CDs with online ordering
Sonatas by Andrew Downes, Volume II (PFCD289) £15.00/£20.00
Compositions by Andrew Downes, performed by Sasha Canter, Emily Andrews, Helen Reid, Lindsey Ellis, Catherine Milledge, Angus Meryon, Duncan Honeybourne, Paul Galluzzo, David Trippett, Rustam Khanmurzin, Alison Brierley
2-CD
Set
Disc 1
1-3 Meditations for Solo Trumpet, Op. 38 (1986)
4-6 Sonata for Flute and Piano, Op. 67 (1998)
7-9 Sonata for Piccolo & Piano, Op. 74 (1999)
10-13 Sonata for Clarinet & Piano, Op. 100 (2009)
Disc 2
1-3 Sonata No 2 for Violin & Piano, Op. 117 (2021)
4-6 Sonata for Trumpet & Piano, Op. 120 (2022)
7-9 Sonata for Bassoon & Piano, Op. 121 (2022)
10 The Last Trumpet, Op. 46 (1990)
Total Time [120.32]
About this Album
Sonatas by Andrew Downes: Volume II, continues the compelling and deeply personal survey of the chamber works of British composer Andrew Downes (1950–2023), bringing together a distinguished roster of performers to honour one of the UK’s most distinctive musical voices.
Spanning more than three decades of composition – from Meditations for Solo Trumpet (1986) to the Bassoon Sonata (2022), Downes’s final work – the album captures the breadth, imagination, and emotional depth that define his output. Through a sequence of sonatas and solo works, the recording traces the composer’s evolving style, blending lyrical Romanticism with influences drawn from Tudor music, jazz, and global traditions.
At the heart of the release is a series of vividly characterised sonatas for a wide range of instruments, including flute, piccolo, clarinet, violin, trumpet, and bassoon, each performed by leading artists in their field. Highlights include the Sonata for Flute and Piano (1998), a work that juxtaposes folk-inspired lyricism with rhythmic vitality, and the Sonata for Clarinet and Piano (2009), dedicated to its performers and praised for its expressive dialogue between instruments.
The album also features the Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano (2021), a deeply personal composition dedicated to Downes’s daughter, Anna. This work demonstrates the composer’s gift for melodic invention and rhythmic energy, blending influences as diverse as jazz and Indian raga into a compelling musical narrative.
A particularly poignant centrepiece is the Sonata for Bassoon and Piano (2022), left unfinished at the composer’s death and completed by his daughter, Paula. The work stands as both a farewell and a tribute, weaving together themes from across his career into a reflective and moving conclusion.
Across the recording, the trumpet plays a prominent role, with Sasha Canter – BBC Young Musician finalist and one of the UK’s most exciting emerging talents – performing both solo and chamber works, including the expressive Meditations (1986) and the dynamic Sonata for Trumpet and Piano (2022).
Recorded in leading UK venues including the University of Cambridge’s West Road Concert Hall and Bath Spa University’s Michael Tippett Centre, Sonatas by Andrew Downes: Volume II showcases performances of exceptional clarity and commitment, and stands as a fitting tribute to Andrew Downes' legacy: a recording that celebrates creativity, collaboration, and the enduring power of chamber music to express the human experience.Credits
Meditations for Solo Trumpet, Op. 38 (1986)
Recorded in West Road Concert Hall, University of Cambridge, December 16th/17th, 2024.
Sasha Canter – trumpet
Sonata for Flute & Piano, Op. 67 (1998)
Recorded in the Michael Tippett Centre, Bath Spa University, April 5th, 2024.
Emily Andrews - flute
Helen Reid - piano
Sonata for Piccolo & Piano, Op. 74 (1999)
Recorded in Wyastone Concert Hall near Monmouth, August 8th, 2024.
Lindsey Ellis - piccolo
Catherine Milledge - piano
Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 100 (2009)
Recorded in West Road Concert Hall, University of Cambridge, February 17th, 2025.
Angus Meryon - clarinet
Duncan Honeybourne - piano
Sonata No 2 for Violin & Piano, Op. 117 (2021)
Recorded in West Road Concert Hall, University of Cambridge, February 17th, 2025.
Paul Galluzzo - violin
David Trippett - piano
Sonata for Trumpet & Piano, Op. 120 (2022)
Recorded in West Road Concert Hall, University of Cambridge, December 16th/17th, 2024.
Sasha Canter - trumpet
Rustam Khanmurzin - piano
Sonata for Bassoon & Piano, Op. 121 (2022)
Recorded in West Road Concert Hall, University of Cambridge, December 17th, 2024.
Alison Brierley - bassoon
David Trippett - piano
The Last Trumpet, Op. 46 (1990)
Recorded in West Road Concert Hall, University of Cambridge, December 16th/17th, 2024.
Sasha Canter - trumpet
Sonata for Flute & Piano: Producer, engineer – Francisco Correa
Sonata for Piccolo & Piano: Producer - Myles Eastwood, Engineer - Deborah Spanton
Works for solo Trumpet, Bassoon, Violin & Piano: Producer, engineer - Myles Eastwood
You can read the sleevenotes for this album on the Prima Facie Records blog
Andrew Downes
Andrew Downes was born in Handsworth, Birmingham, in 1950, into a well-known Midlands family of musicians. He won a choral scholarship to St John’s College, Cambridge, where he specialised in composition, and in 1974 went on to study at the Royal College of Music with Herbert Howells, who wrote of him as ‘one of the most effective composers coming to me these days’. His emergence as a leading international composer was combined with a strong academic profile as an innovative and inspired educator: he created and was Head of the School of Composition and Creative Studies at the Birmingham School of Music (now Royal Birmingham Conservatoire) for 30 years, and following his retirement, devoted himself solely to composition. His output includes an opera, six symphonies, numerous concertos and chamber works, song cycles, piano music and a large body of choral and sacred music. Over 30 CDs of his music have been issued on a range of labels. His numerous commissions included The Marshes of Glynn, for the Royal Opening of Birmingham’s Adrian Boult Hall in 1986; anthems for the BBC Radio 4 Daily Service; and the overture Towards a New Age, premiered by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Downes’s Concerto for Four Horns and Orchestra was commissioned for and premièred by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in 2002, and recorded by Czech Radio the following year. His Sonata for Violin, Horn and Piano was premièred by the Brahms Trio Prague in 2008, and released on the Czech Philharmonic’s Artesmon label. Downes’s Piano and Horn Concertos were premiered at Birmingham Town Hall in 2009 and 2012 respectively. In 2016, the Artesmon label released a disk of Downes' Symphonies and Overtures, recorded by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. He died on January 2nd 2023, leaving a legacy of over 120 works. A prolific composer, he wrote every day until the last week of his life.