DCD34038-CD

The Cold Dancer: contemporary string quartets from Scotland

Rich and personal contributions to the quartet tradition from four contemporary Scottish composing voices, ranging from the lyrical profundity of Kenneth Dempster’s meditation on a George Mackay Brown poem to a characteristically idiosyncratic and yet songful work by Judith Weir. Under leader Charles Mutter, the Edinburgh Quartet delivers blazing, committed performances celebrating the immense variety and vitality of work on offer. Includes three world premiere recordings.

"a bright sound with a ring of steel around it that is ideal for modern music"

"Each of the composers is at his and her peak of form in their pieces, and the Edinburgh Quartet has never played better. It's nothing less than a landmark."

"hugely important"

"James Clapperton has lived outside Scotland for much of his adult life. The Great Divorce derives from the title of a CS Lewis book…It’s highly contemplative and still…Judith Weir’s 1990 Quartet…has her accustomed grace and generosity…it sounds very rewarding to play and equally rewarding to hear…William Sweeney’s long Third Quartet…For all its length there’s no fat here – everything counts and counts well…these are fine works by four excellent composers. The Edinburgh Quartet plays with tactile and bright commitment; no warming cocoon and fully attuned to the acerbities of the writing. So not always pretty – but invariably on the money emotively."

Release Date: 12 February 2007
Catalogue No: DCD34038
Total playing time: 1:18:24
 
Recorded on 1-3 February 2006 at Colinton Parish Church, Edinburgh
 
Producer & Engineer: Paul Baxter
24-bit digital editing: Adam Binks
24-bit digital mastering: Paul Baxter
 
Design: John Christ
Photography: Paul Baxter & Raymond Parks
 

Album Booklet

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