The Ash Roses CD that I referred to a few days ago was officially launched at the Canadian Music Centre last night.  Lawrence Wiliford, Mireille Asselin, Sanya Eng and Liz Upchurch performed all the music on the album in the presence of the composer and his wife, assorted Toronto music glitterati and even more assorted others, like me.  It’s a very intimate setting and well suited for small scale art song recitals; especially when the complimentary wine and beer (Black Oak Chocolate Cherry Stout – recommended) is rather good.

This was, I think, my first exposure to Derek Holman’s music.  I was very impressed.  His is a very individual voice; clearly contemporary yet clearly rooted in English Romanticism.  Comparisons to Britten are almost unavoidable.  Holman has the same variation of mood and detailed attention to text but where Britten always seems sparse, austere, with never a superfluous note, Holman is lush and evocative.

There are four works on the CD and we heard all of therm last night.  I think my favourite was Ash Roses; a 1995 setting of six poems by Tricia Postle (also present), which spans a wide range of moods.  It’s, by turns, llyrical, funny and quite disturbing.  Cat lovers will totally relate to the third song, Sweet Breath at Night, about being surrounded by somewhat nightmarish panthers.  Most of my nights are like that.  This was wonderfully interpreted by Mireille, despite a cold, and sensitively accompanied by Liz.

The other pieces set poems by the sort of poets 20th century British composers tend to set.  Three Songs for High Voice and Harp sets poems by Hardy and Houseman including the former’s Midnight on the Great Western. This was a lovely set and beautifully articulated by Lawrence with Sanya, equally precise on the harp.  Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal; Tennyson of course and much set, was Lawrence’s and Virginia Hatfield’s valedictory piece when they graduated from the COC Ensemble Studio and fitting it was, with Mireille, of course, subbing in here for Virginia.

The final, and most emotional piece, was the 2009 work The Four Seasons was commissioned by the COC to commemorate the late Richard Bradshaw.  Almost everyone in the room last night, I think, knew Richard at least casually and many very well indeed.  The original interpreters; Lawrence and Liz, gave us a deeply intense performance of these texts by Tennyson and Shelley.  The final “If winter comes, can spring be far behind” (something I have pondered much on these last weeks) was quite devastating.

So, a great evening of unfamiliar but wonderful music beautifully performed in an intimate setting.  I’m really looking forward to kicking back and listening to the CD.  You can order the CD here where you can also listen to some short samples.