This 2014 Naxos CD may seem a little familiar to collectors of Peter Maxwell Davies' recordings because it is a reissue of material that first appeared on Collins Classics in the early 1990s. Adding to the retrospective feeling of the disc is the age of the pieces. The Suites from "The Boyfriend" and "The Devils" both date from 1971, and contain music Davies composed for films by Ken Russell, and the Seven In Nomine were composed between 1963 and 1965, partly in connection with the composition of the opera Taverner, as well ...
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This 2014 Naxos CD may seem a little familiar to collectors of Peter Maxwell Davies' recordings because it is a reissue of material that first appeared on Collins Classics in the early 1990s. Adding to the retrospective feeling of the disc is the age of the pieces. The Suites from "The Boyfriend" and "The Devils" both date from 1971, and contain music Davies composed for films by Ken Russell, and the Seven In Nomine were composed between 1963 and 1965, partly in connection with the composition of the opera Taverner, as well as in tribute to fellow composers Benjamin Britten and Michael Tippett. The two piano pieces from The Yellow Cake Review that conclude the program, Yesnaby Ground and Farewell to Stromness, date from 1980 and are performed by the composer. Despite the age of the performances by Aquarius, a contemporary music ensemble formed by Nicholas Cleobury in the 1980s, who also conducts here, the sound of the recordings is quite fresh and vibrant, with a generous amount of acoustic resonance...
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