Thomas M. Sleeper - Concerto for Clarinet & Strings / Sonata 2 in E FL - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Ian Mitchell is a leading performer on all members of the clarinet family and has made recordings with most of them. He has also led Gemini for many years, bringing the ensemble to the top of the tree especially in contemporary chamber music. This album of works for clarinet and strings arose from a prize in the 1993 Prudential Awards, which provided initial funding to record three major but neglected works, by Cyril Scott, Howard Skempton and Rebecca Clarke, together with more recent pieces by Sadie Harrison and Nicola LeFanu and jazz legend Tony Coe. This is not a clarinet feature disc however, but a program of fine works involving that instrument 'in the mix'. Added to the album as a bonus is Skempton's Gemini Dances which adds flute, piano and percussion. Gemini has a very strong following for both recordings and concerts, and since it's formation in 1974 has developed a reputation for the highest levels of musicianship and immense support for contemporary composers.

Though it has a relatively short history, the clarinet is one of the most glamorous and tonally alluring of all instruments. It's origins lie in the effective but primitive chalumeau, which slowly developed through technical advances into the instrument of range, purity and flexibility that we know today. Leading performers inspired the greatest composers of their times to write imperishable masterpieces for the new instrument, exploiting it's fullest range, whether incarnating the swagger and opulence of an operatic diva, the autumnal lyricism of a poet, or the utmost in virtuoso bravura.

Various Artists - Clarinet Evergreens [COMPACT DISCS] date 10/05/2000