Prima Facie Records

Contemporary Piano Soundbites (PFCD140)

Composers in Lockdown 2020 - Duncan Honeybourne (piano)

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1. John Casken (b.1949) Tempus Plangendi (2.55)
2. Phillip Cooke (b.1980) The Turtle Dove (3.04)
3. David Jennings (b.1972) Melancholy. A Fragment (3.31)
4. Marcus Blunt (b.1947) Prelude to Better Times (1.57)
5. Clive Jenkins (b.1938) Quicksilver (2.35)
6. Francis Pott (b.1957) Poem of the Air (4.18)
7. John McLeod (b.1934) A Dark Waltz (2.10)
8. David Lancaster (b.1960) Angelus (5.47)
9. David Power (b.1962) Joy (1.23)
10. Sadie Harrison (b.1965) In the Air... (3.04)
11. Simon Clarkson (b.1964) Everyone Sang (3.33)
12. Adam Gorb (b.1958) After the Darkness (5.23)
13. Graham Fitkin (b.1963) R Zero (6.12)
14. Liz Dilnot Johnson (b.1964) A Little Lockdown Lyric (1.57)
15. Benjamin Oliver (b.1981) From the Sublime to the Ridiculous (5.31)
16. Hayley Jenkins (b.1990) I hear you Mr Blackbird - Before March 23rd, 2020 (1.10)
17. Hayley Jenkins (b.1990) I hear you Mr Blackbird - After March 23rd, 2020 (2.36)
18. Charlotte Marlow (b.1992) Wayfaring (2.52)
19. Zoe Sones (b.1998) Rona (3.59)
20. Luke Whitlock (b.1978) Refractions of Light (4.52)
21. Ludo Geloen (b.1962) Paralysis (3.39)
22. Paul Henley (b.1959) Adagietto (3.05)
23. Peter Facer (b.1987) Diabolical Dance (3.33)

Reviews

"A dazzling explosion of creativity." Tom Service, BBC Radio 3 New Music Show, 13/03/21

"...this remarkable set of pieces...the recital seems to me perfect in every way. Duncan Honeybourne is a great champion for all these composers." John France, MusicWeb International

"The standard of the compositions and their interest and accessibility are all high...The recording is natural and warm...The booklet essay gives excellent background information on each of the composers and on their pieces." Gary Higginson, MusicWeb International

"With an unerring sense of colour and narrative, Duncan Honeybourne finds the individual character of each miniature. His thought-provoking, wide-ranging programme is thoroughly recommended." Paul Conway, Musical Opinion Quarterly.

About the CD

"Contemporary Piano Soundbites is a collection of solo piano miniatures composed during the 2020 coronavirus lockdown and premiered on video during the months of April, May and June. The project, which ranked in the top 10% of Just Giving fundraisers nationally during the month of April 2020, has already raised well over £2000 for the Help Musicians UK Coronavirus Hardship Fund, supporting musician colleagues struggling in the current situation. The disc, recorded in July 2020 under conditions of social distancing, presents a representative selection from the online series. It celebrates the diversity of styles embraced by a broad cross section of professional composers working today, and it was an invigorating experience to record an entire disc of pieces which hadn’t existed less than four months earlier! Especially stimulating and exciting is the juxtaposition of several leading senior composers with some of their most gifted younger colleagues. Several young composers make their first appearances on disc.

My objective, as I stated in my invitation to composers, was fourfold: to imaginatively harness the zeitgeist of our present situation: to bring comfort and enjoyment to a large ready-made audience stuck at home, to aid musicians badly affected by the “cultural lockdown” and to add to the contemporary repertoire, creating an artistic keepsake of this extraordinary phase in our history.

My long term plan is that, as well as helping our colleagues at a time of need, the collection will provide a snapshot of reflections and musings by some of the finest and most distinctive composers of our time at a unique and unprecedented moment in our history. I hope the disc will make for a refreshing, enriching, stimulating and quirky listening experience too!"
Duncan Honeybourne, September 2020

Credits

Recorded on 27th and 28th July 2020 in the Gransden Hall, Merritt Centre, Sherborne Girls, Dorset, by kind permission of Dr Ruth Sullivan, Head of Sherborne Girls.
Engineer: Steve Plews
Produced by Steve Plews and Simon Clarkson
Editing and Post Production: Phil Hardman
Cover illustration by Steve Plews
The generous practical assistance of Sue Whitney (Merritt Centre manager), John Jenkins (Sherborne Girls Director of Music) and Simon Clarkson (Head of Academic Music) is also acknowledged with sincere thanks.
The Steinway piano was prepared for the recording by Reuben Katz.

For more information about this disc, please see the CD booklet.

Duncan Honeybourne enjoys a diverse profile as a pianist and in music education. His concerto debut in 1998 at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, and the National Concert Hall, Dublin, was broadcast on radio and television, and recital debuts included London, Paris, and international festivals in Belgium and Switzerland. Duncan has toured extensively as soloist and chamber musician, broadcasting frequently for the BBC and radio networks worldwide. His many recordings reflect his interest in 20th and 21st century British piano music. He is a Tutor in Piano at the University of Southampton.