Prima Facie Records

The Music of Colin Hand (PFCD192) £12.50

Lesley-Jane Rogers, John Turner, Emma McGrath, Heather Bills, Harvey Davies, Tom Winpenny

"I cannot fault anything on this disc. All the performances are committed, and appear ideal. The sound quality of the recording is perfect... outstanding liner notes." John France, MusicWeb International

1 Petite Suite Champetre i. Entre
2 Petite Suite Champetre ii. Danse - Pastorale
3 Petite Suite Champetre iii. Tambourin
4 Petie Suite Champetre iv. Danse - Finale
5 Three Songs to Poems by John Fletcher i. Hymn to Pan
6 Three Songs to Poems by John Fletcher ii. Aspatia's Song
7 Three Songs to Poems by John Fletcher iii. God Lyaeus
8 Concerto Cantico - i. Allegro
9 Concerto Cantico - ii. Moderato
10 Concerto Cantico - iii. Allegro improvisato
11 Three Lieder i. Dark Sunset
12 Three Lieder ii. Waves
13 Three Lieder iii. This Sad Serenity
14 Angelus for Tenor Recorder and Piano
15 Angelus for High Voice and Piano
16 Quartet Op. 252 i. Allegretto ritmico
17 Quartet Op. 252 ii. Allegretto scherzoso
18 Quartet Op. 252 iii. Andante piangevole
19 Quartet Op. 252 iv. Allegro comodo ma ritmico
20 Quartet Op. 252 v. Andante cantabile
21 Quartet Op. 252 vi. Allegro con energia
22 Three Bird Songs i. I watched a Blackbird
23 Three Bird Songs ii. The Darkling Thrush
24 Three Bird Songs iii. Proud Songsters
25 Sonatella
26 Two songs to French Poems i. La dimanche (Sunday)
27 Two songs to French Poems ii. Le moulin a vent (The Windmill)
28 In Nomine 6 - The Taverner Sonata

Concerto Cantico

Recorded in St Thomas’s Church, Stockport – 6th April 2018
Recording engineer – Richard Scott
Recorder – John Turner
Violins - David Routledge and Simon Gilks
Viola - Steven Burnard
Cello - Svetlana Mochalova

Petite Suite Champêtre and Quartet

Recorded in St Paul’s Church, Heaton Moor – 16th December 2019
Recording engineer – Steve Plews
John Turner – recorders
Emma McGrath – violin
Heather Bills – cello
Harvey Davies – Harpsichord / Piano

In Nomine 6 – The Taverner Sonata

Recorded in St Albans Cathedral – October 11th 2021
Recording engineer – Steve Plews
Tom Winpenny – organ

All other tracks recorded in St Paul’s Church, Heaton Moor – 23rd August 2021
Recording engineer – Steve Plews
Lesley-Jane Rogers – soprano John Turner – recorders Harvey Davies – piano / spinet

Concerto Cantico; first complete recording
In Nomine 6 – The Taverner Sonata; first recording on CD
All other works; premiere recordings

For more details of the CD, please see the Prima Facie blog Recitative.

Colin Hand (1929 – 2015) was born in Winterton, North Lincolnshire. Though he showed an early interest in music (he played the viola in his school orchestra) and started to compose at the age of twelve, his initial intention was to study for a career in biochemistry. Nevertheless, he eventually turned to music and studied the organ with Dr Melville Cook, receiving a Bachelor of Music degree from Trinity College, Dublin. After qualification he spent fifteen years as a lecturer in further education and another fifteen years (part-time) as an examiner for Trinity College of Music, London. He composed steadily throughout his career and his works, exceeding 260 opus numbers, include choral, orchestral, organ, chamber music and songs. He also composed and arranged a significant amount of music for teaching purposes. In the 1970s he carried out extensive research on the composer John Taverner (c 1490 – 1545) and Renaissance music, for which he was awarded a PhD. His subsequent book John Taverner his Life and Music was published by Eulenburg Books, London, in 1978. After retirement from official posts, he continued as a freelance composer and lived in Sibsey near Boston in Lincolnshire, where he had close connections with the music at St Botolph’s church – the famous Boston ‘stump’.