CD REVIEW:

This exciting new CD from Audio-B received a glowing review in Gramophone Magazine this month:

GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE – DECEMBER 2009

CELEBRATING BACH – ABCD 5025

Northern Sinfonia, Bradley Creswick, Tim Garland

The distinguished Northern Sinfonia directed by Bradley Creswick, celebrates JS Bach’s enduring legacy, which continues to inspire composers and performers into the 21st century.

The album shows the clear link between JS Bach and two more modern composers who cite him as an important influence. Stravinsky’s ‘Dumbarton Oaks’ uses similar instrumentation to Bach’s concertos and was written with a dedication to Bach. Similarly, in the twenty-first century, Tim Garland has employed almost the same instruments for his two pieces, which also carry a dedication to Bach. Tim’s liner notes explain some of the ways in which his compositions draw influence from Bach via Stravinsky’s work, demonstrating a direct lineage. The use of soprano saxophone instead of oboe has been done before; Bach himself transcribed these concertos several times for different instruments as they (or their players) became available. Tim Garland is arguably one of the finest players in the world on soprano saxophone.

The album is recorded and engineered to the highest standard.

Gramophone Magazine – December 2009

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Jim Quilty of the Daily Star reviewed Acoustic Triangle’s “energetic performance” at al-Bustan:

“Thanks to the musicians who perform them, musical forms – “jazz,” “folk,” “classical” – are permeable things. That doesn’t mean all jazz pianists can be counted on to move through Bach’s “Well-Tempered Clavier” like a hot knife through butter, or that an orchestra’s first violinist could, if pressed, manage a reel. So it’s an all the more pleasant surprise to find a trio inhabiting all these modes with equal comfort.

“That’s what Acoustic Triangle did at their Thursday evening concert at Al-Bustan Festival. This UK ensemble – Creese on double bass, pianist Gwilym Simcock, and Tim Garland on saxophones – are so relaxed with their music, and one another, that the only thing missing from the show was the ego that can accompany performance of this caliber.”

Read the full review here

Upcoming Concerts

Acoustic Triangle is performing two very diferent concerts in the next few weeks, one in Beirut and the other in London. The first features the trio version and the second is a collaboration with the six members of the Sacconi Strings. There is a special prize for anyone who makes it to both concerts!

Al Bustan Festival, Beirut, Lebanon

8.30pm on Thursday 26th February   Acoustic Triangle  Malcolm Creese – double bass  Tim Garland – saxophone, bass clarinet  Gwilym Simcock – piano For more details, please visit: www.albustanfestival.com

 

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Kings Place, London

7.30pm on Friday 6 March  Hall One, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9AG   Acoustic Triangle 3 Dimensions with The Sacconi Strings  Malcolm Creese – double bass  Tim Garland – saxophones, bass clarinet, flute  Gwilym Simcock – piano, French horn  Ben Hancox, Hannah Dawson, Emma Parker, Charlotte Scott – violins  Robin Ashwell – viola  Cara Berridge – cello This is the final performance of the nine-piece incarnation of Acoustic Triangle, in which the group performs the music especially composed for its triumphant 2008 3 Dimensions Tour. At 6.30pm there is a pre-concert talk by Tim Garland on Composing for Acoustic Triangle For tickets and further information please visit www.kingsplace.co.uk

From our co-promoter in Sheffield, Jude Sacker

“Sheffield Jazz was proud to present the 3 Dimensions concert at the Cathedral. The event attracted a much wider audience than we get at our regular venue. We’re hoping that these people will come to some of our future concerts.  The audience ranged from jazz fans to classical music lovers to people who don’t normally go to any music concerts.

Many members of the audience have told me what an awe-inspiring experience it was listening to such great music in the acoustic space of the Cathedral.” 

From Phil Chaundy

I just wanted to say what a fantastic gig you did at Canterbury Cathedral a couple of weeks ago. It was an absolutely first class concert, with the strings and the movement of musicians around the Cathedral; you made sure you overcame the acoustic issues often encountered with the ‘Bell Harry’ tower. I can’t believe that as a group you are not touring the USA, and really an outfit like this represents the very best of British Music and cutting edge internationally of the classical world. I hope the Arts Council or the British Council will see fit to sponsoring a tour of sacred places in the States. I think it would go down an absolute storm. It is typical of this country not to recognise what it has when it has it!!! I look forward to seeing the Group play another gig soon. I have also enjoyed the other releases, Gwilym’s debut album and Tim’s ‘The Mystery’.

Good luck and regards, Phil Chaundy

From Sarah Loving

Music has to be pretty special to take me out of myself – I went along to Acoustic Triangle and the Sacconi Strings at Dorchester Abbey on Saturday night with no particular expectations and was affected by the music in a way I could not have predicted. I’m a writer, and I found myself transported into that mysterious fourth dimensional space where creative thought happens – suddenly things began to move and by the end of the evening the plot for my next novel had started to fall into place. It’s so exciting when one art form becomes the catalyst for another. Thank you to everyone involved in creating this wonderful experience.

FROM CATE, NORTH YORKSHIRE

“Three Dimensions” is one of those transporting experiences which make you vow to attend more live concerts.  What a brilliant idea: the warmth and intimacy of jazz unfurling within the vast acoustics of sacred historical spaces.  The most extraordinary aspect is to feel so subtly surrounded by music: the magic shifts and drifts and even brushes past unexpectedly.  This inventiveness and grace brings you deep into the space and its hidden potentials; it feels like the cathedral itself is breathing differently—liberated, and grateful to be put to proper use!

FROM A MEMBER OF THE AUDIENCE:

Congratulations! The 3 Dimensions concert at Liverpool’s RC Cathedral on Friday 19th September was arguably the most outstanding contemporary music experience heard in Liverpool during this year as European Capital of Culture.

Not only were the composers part of the ensemble of 9 musicians but the virtuosic playing by you all was spectacular. The standing ovation which you received at the end of the evening said it all.

Anyone who missed the concert – either through apathy, fear of the unknown, or by attending another event that evening made a poor choice. At least Manchester Cathedral on Wednesday 15th October gives Lancastrians another chance to hear you.

Thank you Malcolm, Tim, Gwilym, Ben, Hannah, Robin, Cara, Charlotte & Emma. We wish you every success for the rest of the tour.

S.& R., Great Crosby

FROM CARA:

So far on this tour, we have visited so many incredible Cathedrals; all of them have been really different, so working out the logistics has been fun!

Being the cellist in the group I’ve had one of the easiest jobs in sitting still whilst waiting and listening to the others moving around into organ lofts and bell towers. (Although in Worcester Cathedral I did get to play some bells, and even some violin in Romsey!)
 
The music written for this project is so different to what we normally do as a string quartet, it’s really refreshing and challenging to be creative in an ‘alternative’ way. It’s been so inspiring listening and learning more about improvisation, and each concert is so contrasting. The audiences have been fantastically supportive. Please come to see us again!!

FROM TIM GARLAND

This was perhaps the most unusual and potentially challenging commissions I’ve had: How to reach an audience of several hundred in a way that turns all of the problems of playing in cathedrals, into assets. Whilst at one level the compartmentalisation of music genres persists, at another there remains the natural evolution of integration, and its public face is perhaps not as hidden as it once was. I think that to make a successful hybrid performance, the composer needs to know about all the musical elements in some depth, and preferably, quite simply, to love them all.

In the early acts of composing, there is a good deal of visualisation, and in this case it was certainly true, what with the dramatic positioning of these players around the audience, and all the movement concerned. In a very real sense, the natural reverb is a major player in the proceedings, determining at times the pace and breath of the music and being the carrier wave between the players who are often hundreds of feet apart without visual contact. People have compared the effect to birdsong, when the music ricochets over the listeners’ heads in a dialogue of zig-zags.

A friend of mine, when asked at an airport customs desk by a stone-faced guard, when asked “what kind of music do you play?” replied “human”. I can’t think of a better definition here. Our audiences seem to comprise a varied cross-section and the disparate backgrounds of the musicians are fascinating too, but way above this is the sense of unity with which we all engage in the performances.

This is also democratic music. The string players have more autonomy than in much of their work; they are all soloists, they all can determine elements of the music, and rather like actors in a play, they make their roles come alive with conviction. Perhaps these elements of spontaneity within a larger structure are what give me the most pleasure, as I know these factors are not only communicating well with audiences, but represent both our challenge and a our evolution as players, regardless of our background.

TG Whitley Bay – Sept 08