Brilliant, full of passion with breath to take you in many directions

"Even a very small song can illuminate a lot of darkness."
Francis of Assisi

Bass Recorder - Emily Baines
Piano - Jelena Makarova

Recorded by John Croft (Chiaro Audio) at Plumcroft School (August 2022)

This piece, written in 2020 by Lithuanian composer Diana Čemerytė appears in versions for recorder and accordion and recorder and piano. This is the premiere recording of the version for recorder and piano and we are deeply grateful to the Lithuanian Council for Culture for their support for this project.

Čemerytė (2020) - Saulės Giesmė (Chant to the Sun)

Drawing inspiration from the poem 'Arise!' by paul summers, which was written for the Durham Miners' Gala that year, the string quartet is a work in which I tried to connect to the pit communities of the North-East and to whom I dedicated the work. 

I - The movement features only the quartet and slowly dances around material which feels vaguely familiar

II - for Orgreave - This movement is a sort of requiem to the pit communities devastated by the loss of mining, and the violence that was wrought on miners and their familiar during the 1984/85 strike. Hence the particular mention of Orgreave. The movement starts with a reharmonisation of the Miners' hymn, 'Gresford', but slowly disintergrates. The names of pits are heard and disappear too. 

III - Arise! - The finale starts with the opening material from the first movement, but this time with a song setting of paul summers' poem 'Arise!'. The poem is a reflection on the curious but powerful defiance and optimism of the area, despite the onslaught we face from those in power. 

Performers: 
Lotte Betts-Dean
SONO Ensemble

String Quartet 'the Whispered Yakka' (2018/19)

Der Begriff „Andromeda“ ruft sowohl die Assoziation mit der Andromedagalaxie als auch mit der mythologischen Figur der Gattin des Perseus hervor – zwei symbolträchtige Bilder, die als Inspiration für meine Komposition dienten. Die spiralförmige Struktur der Andromedagalaxie bildet den Ausgangspunkt meines Stückes: Beide Instrumente verweben sich in einem Tremolo, das sich spiralförmig entfaltet, um schließlich eine aufsteigende, kantige und sprunghafte Melodielinie über die Klangräume der Instrumente hinweg freizusetzen.
Die ruhige, langsame Episode knüpfen an Peter Paul Rubens’ Gemälde „Perseus befreit Andromeda“ (1622) an. Es zeigt den Helden Perseus, wie er Andromeda befreit, nachdem er das Seeungeheuer besiegte. Flankiert von zwei Putten, hilft einer Perseus dabei, die Seile zu lösen, die Andromeda an den Felsen binden. Und warum flüstern die Musiker*innen in meinem Stück? Vielleicht, um das Bild eines Perseus heraufzubeschwören, der Andromeda nahetritt und sie mit einem geflüsterten Wort zur Stille mahnt.
Mitschnitt der UA am 04.05.2025, Alte Dorfkirche Hausen
Monika Thiery (Klavier), Alma Flammersberger (Akkordeon)

Andromeda für Klavier und Akkordeon (2025)

William Martin (1925-2010) was a poet from Sunderland, my hometown. His work is encapsulated by his ethos of 'Marradharma', this idea married the concept of the Dharma with the North-East word of Marra which is a particularly profound form of friendship.



His short cycle, Margins, draws initial inspiration from Old Irish poetry, most notably the Adze Head. William Martin adds his own unique approach of old and new in this fascinating marginal pieces. The cycle was written for my dear friend Gunda Leine, a wonderful singer who I am lucky to know and to write 

Margins (2025)

Helena Tulve – Vers l'autre clarté (2024)

Pulss, mõõn ja voolamine / Pulse, Ebb and Flow (2012)

Wand'ring Bark (2024)

„Für FriEDEmAnn“ für Violine, Cello und Klavier (2025)

Wenn man einem Komponisten zum 70. Geburtstag gratuliert, dessen Vorname Friedemann lautet, hört man unweigerlich, wie musikalisch dieser Name klingt. In ihm verbirgt sich eine wunderschöne, friedvolle Harmonie aus den Tönen F–E–D–E–A. Diese musikalische Botschaft musste ich unbedingt ausnutzen – und das gleich dreimal! Dreimal Hoch auf den Jubilar!

Mitschnitt der UA am 27.10.2025, Zentralbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
Klaviertrio: Emily Yabe (vl), Matthias Lorenz (vc), Torsten Reitz (kl)




Für FriEDEmAnn (2025)

Petra Stump-Linshalm and Heinz-Peter Linshalm – bass clarinets
Recording: 4tunes studios, Martin Klebahn

"Psalms" for live and pre-recorded bass clarinets (2008, rev. 2025)

Part II "Blue" of the piece "In Search Of Lost Beauty..." (2016) for piano, violin, cello, electronics and video. Concept and music by Žibuoklė Martinaitytė.

Performed by the FortVio: Indrė Baikštytė (piano), Ingrida Rupaitė-Petrikienė (violin) and Povilas Jacunskas (cello)

Blue

Zibuokle Martinaityte

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Bruce Failla

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