Rhian Samuel[Works] ~ [Discography] ~ [Performances] ~ [Brochure - PDF]
An important group of pieces within the overall body of her work relates to writings nuanced by the presence of a woman's point-of-view, either as lyrical utterance or as narrative, in terms of women 'telling their own stories'. Of the former category, the song-cycle The White Amaryllis is exemplary. May Sarton's three reflections on transience and loss speak with equal eloquence to both genders, yet their unique voice is inseparable from the poet's experience of writing from a female perspective. Of the latter, the two movements of Daughters' Letters, one of Samuel's most popular scores to date, are explicitly concerned with the plight of a pair of nineteenth-century women, drawn in scenas of Ibsenesque power by the poet Anne Stevenson, and drawing the listener inexorably into political and historical judgements as part of their powerful effect. The same might be said of Clytemnestra, for all the epic resonance of its Aeschylian scenario. In contrast, in the quiet intensity of another Stevenson setting, Path, time, memory and passion are subsumed into a musical symbol, a fragment of the aria Bois epais ('Lonely Woods') from Lully's tragédie lyrique Amadis - material which in the purely instrumental Summer Path is further refined in a rapt dialogue of harp and strings.
Within the sensibility of Samuel's music nature, locality and landscape are also important subjects whose spell, conversely, is frequently evoked through the medium of instrumental or orchestral colour. The most striking examples to date are two major scores, Dawnsiau'r Nant (Dances of the Stream) and Tirluniau (Landscapes). The Welsh titles form part of a shared Celtic resonance, though the composer for her inspiration casts her net more widely than the boundaries of her homeland: 'The Old Man of Storr', second movement of Tirluniau, is to be found on the Scottish Isle of Skye, a region that has also inspired the viola-and-piano pieces of Blythswood. Likewise, Eryri, first of the Three Pieces for trumpet and organ, takes a distant view of the vista of Mount Snowdon, while the distinctly Cambrian topography of the song-set Cerddi Hynafol / Ancient Songs neatly combines a medieval Welsh 'setting' with stories told from a woman's viewpoint.
No less adept in the handling of small as of large forms, Samuel is an accomplished miniaturist whose talent for incisive statement is displayed in a variety of instrumental suites, including Time out of Time, for cello and piano, the Five Miniatures for piano quintet, and Shaping the Air, for oboe or soprano and alto saxophones and piano. Each number in these sequences of character pieces focuses on a particular compositional challenge, conceived of and executed in accordance with the playful, reflective or sombre idea implicit in its title. To the last category belong a number of memorable pieces concerned specifically with lamentation, including Threnody with Fanfares, from the Three Pieces for trumpet and organ, and Galar ('Grief') from Ymddiddan (Dialogue) for two pianos. Other powerful stele to be found in Samuel's output are the second song of the Cerddi Hynafol cycle, Galarnad Heledd ('Heledd's Lament'), the solo organ meditation Fel Blodeuyn (Like a Flower), and the grief-laden arabesques of the final piece, 'Weeping Trellises', from the five-movement cycle for piano, Dream-Images.
Samuel's sensitivity to the practical needs of singers and instrumentalists
lends her music an enduring appeal to performers and their audiences.
Tin Soldier for cello and piano was commissioned by the Associated
Board for the Spectrum for Cello collection, published in
January 2004. A variety of her pieces feature on current examination
syllabuses. Approaching repertoire status, too, are several vocal
works, for example, the atmospheric narrative of The Hare in
the Moon for soprano and piano. With The Witch's Manuscript
for soprano and brass quintet, it is singled out for praise in Sharon
Mabry's essential guide for singers, Exploring Twentieth-Century
Vocal Music, and is one of a number of acclaimed works by a
composer whose diverse output and continuing creativity point to
increasingly impressive achievements still to come. © 2004 Stainer and Bell Ltd |
Works
These titles can be ordered in our online shop, or, in the case of rental works, through our Hire Library. The items with [PDF] after them are links to free sample pages in the Adobe Actobat format.
WoodwindAriel 1988 [7'] (Ref. Y149) [PDF] BrassBrass Express 1995 [6'] (Rental Ref. HL323) StringsBlythswood 1996 [10'] (Ref. H398) [PDF] Far across the sea (Ymhell dros y môr) 2009 (Ref. Y259) [PDF] Solo Harp KeyboardA Garland for Anne (2003) [10'] (Ref. Y200) [PDF] OrganFel Blodeuyn (Like a Flower) 1992, rev. 1993 [10']
(Ref. AC145) [PDF] ChoralLa Belle Dame Sans Merci 1982, rev. 1987 [14']
(Rental Ref. HL321) Chamber WorksEmerging (lightly) 2008 (Ref. Y244) [PDF]
[REVIEW]
Violin, Cello and Piano Voice & Piano/Solo InstrumentBefore Dawn 1988 [9'30''] (Ref. H406) [PDF] Trois Chansons de Francois Villon 1969, rev. 1998
[4'30''] (Ref. Y168) [PDF] Yr Alarch (The Swan) 2009 (Ref. Y258) [PDF] Solo Baritone Voice & Ensemble/OrchestraClytemnestra 1994 [27'] (Rental Ref. HL328) OrchestraBrass Express 1995 [6'] (Rental Ref. HL323)
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Discography
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The
Hare in the Moon (Lucy Crowe, soprano, Simon Lepper, piano) [MP3 Clip - beginning] |
Ariel
Catherine Handley (flute), Andrew Wilson-Dickson (piano)
'Ariel'
HAL 004 www.creighton-griffiths.co.uk
Jolly Wat the Shepherd
Joyful Company of Singers
'Plum Pudding'
White Line CDWHL2150 www.sanctuaryclassics.com
Nantcol Songs: A Perfect View
Gillian Keith (soprano), Simon Lepper (piano)
'A Garland for Presteigne'
Metronome METCD 1065 www.metronome.co.uk
Shadow Dance
Nancy Ruffer (flute), John Anderson (oboe), Helen Crayford (piano)
'British Music for Flute, Oboe and Piano'
Dutton CDLX 7181 www.duttonvocalion.co.uk
Songs of Earth and Air: The Kingfisher and April Rise
Sharon Mabry (mezzo-soprano), Rosemary Platt (piano)
'Music by Women'
Capstone CPS-8714 www.capstonerecords.org
Threnody with Fanfares
Deborah Calland (trumpet), William Whitehead (organ)
'North Star' [REVIEWS]
Deux-Elles DXL 1097 www.deux-elles.co.uk
Traquair Music
Cynthia Green Libby (oboe)
'Daystream Dances'
Hester Park CD 7707 www.vivacepress.com
Recent and Forthcoming Performances
Spring Diary PREMIERE
Jonathan Sells (baritone), Ja Yeon Kang (piano)
5 February 2010. 1.10 pm. City University, London
Trinity
Anna Sideris (soprano), Alex Leese (flute), Gamal Khamis (piano)
10 February 2010. 1.00 pm. New College Chapel, New College, Oxford
Spring Diary
Jonathan Sells (baritone), Ja Yeon Kang (piano)
23 February 2010. 7.00 pm. City University, London
Blythswood
Su Zhen (viola), Tadashi Imai (piano)
20 March 2010. Public concert. Lionel Tertis Viola Festival, Isle of Man
The Hare in the Moon
Lucy Crowe (soprano), Anna Tilbrook (piano)
10 April 2010. 8.00 pm. Jacqueline du Pré Music Building, Oxford ('Music at Oxford' International Concert Season)
Lights in the City PREMIERE
City University Symphony Orchestra, Anthony Weeden (cond.)
29 April 2010, 7.30 pm. LSO St Luke's, Old Street, London
Time out of Time
Takashi Kikuchi (viola), Rachel Fuller (piano)
15 July 2010, 7.30 pm, Gulbenkian Room, International Students House, 229 Great Portland Street, London
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For further information about Rhian Samuel and
her works,
please e-mail Caroline Holloway caroline@stainer.co.uk |
