Cobbett's Legacy: The New Cobbett Prize for Chamber Music - Berkeley Ensemble - Resonus Classics RES10243

Cobbett's Legacy: The New Cobbett Prize for Chamber Music

Regular price £12.99
Total playing time [50:44]

Listen on Apple Music    Listen on Spotify
Berkeley Ensemble

The name of Walter Willson Cobbett (1847–1937) is synonymous with chamber music from the first half of the twentieth century – his contribution to the genre was immense, particularly through his many commissions and the prize for chamber music that bore his name.

The Berkeley Ensemble have sought to build on this unique legacy, introducing ‘The New Cobbett Prize for Chamber Music’. This new recording from the ensemble, brings together the three winning works from the inaugural competition with the work that won the first original competition – William Hurlstone’s Phantasie in A minor for string quartet. Also included is A Purcell Garland, three arrangements of a composer who inspired Cobbett by Oliver Knussen, George Benjamin and Colin Matthews.

Album Booklet (PDF)

Tracklist

William Hurlstone (1876–1906)
1. Phantasie
for string quartet

Barnaby Martin (b. 1991)
2. Lazarus

A Purcell Garland

Oliver Knussen (1952–2018)
3. ...upon one note
George Benjamin (b. 1960)
4. Fantasia 7
Colin Matthews (b. 1946)
5. Fantazia 13

Samuel Wesley Lewis (b. 1991)
6. Sequenza
for string quintet

Laurence Osborn (b. 1989)
7. Living Floors
for violoncello and contrabass

'Excitingly original new works by Barnaby Martin, Samuel Lewis and Laurence Osborn sit alongside the piece that won the original prize, William Hurlstone’s lovely Phantasie from 1907. Recommended.'

- The Observer

'The enterprising Berkeley Ensemble has set up ‘The New Cobbett Prize or Chamber Music’, inspired by Walter Wilson Cobbett’s early 20th-century original. Here are the first fruits, in meticulous performances.'
BBC Music Magazine

'Cobbett was an open-minded soul, and he would surely have been delighted at the range of styles and the depth of imagination in the three winning pieces included here. The spirit of Messiaen hovers over Barnaby Martin’s Lazarus [...] Samuel Wesley Lewis’s Sequenza probably comes closest to the Phantasy form as Cobbett would have recognised it [...] it’s performed with energy, sensitivity and superb refinement; bass player Lachlan Radford plays with particular subtlety and expression.'
Gramophone

'A fascinating disc, well programmed and played with splendid commitment.'
MusicWeb International

'Barnaby Martin’s Lazarus colourfully reflects the biblical tale; Samuel Wesley Lewis’s Sequenza adeptly explores string textures; but Laurence Osborn’s Living Floors, cello and bass evoking ancient bone scraping ancient stone, impresses most.'
The Sunday Times

'Lewis’s Sequenza, for string quartet and double bass, is an expert piece of string writing, though in many ways it’s a much less striking composition than either Laurence Osborn’s visceral exploration of string textures in Living Floors for cello and double bass, or Barnaby Martin’s haunting septet Lazarus'
The Guardian

'Excitingly original new works by Barnaby Martin, Samuel Lewis and Laurence Osborn sit alongside the piece that won the original prize, William Hurlstone’s lovely Phantasie from 1907. Recommended.'
The Observer

Credits
© 2019 Resonus Limited
Ⓟ 2019 Resonus Limited
Catalogue No. RES10243
Producer, engineer & editor: Adam Binks
EAN: 5060262791530
Cover image by musik-tonger (pixabay.com)
Release date: 2 August 2019