2 1 The Air, Turning 9’02 EDMUND BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra • Ilan Volkov conductor

2 Elsewhere 7’55 FINNIS Eloisa-Fleur Thom violin

Parallel Colour 3 I 1’57 4 II 1’49 5 III 1’50 6 IV 4’15 7 V 1’42 8 VI 2’42 9 VII 1’54 Birmingham Contemporary Music Group • Richard Baker conductor

bl Between Rain 12’24 London Contemporary Orchestra • Robert Ames conductor

Four Duets bm I 1’57 bn II 2’21 bo III 2’36 bp IV 2’20 Mark Simpson clarinet • Víkingur Ólafsson piano

Shades Lengthen bq I 1’50 br II 4’43 bs III 5’04 bt IV 3’33 Benjamin Beilman violin • Britten Sinfonia • Andrew Gourlay conductor

photo © Lisa Illean Total timing 70’39 3 At the beginning of The Air, Turning, a chord piece – and indeed so much of the music the distinguished Scottish poet, Robin detail, and in the process, more and more grows out of nothing. Sparsely voiced at on this album – seems to operate on the Robertson. Entitled “Finding the keys”, connections. As with Robertson’s image of fi rst, across divided violins, it fi lls into the borders of perception. For while the basic the poem explores an ambiguity in the the key, the motif seems to open out onto a cellos, basses and bass clarinet. In its midst materials of Finnis’ music are often easily word ‘key’ – the term refers to the seeds whole plethora of contrasting associations the violas and a percussionist, using soft grasped in outline – for the most part of the ash-tree as well as to a device which and processes. At times the momentum beaters on a sheet of aluminium, create simple harmonic, rhythmic or melodic unlocks another, setting a mechanism in grows to such an extent that it sounds minute oscillations. Almost imperceptible patterns – their surface features open up motion – to establish oscillations in the almost like Sibelius in full fl ow. But the in themselves, the glassy sheen and to the ear with extraordinary richness, as if metaphorical fabric of the poem. The symphonic instinct is always curbed: these shimmering movement of these wave it were the act of listening which brought image of air turning casts light on how the are moments which, when touched, always sounds act on the surrounding harmonies them to life. The patterns or melodic ideas atmosphere around us buzzes in constant yield to the ear’s touch. like a prism acts on a light source, are in this sense not developed from the motion, of the changing seasons being Many of the titles of Finnis’ pieces, as well refracting the material – which itself materials, but rather glimpsed within them, ‘unlocked’ by particular images, and of the as the performance directions, are drawn fl uctuates slowly between a major and so that the music’s movement feels less notion of something being crafted from from the sense of sight. But while it is minor sonority – so that the life teeming like an objective process taking place in raw material – turned, as it were, on the tempting to think of the visual reference within the simple harmonies is suddenly the score, and more like the perceptual lathe of nature. Robertson’s techniques as metaphors, as heuristic aids to help opened up fully to the ear. One hears not process by which our ears make slow sense of sonorous play and metaphorical listener and performer get a sense of so much chords and lines, or instruments of the signals which strike them. Like an undulation set a world in which craft and what kind of sound the composer has in in combination, but a world of sound aspect of something glimpsed through a nature, what is thought and what is seen, mind, there is something about Finnis’ gradually coming into view. mist, we piece the elements together until, turn in constant motion. music which means that spatial analogies always gradually, an aspect takes shape, ‘Like a faint haze in the air’ is the Finnis’ piece does not set Robertson’s penetrate deeper, as if they applied literally or dawns. Indeed, if Finnis’ music does one composer’s instruction to the poem. It does however draw on the implicit rather than metaphorically. Parallel Colour, thing, perhaps, it is this: it dawns. percussionist. The image is just as useful idea that music is also, in some basic Between Rain, and Shades Lengthen, for for the listener: a faint haze, shimmering, Composed in 2016 and fi rst performed sense, just air, turning, and on the way the example, all have explicitly visual titles always in the background but working its by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra central twisting motif, which develops which, as in The Air, Turning, offer the way through everything in the foreground. the following spring, the title of The Air, from the major/minor fl uctuations, listener a structure in which the music The idea captures precisely the way this Turning is taken from a line in a poem by gradually gathers to itself more and more opens up. The same is often true of Finnis’

46 57 performance directions: the solo violinist both lightly applied oil on canvas – seek to engagements, guiding us – at times with the twisting, almost Rachmaninov-like in Elsewhere is instructed to navigate a create a kind of perceptual counterpoint overwhelming gentleness, at times hinting melody of the second, the pointilliste tremolo crescendo and diminuendo ‘like a so that the surface, while very simple in at something more disturbing in the formations of the third – to bridge a slow distant revolving beam of light moving over form, begins to shimmer. In one of her shadows – through the perceptual fallout. path to a kind of distant aural horizon. water at night’. Finnis, a singer and cellist, notebook entries, Martin suggested that A more literal kind of counterpoint is In a similar way, Four Duets, for clarinet and took up the violin for months in order to when looking at things we should not be at the heart of both Parallel Colour and piano, uses canons to explore different perfect the myriad bowing techniques concerned with setting the imagination Four Duets. The fi rst – written in 2015 kinds of symmetries between the two used in Elsewhere; and the image of the free, but with absorbing the eye into a kind and given its fi rst performance by the soloists. Commissioned by the clarinettist broken surface of water appearing and of communion with the world around it. Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and composer Mark Simpson, and fi rst vanishing under the rotating lighthouse “Don’t look at the stars”, she wrote. “Then under Richard Baker early the following performed in 2012 by Simpson and beam captures with almost synaesthesic your mind goes freely — way, way beyond. year – arranges its ensemble symmetrically Víkingur Ólafsson, the fi rst movement precision the way the bow eases and Look between the rain.” around a central double bass part. takes its opening melodic idea from counteracts the string’s vibrations. While the bass, rather like the viola in Josquin des Prez’s motet, Memor esto Between Rain is the title of Finnis’ The Air, Turning, creates an oscillating verbi tui, and gently unravels it, as it were The visual arts are also a particular 2014 piece for string orchestra, fi rst fi eld between an open string and a high extracting the rise-and-fall motion at its source of inspiration for Finnis. One of performed by the London Contemporary harmonic, the gestures performed by heart which, because of the canon between his earlier pieces, an electronic track Orchestra under Hugh Brunt. It opens one side of the ensemble are mirrored by the two instruments, creates intricately designed to be listened to on headphones with soft splashes distributed among the the other. While the sound ‘images’ are woven textures. Similar considerations while walking through Primrose Hill in instruments’ upper registers which act often extremely beautiful in themselves, occupy the other three movements – the London, is called Colour Field Painting, a like gentle brush strokes on the ear. A it is in the space between the image second working with different speeds, term which applies to the single-colour second, more defi ned stroke later disrupts and its refl ection, played upon by small the third a single unfolding melodic line in techniques of abstract expressionists the profusion, biting at it, stabbing it, distortions and refractions, that the life which the piano eventually fuses with the such as Rothko and Newman. But it is until the two motifs – or, rather, the two of the music is really generated. Each of clarinet, and the fourth a return to canons. Newman’s protégée, Agnes Martin, who worlds of hearing – go into a kind of dance the seven movements uses the mirror Like Elsewhere, Shades Lengthen, composed Finnis is drawn to most. Her paintings – together, resulting in something new. device in different ways, each exploring in 2015, explores the line and shadow such as This Rain, from 1960, in which two The piece works itself out in a series of different kinds of stimulus – such as the created by a solo violin. But while the fi rst equal size rectangles in grey and beige, these contrapuntal textural and motivic impressionist daubs of the fi rst movement,

86 97 piece has the violin playing in colloquy in performing it. This has partly to do with Edmund Finnis is a ‘hugely gifted numerous performances of his works with itself (with the help of electronic the fact that his music’s soundworlds are composer’ (Sunday Telegraph) whose music and several new commissions, including reverb, if necessary), Shades Lengthen in themselves often beautiful, but more to has been described as ‘magical’ (The Times), Across White Air for solo cello with reverb, uses the violin to spin out quite clearly do with the way in which the music draws ‘iridescent, compelling’ (The Guardian), Between Rain for string orchestra, and articulated melodic shapes, the shadows so carefully on the craft and potential ‘exquisite’ (BBC Radio 3) and ‘ethereally the electronic piece Colour Field Painting, and fragments of which are picked up by embodied in each of the instruments he beautiful’ (The Herald). His works are premiered on a summer evening on the top the chamber ensemble and woven into a employs. Although Finnis has previously regularly performed and broadcast, both at of London’s Primrose Hill. kind of background tapestry. The resulting composed using electronics, and even home in the UK and internationally. Another signifi cant association was formed balance of foreground and background, spent some years writing electronic dance Finnis’ multifaceted output ranges from with the who have so central to the drama of music in both music, his music is remarkable for the way intimate music for soloists and duets to performed and toured six of his works, Western and other traditions, is held to it marries an almost abstract concern with immersive electronic pieces, music for fi lm, including three that they commissioned: the extent that you can almost feel the sound with a gift for drawing expressive ensemble and choral music, and works for Veneer, Unfolds and Seeing is Flux. weight of it. When, towards the end of the life out of the instruments. In a piece like large orchestra. Finnis was born in Oxford in 1984. He piece, the pace and intensity increase, the Elsewhere, for example, strikingly modern He has written music for some of the sang in the Choir of New College Oxford instruments circling around each other in its technique and structure, one hears leading performers of his own generation and studied at the Guildhall School with with increasing urgency, this sense of nonetheless the habits of expression and (Benjamin Beilman, Mark Simpson, . In 2012 he received a gravity also swells. The music ends clearly movement that the violin has acquired and Víkingur Ólafsson, Clare Hammond, Oliver Paul Hamlyn Award, and in 2016 his violin enough – with a fortissimo chord giving accumulated over the centuries. Indeed, Coates, Minetti Quartet), and renowned concerto Shades Lengthen was shortlisted way to a sustained high harmonic from the piece’s exquisitely woven counterpoint ensembles such as Britten Sinfonia, for an RPS Award. Since 2015 he has been the violin – the listener’s sense is of having is profoundly alike in this respect to Bach’s a Professor of Composition at the Royal BCMG and London Sinfonietta. His works Academy of Music. edmundfi nnis.com reached a kind of precarious centre, in solo violin music. The delicate shapes have been performed by orchestras which one remains, suspended, long after which it spins in the air, like spiderwebs including the LSO, the Philharmonia, the the ensemble has stopped playing. glistening wet in the light of the dawn, are BBC Scottish Symphony, and the Civic Information about the artists on this disc held in play by the breath and sway of a One of the most palpable features of Orchestra of Chicago. can be found on NMC’s website: human body. www.nmcrec.co.uk Finnis’ music, which comes across strongly From 2013-16 Finnis was Composer- in these recordings and more so in live © 2019 Guy Dammann in-Association with the London Víkingur Ólafsson appears courtesy of performance, is the joy the musicians take Contemporary Orchestra. They gave Deutsche Grammophon.

108 119 Shades Lengthen, Between Rain and Elsewhere were recorded at All FOR FURTHER DETAILS PLEASE CONTACT: Saints Church, East Finchley, London on 14-15 April 2018. Parallel NMC Recordings Ltd Colour was recorded at CBSO Centre, Birmingham on 6 May 2018. St Margaret’s House, 21 Old Ford Road Bethnal Green, London, E2 9PL DAVID LEFEBER Recording Engineer & Producer Tel. +44 (0)20 3022 5836/88 Four Duets was recorded by the BBC at BBC Maida Vale Studios, E-mail: [email protected] • Website: www.nmcrec.co.uk Studio 2, London on 28 May 2013. All rights of the manufacturer and owner of the recorded material PHILIP BURWELL Recording Engineer reserved. Unauthorised public performance, broadcasting and copying JANET TUPPEN Producer of this recording prohibited. The Air, Turning was recorded by the BBC at City Halls, Glasgow on The BBC word mark and logo and the ‘BBC Radio 3’ logo are trade 23 February 2017. marks of the British Broadcasting Corporation and used under licence. BBC Logo © BBC 2007 HYWEL JONES Recording Engineer DOUGLAS TEMPLETON Producer Four Duets ℗ 2013 BBC The Air, Turning 2017 BBC DAVID LEFEBER Mastering ℗ All other tracks 2019 NMC Recordings COLIN MATTHEWS Executive Producer for NMC ℗ Tracks 1, 11-14: The copyright in the recording is owned by the BBC. Cover image: photograph by César Couto (Unsplash) All other tracks: ℗ 2019 NMC Recordings Ltd NMC Recordings is a charitable company (reg. no. 328052) established © 2019 NMC Recordings Ltd for the recording of contemporary music by the Holst Foundation; it is grateful for funding from Arts Council England and The Delius Trust. Catalogue no.: NMC D249

Top: London Contemporary Orchestra & Robert Ames ANNE RUSHTON Executive Director Produced in association with BBC Radio 3 and the BBC Scottish Left: Edmund Finnis & Robert Ames • Right: Benjamin Beilman, Edmund Finnis, Andrew Gourley & Recording Engineer David Lefeber ELEANOR WILSON General Manager Symphony Orchestra. ALEX WRIGHT Development and Partnerships Manager LUCILE GASSER Development Assistant RACHEL WILMOT Label Assistant DISTRIBUTION NMC recordings are distributed worldwide in CD, download and streaming formats. For more information visit our website. You can also purchase recordings direct from our online store www.nmcrec.co.uk

Incorporating a BBC Recording

1210 11 Debut Discs is NMC’s acclaimed showcase series for gifted early-career Parallel Colour was commissioned by Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, composers from the British Isles. As a registered charity, we need your with fi nancial assistance from the following individuals through BCMG’s Sound support so we can continue to create more Debut Discs with the best Investment Scheme: emerging talent. For further information on how you can help, please visit John Barnden Martyn Leighton www.nmcrec.co.uk/support-us, email: [email protected] Anthony Bolton Jeremy Lindon or phone 020 3022 5888 Paul Bond Amanda Cadman and Peter T Marsh Richard Bratby & Annette Rubery Andrew Mason Thank you to the trusts, foundations and individuals who are investing Alan S Carr Adam Nagel in NMC’s Debut Discs series: Christopher Carrier Roy Parker The John S Cohen Foundation Terry Holmes Simon Collings Kim and Kay Prior The Garrick Charitable Trust Robert McFarland Alan B Cook Maureen and William Scott Nicholas and Judith Goodison’s James and Anne Rushton Ann Copsey Howard Skempton Charitable Settlement Martin Staniforth Susanna Eastburn Michael and Sandra Squires The Leche Trust Duncan Tebbet Gareth Llyr Evans Nest Thomas The Mercers’ Charitable Foundation Judith Weir Anne Fletcher Terry Thorpe Stanley Picker Trust and everyone who donated through Wally Francis Owen G Watkins The Steel Charitable Trust NMC’s Debut Disc Appeal Sally Groves Doreen and Harry Wright Matthew Harris Alex Wright Fern Hodges

THE BLISS TRUST www.blisstrust.org The Air, Turning was commissioned by the BBC for the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Elsewhere was commissioned by Daniel Pioro. Between Rain was commissioned by the London Contemporary Orchestra. The fi rst performance was given by the London Contemporary Orchestra, conducted by Hugh Brunt, at the Roundhouse, on 23 August 2014. Four Duets was commissioned by Mark Simpson with generous fi nancial assistance With special thanks to Christoph and Marion Trestler, The RVW Trust, The Hinrichsen from the Fidelio Charitable Trust. Shades Lengthen was commissioned by London Music Foundation and the Royal Academy of Music for their support of this recording. Masters, supported by The Boltini Trust. 1214 1315 THANK YOU SUPPORT More than just a record label, NMC NMC RECORDINGS PRODUCERS’ CIRCLE As a registered charity (no. 328052) NMC holds always strives to go further in reaching Anonymous, Robert D. Bielecki Foundation, Anthony Bolton, Bill WE NEED a distinctive position in the recording industry, EARNED new audiences and nurturing the INCOME 17% Connor, Luke Gardiner, Nicholas and Judith Goodison, Ralph providing public benefi t through the contribution TO RAISE Kanza, George Law, Colin Matthews, Nick Prettejohn, Simon and our work makes to enriching cultural life. next generation of listeners, and our 12% ARTS 71% Victoria Robey, James and Anne Rushton, Richard Steele, Janis COUNCIL Susskind, Andrew Ward, Judith Weir, Arnold Whittall. Becoming a Friend of NMC allows you to expanding education work encourages 71% OF OUR support the most exciting new music from the DONATIONS AMBASSADORS British Isles and helps secure NMC’s future. We school children to explore music from ANNUAL City & Cambridge Consultancy, Dominic Nudd, Tarik O’Regan, provide a range of opportunities for our donors our extensive back catalogue through INCOME Duncan Tebbet, Peter Wakefi eld. to see behind the scenes of the organisation free online resources. THROUGH PRINCIPAL BENEFACTORS and the music we release. Robin Chapman, Susan Costello, Anton Cox, Brian Elias, DONATIONS AND GRANTS Friends (£50 - £99 per year) receive a quarterly Your support as a customer is vital Richard Fries, Sally Groves, Terry Holmes, Stephen Johns, Jeremy newsletter, updates on future releases, plus invites TO FULFIL OUR ARTISTIC VISION Marchant, Belinda Matthews, Robert McFarland, Chris Potts, to special events. to us, and enables us to make new Howard Skempton, Kenneth Smith, Hugh Wood. Benefactors (£100 - £249) also enjoy a 25% music accessible to the widest possible BENEFACTORS discount in our online store, a CD booklet credit, Anonymous, Geoff Andrew, Raj Arumugan, Peter Aylmer, Peter and invitations to recording sessions. audience worldwide. Baldwin, Sir Alan Bowness, Tony Britten, Benjamin Bruce, Andrew However, sales and earnings from our Burn, David Charlton, Roderick Dale, Matthew Frost, Anthony Principal Benefactors (£250 - £499) also enjoy an recordings only fund a small proportion Gilbert, Alexander Goehr, Adam Gorb, Elaine Gould, Michael invitation to our annual composer gathering. Greenwald, David Gutman, Barry Guy, Matthew Harris, Robin Ambassadors (£500 - £999) also enjoy invitations of our work each year. Holloway, Alison and Kjeld Jensen, Ed Jones, Neil King QC, Liz to intimate, exclusive events with the NMC team, Leach, Bertie Leigh, Prof Stephen McHanwell, Graham Mole, Garth composers and artists. Morton, Stephen and Jackie Newbould, Marina Ogilvy, Kieron The generous support of our Friends O’Hara and Rebecca Hughes, Stephen Plaistow, Ronald Powell, Joining the Producer’s Circle (£1,000+) allows you and individual donors ensures we can Paul L.D. Rank, Philip Reed and Harriet Wybor, Mark Robinson, to take your support of NMC further and have a Lee Rodwell, Laurence Rose, Julian Rushton, Steve Saltaire, Keith closer association with our work, through a deeper keep releasing essential recordings like Salway, Howard Saunders, Emily Jennifer Simms, Dan Simpson, insight into the projects we put together and the Martin Staniforth, Gwendolyn Tietze, Owen Toller, Kevin Turner, artists we work with. this one. There are many ways you can Hannah Vlcek,v Huw Watkins, Anthony Whitworth-Jones. You can also support NMC with a one-off donation, support our work, and if you would like CORPORATE FRIENDS by becoming a Corporate Friend (£500+ per year) Faber Music, Freshfi elds Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, The Incorporated and by leaving a gift in your will. to know more, please visit: Society of Musicians, The Music Sales Group, Royal Philharmonic Please visit www.nmcrec.co.uk/support-us, www.nmcrec.co.uk/support-us. Society, Schott Music Ltd. email [email protected], or call 020 3022 5888 for more information. 1614 1517