Leading young Canadian composer Brian Current, recipient of numerous distinguished international prizes, has collaborated with award-winning writer Anton Piatigorsky in an exciting work for voice and accompanying ensemble. Airline Icarus is set aboard an airliner in which, taking the myth of Icarus as the central image, the composer “explores themes of hubris mixed with technology”. The result is a powerful, resonant work which won Current the Italian Premio Fedora Award in 2011.

Brian Current is an award-winning young Canadian composer. These contemporary works for voice and chamber and vocal ensemble show both his playful and darker sides. These are both premiere recordings. Inventory is something of a stream-of-consciousness and quite quirky. Airline Icarus – which won the Italian Premio Fedora Award in 2011 – is a much longer and more intense work exploring the thoughts of passengers and crew during a fateful flight. Current mixes traditional and contemporary elements in his music-making, meaning it is always excitingly developed but rooted in a recognizable language.

Artists

Alexander Dobson (baritone), Jennifer Taverner (soprano), Taylor Strande (soprano), Leigh-Anne Martin (mezzo-soprano), Loralie Kirkpatrick (mezzo-soprano), Charles Davidson (tenor), Graham Robinson (bass), Kathleen Rudolph (flute), Anthony Thompson (clarinet), Benjamin Bowman (violin), Véronique Mathieu (violin), Gregory Campbell (viola), Paul Widner (cello), Adam Sherkin (piano), Ryan Scott (percussion), John Rudolph (percussion), Geoffrey Sirett (baritone), Carla Huhtanen (soprano), Graham Thomson (tenor), Krisztina Szabó (mezzo-soprano), Sarah Moon (electronics)

Brian Current