporary music to the highest standards, and taking the music out to audiences around and beyond Scotland.

We were founded in 2008 by Scottish cellist Robert Irvine, and we are directed by John Harris (Chief Executive) and Robert Irvine (Artistic Director).

We perform the established classics of contemporary music; we commission new music; we develop the work of new and emerging composers from around the world; and we work hard in new spaces to find new audiences. Our performing ensemble is drawn from the deep talent pool of Scottish new music expertise, and we count amongst our players some of the very finest performers working in the UK today.

Red Note made its debut in May 2008 with a recording of Eddie McGuire’s Carrochan suite for Delphian records, and since then ensemble has rapidly gained profile and support.

We aim to tour Scotland twice each year, in the Spring and Autumn, and we run a regular new music series showcasing the work of new composers (Noisy Nights and What Happened) bi-monthly in Edinburgh and Glasgow. We also work to develop the work of new composers, particularly at Glasgow University and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

We are delighted to have been appointed Contemporary Ensemble-in-Residence at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow in 2009 for a three-year period, and Associate Company of the Traverse Theatre from January 2010.

This album contains no booklet.