Arrieu / London Myriad - Four [CD]

Tuneful, exciting, peaceful, humorous, fascinating- music for woodwind ensemble can be all of these and this new album presents serious and lighter pieces of impressionist and post-Romantic inclination from the 20th century. It includes the premiere recording of the beautiful Suite en Quatre by French female composer Claude Arrieu. FOUR is a project that represents the beginning of a longer journey for London Myriad. It is the first of an audio pair: one which champions existing music and one which carves out new repertoire for wind quartet. The second recording of the pair will be a commission of new works for the same combination and will be realized in the future as FOUR 2. The woodwind quartet in particular provides a unique opportunity for composers to closely explore the individual and very different characteristics, timbres and ranges of each of the four instruments, offering a diverse and evocative scope of compositional colors. Here, from the beautifully textured quartets by Arrieu, Bozza, and Francaix, to the whimsical Travel Notes by Richard Rodney Bennett, the ensemble provides joyful and brilliantly performed pieces that will be appreciated by all.