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Track(s) taken from SIGCD232

Despite the falling snow

composer
Mike Sheppard (b?)

Caroline Dale (cello), English Chamber Orchestra, Steve Sidwell (conductor)
Recording details: August 2010
Phoenix Sound, Pinewood Studios, United Kingdom
Produced by Mike Sheppard & Tonia Sheppard
Engineered by Dick Lewzey
Release date: November 2010
Total duration: 3 minutes 27 seconds

Cover artwork: Woman and Boy. Eva Mueller (b?)
 

Reviews

'A prominent feature in Mike Sheppard's music is its strong neo-pastoral quality. Sweeping melodic shapes are underpinned by sumptuous modal harmonies which flow out of a lush lyrical bedrock, as heard here on 'Elegy for a Lost Son', 'Lullaby' and 'Ellie's Theme' … efficacious in this respect are the commanding performances heard here, especially that of cellist Caroline Dale. This may not be technically difficult music but it still requires thought and understanding. Dale manages to draw every drop of emotional energy from the instrument on 'Soliloquy' and 'A Remark You Made'. It is fitting that her beautifully weighted sound is heard at the very beginning and end of this album' (Gramophone)

'If you want to lie back to something warm, soothing, yet intense, this is unquestionably it. Beautiful music, played with passion, even if harder personality types might prefer a drier acoustic for the cello' (Classic FM)» More
The title comes from the Robert Graves poem She Tells Her Love While Half Asleep, in which the poet beautifully evokes the fragility of love, comparing it to nascent spring flowers in a winter of falling snow. Some interpret this poem as darkly pessimistic, but I prefer to read it as a testament to the optimism of love.

The least functionally tonal piece in the collection, it juxtaposes conventional minor 9th harmonies with purely quartal harmonic structures that allow for a more chromatic approach.

from notes by Mike Sheppard © 2010

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