The Samuel Coleridge-Taylor works recorded here date from his late teenage years when the composer was a student of Charles Villiers Stanford at the Royal College of Music. Stanford is said to have challenged his charges to write a clarinet quintet that did not follow the pattern laid down by that of Brahms and to have responded to Coleridge-Taylor's effort by saying, "My boy, I think you've done it!" It might have been nice to have a recording of that rather rare work, but the chamber pieces here are likewise attractive. ...
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The Samuel Coleridge-Taylor works recorded here date from his late teenage years when the composer was a student of Charles Villiers Stanford at the Royal College of Music. Stanford is said to have challenged his charges to write a clarinet quintet that did not follow the pattern laid down by that of Brahms and to have responded to Coleridge-Taylor's effort by saying, "My boy, I think you've done it!" It might have been nice to have a recording of that rather rare work, but the chamber pieces here are likewise attractive. They do follow the examples of Brahms and especially Dvorįk, in whom Coleridge-Taylor saw an example for his own future attempts to create an African-inspired idiom. The most exuberantly youthful work is the Piano Quintet, Op. 1, with its heated intensity and crowning final fugue, all captured nicely by the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective and its leaders, violinist Elena Urioste and pianist Tom Poster. Perhaps the most successful of the three works is the Nonet, Op. 2, despite its...
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