CAPTAIN COOK'S CELLO
Carl Vine Inner World (1994) for
cello and pre-recorded CD
Peter Sculthorpe Threnody (1992)
Requiem (1979)
John Keane ConFusion (2000) for
multi-tracked cello and voice
Colin Matthews Palinode
(1992)
Ian Blake Verklärter Bungalow
(2000) for multi-tracked cello and voice
Lowri Blake (cello and
voice)
Lowri Records LOWRI 2003
[60 mins]
Lowri Blake is a musician of the new century, blurring the distinction
between 'classical' and other genres, and releasing a growing discography
of discerning repertoire, with audio clips on line. On her own
website she tells us:
"Lowri Blake has a dual career as a solo cellist and as a singer of contemporary
music and cabaret. Since her televised concerto debut with the BBC National
Orchestra of Wales, Lowri has broadcast over one hundred recitals and concertos
on BBC Radio and Television… She has appeared with the London Philharmonic
Orchestra in performances of the Elgar Concerto, conducted by Matthias Bamert,
at the Royal Festival Hall in London…. Lowri is professor of cello at
Trinity College of Music and at the Royal College of Music, London and gives
masterclasses nationwide and abroad."
A splendid cellist who demonstrates her love (and that of composers Peter
Sculthorpe and Colin Matthews) for the richness of its essential voice, her
singing voice is less eloquent and individual; I guess it would make a better
impression in live appearances. That she is a good communicator with an audience
was evident at the
Centenary
Concert of the Wallace Collection and I have enjoyed reviewing her
previous
CDs, which are economically and distinctively packaged, if
not too easy to handle and extract from their sleeves. She should also consider
those whose eyesight is not of the sharpest; on this one, the dark red background
infiltrates the small white print and makes it appear pink.
The new CD was made in collaboration with her brother Ian, 'an all-round
musician' who lives in Australia, whose own piece here starts with 'sounds
of a Canberran summer night'. Carl Vine's Inner World with pre-recorded
CD is particularly striking, surrounding the live cello with electronically
transformed cello sounds. John Keane comes from the world of film and TV
and is very much a 'cross'over' composition, with a deliberately confusing
rhythmic patterning to hold the listener's attention.
In the middle there are some 24 minutes of cello solo by Peter Sculthorpe
and Colin Matthews, both of whom eschew the fashionable extended sound palettes
favoured by many contemporary composers. In his Requiem Sculthorpe
draws on 'the coolness and objectivity of plainchant', contrasting that with
'the warmth and passion of my own kind of music'. Matthews enriches his sequence
of variations by requiring double stopping almost throughout. In both the
cello 'sings', predominantly in its lower registers. I thought it a mistake
to place them in sequence together - indeed, they are better heard in separate
listening sessions.
Recommended, and I look forward to Lowri Blake's soon forthcoming release
Visible Bass Line, an 'unusual blend of classic, cabaret and
contemporary' with Peter Buckoke (double bass).
Peter Grahame Woolf
