The 'piece is packed full of word painting' and 'was so much fun to sing' and for several audience members it was 'their favourite piece in the programme'. Emma Warren describes discovering and performing Stephen Dodgson’s 'The Running Carol' and 'Falan-Tiding' with her choir Inchant.
We're delighted to announce the release of Vol. 2 of Stephen Dodgson's solo songs: The Distances Between. The album includes 17 first recordings and marks the 10th anniversary of his death, performed by Ailish Tynan, Katie Bray, Marcus Farnsworth, Christopher Glynn, Mark Eden and Ian Wilson.
25-year-old Singaporean guitarist Kevin Loh has won second prize at the renowned Guitar Foundation of America's 'International Concert Artist Competition' in New York with a superb performance including Stephen Dodgson's Fantasy Divisions.
Mark Eden's guitar provides the recording’s ear-catching opening with the Four Poems of John Clare [sung by] James Gilchrist... Elsewhere, pianist Christopher Glynn adroitly elicits the diverse character of each song, emphatic and unruly in Irishry, yet inscrutably supporting soprano Ailish Tynan’s sublimely ethereal ‘Psyche’ from Tideways... Roderick Williams is typically captivating in the storytelling of the Bush Ballads... These approachable, sometimes quirky vignettes could hardly have better advocates.
An excellent aspect of this disc is that we have a wide variety of star-studded voices adding interest throughout with the guitar (for which Dodgson was brilliant at writing) and recorder. In all there are 26 songs here and that includes five cycles and these are, attractively, divided between the voices. The texts stretch from light verse through Gerard Manley Hopkins and Walter de la Mare. In the accompanying essays, Dodgson’s style and language is neatly summed up as ‘a tonal-based inspiration and a natural creative communicative desire’, although Matthew-Walker does add that Dodgson clearly has his own personal voice. And, one must agree with him that Dodgson has been ‘unfairly neglected’.
The album’s title is owed to Stephen Dodgson, eight delightful vignettes, beautifully crafted, which fall on grateful ears. Throughout, Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins play as one, with dedication and shared pleasure.
The Thames Youth Orchestra under the direction of Simon Ferris performs Stephen Dodgson’s Essay No. 1 alongside works by Ferguson and Vaughan Williams in a concert that explores 20th-century orchestral compositions from the British Isles. The Thames Youth Orchestra is a large-scale independent youth symphony orchestra based in southwest London. Since its foundation in 2005, TYO has developed into a richly-resourced orchestral training programme playing a prominent artistic and educational role in its community. The orchestra comprises 70 young musicians drawn from over 30 local schools whose work is overseen by an outstanding staff of highly-experienced professional musicians. TYO performs extensively[...]
This celebratory concert brings together works from many of the composers who have lived and worked in Barnes. Stephen Dodgson’s 100th anniversary is celebrated with his Trumpet Concerto – his last work, written in 2011 – and the trumpeter he wrote it for, Imogen Whitehead. (For more, read Imogen’s blog about the concerto.) The performance also celebrates Holst’s 150th anniversary The Planets. Jim Parker and Carl Davis both sadly died last year and their lives are marked by the popular pieces they wrote respectively for Midsomer Murders and Pride & Prejudice. And Howard Goodall and Roxanna Panufnik bring some of their latest works to the[...]
The versatile chamber ensemble Karolos perform Stephen Dodgson’s String Trio no. 2 at the Conway Hall alongside a selection of works by Bach, Schubert and Mozart. Renowned for the energy and vitality of their concerts as well as their extraordinary musicianship, they perform a broad repertoire ranging from classics to recent commissions. The group previously recorded the trio along with a number of Dodgson works to great acclaim. “a dynamic, virtuoso chamber collective of first-rate players.” Gramophone Magazine Programme Schubert – String Trio in B flat D471 Bach – arr. Mackenzie: Sinfonia No.3 in C minor BWV788 Bach – arr. Mackenzie: Sinfonia[...]
James Turnbull and Eleanor Turner perform Stephen Dodgson’s Countdown as part of a chamber music concert entitled ‘Memento’ – a morning ‘coffee’ concert that forms part of the New Paths Festival. The pair recorded the piece in 2017 as part of their Dodgson ‘Music for Oboe’ recording, to great acclaim. Recording reviews: British Music Society> Klassisk Musikk> MusicWeb International> UK Harp Magazine> Double Reed News> British Music Society> They write of the concert: Vaughan Williams’ quintet for strings was written shortly after his famous Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, and similarly takes medieval music as its starting point, creating a timeless spaciousness.[...]
The LFCCM commemorates Stephen Dodgson’s centenary with a concert that features several Dodgson sacred choral works alongside works by established and up-and-coming contemporary composers. All performed by a crack team selected from among London’s finest choral singers directed by Alastair Carey. Tickets will be available nearer the time from the LFCCM website.
Tenor James Gilchrist and guitarist Mark Eden will be performing a selection of Stephen Dodgson guitar songs at St Mary’s Church in Arkengarthdale at 4pm on Wednesday 29 May 2024 as part of the Swaledale Festival. The programme will also include music by Dowland, Schubert and Alec Roth. James Gilchrist is a leading interpreter of Oratorio and Song, especially the German and English repertoire. He is internationally renowned as one of the evangelists in Bach’s passions and oratorios and maintains an ongoing interest in older music, regularly performing as a soloist with viol consorts, lutenists and period pianos. Mark Eden is better known as one[...]
The Magnard Ensemble and a cast of soloists perform Stephen Dodgson’s short chamber opera Cadilly alongside his Gipsy Songs at Conway Hall. Cadilly, based on one of the Tales from the Fens by W. H. Barrett, tells the story of a beautiful woman and ‘willing maid’ who is loved by the scholars, their tutors and the townsmen alike but jailed for ‘immoral behaviour’! A vibrant and comic piece. Programme Dodgson – Sonata Gipps – The Lady of the Lambs Vaughan Williams – Ten Blake Songs for Soprano and Oboe Arnold – Three Shanties Dodgson – Cadilly Pre-concert talk – 5.30pm Concert – 6.30pm Tickets will be available via the[...]