Jonathan Dove: In Damascus
Mark Padmore (tenor), Charles Owen (piano)
Sacconi Quartet
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, August 2017, Recording of the Month
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Presto Editor's Choice, June 2017
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2017
Both Padmore and the Sacconi Quartet, who have a major expressive role as accompanists, are at their finest in ‘Soon, we will be free’, the serene, lyrical heart of [In Damascus]…pianist Charles...
Jonathan Dove: In Damascus
Mark Padmore (tenor), Charles Owen (piano)
Sacconi Quartet
Purchase product
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, August 2017, Recording of the Month
-
Presto Editor's Choice, June 2017
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2017
Both Padmore and the Sacconi Quartet, who have a major expressive role as accompanists, are at their finest in ‘Soon, we will be free’, the serene, lyrical heart of [In Damascus]…pianist Charles...
About
Even though Jonathan Dove is best known as a vocal or choral composer, with operas and works for children forming the backbone of his output, his chamber music reveals similar predilections for narrative, drama, atmosphere and a sense of the personal. His new commission from the Sacconi Quartet, In Damascus, was inspired by the violinist Hannah Dawson s suggestion for a work that should reflect aspects of the conflict in Syria; not because music can offer any political solution, but simply as an expression of empathy, sorrow, even outrage at those terrible events. Featuring a performance by tenor Mark Padmore, the text is taken from prose-poems by Ali Safar that draw on his first- hand experiences in Syria, eloquently translated by Anne-Marie McManus. The Sacconi s present this new work alongside his string quartet work, Out of Time, and his Piano Quintet, performed with pianist Charles Owen.
Contents and tracklist
Awards and reviews
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Gramophone MagazineAugust 2017Recording of the Month
-
Presto Editor's ChoiceJune 2017
-
Presto Recordings of the YearFinalist 2017
October 2017
Both Padmore and the Sacconi Quartet, who have a major expressive role as accompanists, are at their finest in ‘Soon, we will be free’, the serene, lyrical heart of [In Damascus]…pianist Charles Owen joins the Sacconis for the Piano Quintet, his crisp, incisive playing making a particular impression in the rhythmically buoyant outer movements
August 2017
Seldom does a mixed vocal and chamber programme such as this hang together so perfectly...[In Damascus] was tailor-made for Mark Padmore, who summons up every iota of his immense interpretative powers to steer us through this reflective testament. This important release cannot be recommended too highly.
June 2017
Given the subject-matter, Dove’s new song-cycle In Damascus was never going to be an easy listen as such - but Dove’s writing is so accessible and lucid (aided by Mark Padmore’s eloquent, unhistrionic delivery) that its appeal is immediate and its impact impossible to forget.
8th June 2017
The beauty of the piece, for tenor and string quartet, is its restraint. It doesn’t sensationalise, get maudlin, moralise or politicise. The words are direct and the music respects that. The performance does, too: clear, focused playing from the Sacconi Quartet and lucid, unswerving narrative from tenor Mark Padmore.
Classical Ear August 2017
Dove’s In Damascus proves a powerful, passionate and above all humane commentary on that country’s current plight… impeccable playing from the Sacconi Quartet.
Record Review 11th June 2017
Mark Padmore uses his voice with such emotional intelligence… the string playing is by turn both dark and passionate
