This disc celebrates the 90th birthday of Scottish composer Robin Orr (born 1909). Orr’s compositions include three operas, three symphonies and, of importance to this recording, a number of chamber works and several works for voice and strings. The title of the Italian Overture for winds, strings, and harpsichord indicates use of clearly defined fast-slow-fast sections–an overtly classical feature, though the music is anything but Italian, varying from free tonality to atonal modes. This pretty much describes the harmonic technique of the other works in this collection, though they are composed in a more romantic style, in some cases with a detectable tonal substratum.
The most compelling piece here is the song cycle From the Book of Phillip Sparrow, based on verses of John Skelton that tell the plight of a nun whose sparrow has been consumed by her cat. While the other cycle, Journeys and Places, isn’t as ruefully delightful, the elegiac poems of Edwin Muir stimulate on a deeper level. In both cases mezzo Pamela Helen Stephen compellingly catches the spirit of the text and music, keeping us focused on every word. The moving Rhapsody for String Orchestra unexpectedly brings Samuel Barber’s famous Adagio to mind, but Orr clearly has much of his own feeling to convey. Howard Griffiths and the Northern Sinfonia offer stunningly idiomatic performances, making this vividly recorded disc a fitting birthday tribute–one well worth your investigation.
