Prima Facie Records

Music for woodwinds and piano; Piano Trio 'Tre Giorni' (PFCD256) £12.50/£17.50

Compositions by David Dubery

1. Chimera: for clarinet and piano (5’29”)

2-4. Sonatina: for clarinet and piano (8’53”)

2. Movement 1. Moderato poco scherzoso
3. Movement 2. lento e molto tranquillo
4. Movement 3. Affretando / Movement 4. Tempo di marcia quasi pomposo

5. Music for an untold story: for flute and piano (5'25")

6. Remembering Satie: for flute and piano (5'56")

7. Hommage- in an olden style: for oboe and piano (5'19")

8-10. Sonata for oboe and piano- Since dawn is breaking (13'36")

8. Movement 1.
9. Movement 2.
10. Movement 3.

11-13. Piano Trio Tre Giorni: for piano, violin and cello (28'36")

11. Giorno 1. Corenno Plinio. Moderato espressivo
12. Giorno 2. Abbazia di Santa Maria di Piona. Calmo
13. Giorno 3. Villa de Vecchi. Lento

Total Time: 74:04

About this Album

This third Album of Chamber works by Dubery draws upon traditional forms while infusing them with vivid imagery and emotional depth. At its centre is the Sonata for Oboe and piano composed in 1981, a pivotal work shifting his focus away from theatre towards chamber works of a more intimate nature. Since its publication by Emerson Edition in 2015, it has had many performances, particularly in Germany and the USA.

This project began in mid 2024 with the idea to complement the Oboe Sonata with other woodwind compositions: revised earlier pieces alongside recent ones written during the Covid Pandemic. This was a time that provided him ample opportunity for reflection and to rediscover uncompleted pieces or those he had intended to revise.

Recorded in the presence of the composer, this is a programme of two halves. The first comprises works for Clarinet, Flute and Oboe featuring Principal Players from the Hallé Orchestra with pianist Paul Janes.

The second half features his Piano Trio Tre Giorni, handsomely performed and recorded by Hallé and BBC Philharmonic Principal Players:

Credits

Paul Janes: piano
Sergio Castelló López: clarinet
Amy Yule: flute
Stéphane Rancourt: oboe
Zoë Beyers: violin
Simon Turner: cello

Recorded at the Carole Nash Hall, Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester:
Chimera, Sonatina, Sonata-Since dawn is breaking and Hommage 16 December 2024;
Music for an untold story, Remembering Satie and Piano trio- Tre Giorni 17 December 2024.
Producer, Recording Engineer, Editor and Mastering: Philip Hardman, Northern Audio Productions.
Executive Project Producer: David Dubery.
Session Photography: William Fergusson.
Steinway D piano tuned by Dan Carney.
Oboe Sonata - Since dawn is breaking - published by Emerson Edition.
Cover Design: Val Sanagra, Lake Como 2007 by David Dubery and William Fergusson ©.
Booklet Design and Photography by William Fergusson:
David Dubery in Rome 2010; Corenno Plinio 2007; Abbazia di Piona 2014; Chimera Florence 2005 ©.
Copyright images used with permission. All rights reserved.
Thanks to William and Nan Fergusson for their generous support for this recording.

David Dubery's compositions are known for their lyricism, nostalgia, and vivid storytelling. His style aligns with expressive melody and intimate musical dialogues, but happily embraces modern influences. His love for nature, dance and literature, his photography and travel across Europe, especially in Italy, play significant roles in shaping his music. Public performance as a collaborative pianist, soloist and composer has been an integral part of David's life for over 50 years, alongside a career teaching piano and voice in Colleges and Universities. He held positions as vocal tutor at the Actors Centre, at the Manchester School of Music, and as pianist, vocal tutor, and music director at the Northern Ballet School 1986-2003. He found reward in mentoring many notable actors and singers from London’s West End, Television, and casts from Musical Theatre at his home studio. Born in 1948 in Durban, South Africa, he began piano lessons when he was five and this continued throughout his childhood. His parents brought him to his mother’s English home town of Manchester in 1961. He had acquired a consuming passion for music, art and theatre, and it was in Manchester that he taught himself to compose music. After Graduation in 1970 from the Northern School of Music (RNCM) he spent a Post Graduate year as a collaborative pianist, embracing opportunities to accompany vocal classes with Alfreda Hodgson, Alison Hargen, Betty Bannerman and Irene Wilde, and instrumental classes with flutist Douglas Whittaker and violinist Maurice Clare. Dubery’s first BBC broadcast was in 1971 and over the next 40 years he gave hundreds of recital and concert appearances with singers and instrumentalists across the UK. His musicality and sensitive interpretation in an extensive repertoire was widely acknowledged. Between 1973 and 1980 he composed music primarily for theatre. Three two-act musicals received several staged productions with notable success at the 1978 Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre Festival, Saddleworth Festival of the Arts of 1975 & 1979, and the RNCM in 1984. After 1980 he focused on writing art-song and chamber music for which he is best associated. His music has been performed world-wide, featured on many CD recordings, selected for Music Exam syllabi and enjoys regular international radio broadcasts. David Dubery is published by Emerson Edition, Forsyth, Peacock Press, Goodmusic (Roberton), and Spartan Press. The works recorded for this album were composed between 1980 and 2024.