Deirdre Gribbin’s music is still too little known and
recorded. This disc is most welcome in providing a survey of
her present output. Incidentally, some of her chamber music
was - and may still be available - on Black Box BBM1015, a disc
worth seeking out.
By far the most substantial work here is her violin concerto
Venus Blazing. It is in three large movements
of which the first Aphrodite Terra, though conceived
on a fairly traditional large-scale arch-form, is formally quite
original and unusual. The soloist’s part unfolds almost
independently over a seamless orchestral background of varying
density and intensity, the music building to an impressive climax
before dying away quietly. The second movement Ishtar
is the meditative and almost static heart of the work with a
long lyrical line played over a sparse accompaniment. Textures,
however, briefly thicken in a short central section of ritualistic
character. The final movement Bonon: Flying Bird
is a brilliant and extrovert piece of music in which the music
moves along at great speed and with much exuberance. Contrast
is again provided by slower and calmer episodes. The movement
- and the work - ends with an appeased coda touching in its
utter simplicity. In her liner-notes the composer mentions that
she wanted to add some theatrical character to the performance
of the work. She does so by having the soloist moving around
the orchestra during the performance, something that Thea Musgrave
also did in some of her concertos. On top of that, theatricality
has also been brought one step further by having the composer
- or presumably someone else - “clad in other-worldly
costume, tousled wig and long red nails” with full theatrical
lighting. I have never been able to attend a staged performance
of Venus Blazing but I very often wonder whether
this sort of things really brings something more to the music
which is and remains the most important aspect of the work.
From this point of view I must say that the work succeeds completely
and stands on its own without any extra-musical device. Bradley
Creswick’s immaculate playing of the taxing and almost
uninterrupted solo part is impressive indeed both in terms of
technical assurance and sheer musicality. Venus Blazing
is one of the finest recent violin concertos that I have heard
over the last few years. It’s quite beautiful and a great
piece that clearly deserves wider exposure.
Unity of Being opens forcefully with brass fanfares
and pounding drums. There follows a calmer but no less active
slower section soon gaining again in intensity recalling the
opening material. There is much interplay between various blocks
of sound thus providing plenty of contrast. This leads to a
drum and timpani cadenza introducing an almost static section
that brings the work to its conclusion.
The opening of Empire States suggests “the
cacophony and mayhem of the busy city [New York]” as the
composer has it. Again there is much contrast in the music alternating
brash, raucous and more capricious episodes painting some not
always pleasant urban landscape - a siren may even be briefly
heard. The music here may sometimes bring that of some American
composers to mind such as, say, Christopher Rouse, Tobias Picker
or John Corigliano. As in the other works it is superbly crafted
and displays a remarkable orchestral flair.
These performances and recording are excellent and up to the
high standards that one has come to expect from RTÉ lyric
fm. A most welcome introduction. Allow me however to express
my habitual complaint about the all-too-short playing time that
would have allowed for the inclusion of another of Gribbin’s
orchestral scores. This, however, should not deter anyone from
investigating this release. It has much fine and often beautiful
music to offer.
Hubert Culot
Bradley Creswick (violin)a 
