Chamber Works (Syzygy Ensemble)
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A studio recording of the chamber music concert by Syzygy Ensemble, held at Tempo Rubato, Brunswick, in November 2021.
Streaming and digital purchase options can be found at Navona Records. |
A Lenten Cantata and Other Choral Works
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A recording of the version of "A Lenten Cantata" for full orchestra, along with a collection of other choral anthems, including an orchestrated version of "I gave my Lord an apple".
Now available from Toccata Classics Also available on most streaming services, including Apple Music and Spotify. ... die rund halbstündige, in der englischen Chortradition stehende “A Lenten Cantata” (2017, revidiert 2020) bezaubert von der ersten bis zur letzten Note. Was an diesem Werk besonders fasziniert, ist, wie gekonnt Anderson Chor, GesangssolistInnen, Orgel und Orchester mischt un wie überaus subtil und souverän er dabei insbesondere die menschlichen Stimmen behandelt. Man möchte am liebsten sofort mitsingen, ebenso wie bei den Stücken “Two Communion Anthems” (2014) oder “Magnificat and Nunc Dimitris” (2018) für Chor a cappella. Ein größeres Lob kann man dieser Musik (als Chorfan) kaum machen. The performances of Anderson’s works are excellent. The Consort of Melbourne sings beautifully, with a rich and admirably equalized tonal production. All of the vocal soloists are quite fine, as well. It appears that the orchestral and vocal tracks for A Lenten Cantata and I gave my Lord an apple were recorded separately, and in different venues. Nonetheless, the final product is convincing, well executed, and sonically fulfilling. The composer’s program notes include detailed explanations of each work, as well as the sung texts. Fine performances of lovely and moving works in a traditional voice. Recommended. |
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Songs of Sleep
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The song cycle “Songs of Sleep” was commissioned by Alexandra Mathew, and premiered in a Recitals Australia concert in Pilgrim Church, Adelaide, with Hugh Fullarton at the piano. The work features poems by Robert Louis Stevenson (“The Land of Nod”), Sir Walter Scott (“Lullaby of an Infant Chief”), Sara Teasdale (“Only in Sleep”), John Fletcher (“Sleep”) and Enid Derham (“The Awakening”), as well as a traditional text (“One in a Rush”).
Available for streaming and download at Bandcamp Available for streaming at all major services, including Amazon, Apple Music and Spotify. |
Piano Quartets 1&2
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Australia Piano Quartet
(Kristian Winther, violin; James Wannan, viola; Thomas Rann, cello; Daniel de Borah, piano) Released on Navona records Available for download from: iTunes Amazon ArchivMusic Available for streaming from: Apple Music Spotify |
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...compelling and unique. ...I have seldom had such pleasure as in listening to these new works. ...This is a must listen to CD!
(Geoff Pearce, Classical Music Daily)
...gloriously rich and atmospheric
(Records International)
...bursts of energy, culminating in intense and ecstatic climaxes.
(American Record Guide)
...What is astonishing is how natural and perfectly proportioned the two quartets are. Nothing sounds forced or hard-working, the construction is well proportioned, the themes are characteristic and testify to a wonderful ingenuity.
...There are strong moods here, which are deeply explored by the excellent Australia Piano Quartet.
(5 out of 5: Frank Remy, Pizzicato)
Melbourne-based composer Andrew Anderson (b. 1971) is hardly a household name, though on the strength of this recording one must wonder why.
... that lovely, rich lyricism which made such an impression in the First Quartet still blossoms in the second, and now all the more poignantly because it often represents a greater release of tension, after some slightly more dissonant passages.
Unlike the First Quartet, the Second is conceived in two parts, each introduced by the same elegiac theme played by a solo string instrument. The second part opens by looking back to the world of modality and medieval organum, after which a number of contrasting sections follow, including one especially-frenetic passage of irresistible power and drive. On first listening it’s likely that the First Quartet will make the greater impression. But the more familiar you become with the Second, you will surely come to realise how much technical progress Anderson has made as a composer, and allow the Second Quartet gradually to nudge the first out of pole position.
(Philip R Buttall, MusicWeb International)
This is a lovely disc, beautifully performed and recorded. It makes one hanker to hear his music played live.
(4.5 out of 5: Steve Moffat, Limelight)
What's most impressive is the manner in which Anderson bridges the long-running musical chasm between listenability and technical depth. Most composers, contemporary or not, struggle here and end up specializing in either one. Not Anderson. His music is instantly accessible to the casual listener, yet mind-bogglingly complex upon closer inspection. It is that kind of musical composition which simply cannot be taught, not at a conservatoire nor elsewhere; a music that lives and breathes, or in Beethoven's words, music with a divine spark.
(Navona Records)
Miniatures
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Omega Ensemble (David Rowden, clarinet; Maria Raspopova, piano) Available for download from: iTunes CDBaby Amazon Available for streaming from: Apple Music Spotify Recorded Trackdown studios, NSW, 16th October 2017 Recording Engineer: Matthew McGuigan Assistant Recording Engineer: Rose Mackenzie-Peterson Editing & Mixing: Myles Mumford Album Art: Mr Ian Murray |
Anderson’s “Miniatures” is a celebration of the small: from small creatures (“Ugly Ducklings”) and things (“Toy Trains”), to brief time spans (“A Butterfly at Sunset”) and shortened forms (“Précis” and – ironically – “In the Form of a Grand Fugue”). The opening miniature announces the generally light-hearted nature of the work with its up-tempo spoof of a famous work by Saint-Saëns (a man known for his down-tempo satire). There is, however, pathos to be found. In “A Butterfly at Sunset” we find the colours of a butterfly no more resplendent than when lit by the fiery glow of the setting sun, but we are also aware that this moment heralds the end of the day and – according to popular myth – the butterfly too. In “Vigil”, anguished pre-dawn hours are echoed in the work, eventually to be banished by the arrival of a new day and renewed hope. Overall, with its structural similarities and musical allusions to “The Carnival of the Animals”, Anderson’s “Miniatures” might be seen as a small (!) tribute to Saint-Saens’ masterpiece: a “Carnival of the Small”, as it were.
Further information about the creation of "Miniatures" can be found in an interview here.
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Piano Quartet in C minor / Sonata for Violin & Piano / In Black Ink
[The album is] a gentle entry point into contemporary classical music - and a fulfilling end point, too. This is the sort of album that makes one proud of Australian composition."
Stephanie Eslake, Limelight Magazine (July, 2018)
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Piano Trio in E minor: "The Heart"
" ...the trio begins with a commanding Dramatico and Emma Jardine (violin), William Hewer (cello), and Benjamin Kopp (piano) present the simple and thematic opening on equal footing.... The piano opens Religioso - described in the notes as "a contemplative movement of hope". It's emotionally effective through resounding independent lines... The spirit of Saint-Saëns can be heard in the following Poco agitato, a frisky movement that leads into Inquieto. After a firery opening, it comes to a serene conclusion.
This work certainly has enough presence to hold its own on the album."
Stephanie Eslake, Limelight Magazine (June, 2016)
3.5 stars
"... Anderson succeeds in capturing the most important element of chamber music - dialogue. No instrument dominates here; but for me the discourse between piano and cello is especially compelling... Unsettled modulations build in urgency and resolve in harmonic sun-showers. Anderson rewards the listener with majestic tutti and a glorious contrapuntal fourth moment tying together melodic ideas introduced earlier. This is my favourite piece of chamber music at the moment. Thoroughly recommended"
iTunes, Sydney Harbour Listener