*
banner

CD review: Resurrection

David King
Featuring: Amir Farid (piano)
Oaklands Productions: CD001


As a conductor renowned for being able to command the focus of attention on major concert and contest platforms, this absorbing recital performance release provides a remarkable display of opaque, self-contained artistry.

However, the level of musical authority is undiminished in what is an intimate showcase of subtle repertoire appreciation.

It is easy to forget that the Australian came to the UK to further his musical education as a player - his reputation secured by claiming the North of England solo title three years in a row. 

No compromise

And whilst the ethos of ‘excellence without compromise’ provided the foundation upon which he ultimately secured startling conducting success, the roots of his musicality were planted deeply in the expressionism soil of his playing.

The performances are pared to their elemental bones to reveal an inherent understanding of line and phrase, command of dynamic and style. Stripped of artifice, each track is shaped with nuance; the insight allied to precise intent

Covid-19 has given him the opportunity to return to the fundamentals of that fertile hinterland - and the results are as enthralling as they are enlightening. 

The performances are pared to their elemental bones to reveal an inherent understanding of line and phrase, command of dynamic and style. Stripped of artifice, each track is shaped with nuance; the insight allied to precise intent (assisted beautifully by accompanist Amir Farid).

Delicate virtuosity

Even the bravura is tempered; the delicate virtuosity displayed on ‘Sonia’ and ‘Believe Me, if All Those Endearing Young Charms’ contrasting with the touching elegance of Kreisler’s ‘Schon Rosmarin’ and the rich but not over-embellished romanticism of Glazunov’s ‘Album Leaf’.  

The title track has a languid virtuosity; a film-noir undercurrent underpinning its joyful  evangelical zeal.

An unaffected gracefulness defines his approach to Schumann’s ‘Traumerei’, ‘David of the White Rock’ and ‘With His First Breath’, and even the academic appreciation of his own arrangement of Mattheson’s ‘Suite in C Minor’ carries a creative inventiveness in its six cameo forms.

The title track has a languid virtuosity; a film-noir undercurrent underpinning its joyful  evangelical zeal.

It closes with a very particular brace of Antipodean musical heritage in Percy Code’s ‘Prelude de Concert’ and Percy Grainger’s ‘Colonial Song’ -  which the soloist pays acutely observed homage to with his cultured admiration.

Iwan Fox


To purchase: https://davidkingmusic.com/resurrection/

Play list:

1. Resurrection (Peter Graham)
2. With His First Breath (Paul Lovatt-Cooper)
3. Sonia (Alec Templeton)
4. David of the White Rock (Trad arr. Bowes)
5. Suite in C Minor (Johann Mattheson arr. King)
i. Fantasie
ii. Allemande
iii. Courante
iv. Air
v. Double
vi. Menuet
11. Those Endearing Young Charms (Trad arr. Hunsberger)
12. Album Leaf (Alexander Glazunov)
13. Schön Rosmarin (Fritz Kreisler arr. Snell)
14. Träumerei (Robert Schumann arr. King)
15. Prelude de Concert (Percy Code)
16. Colonial Song (Percy Grainger)

Support us for less than a cup of coffee...

4BR wants to ensure that the brass band movement remains vibrant and relevant. We also want to be able to question, challenge and critically examine those who run and play in it, producing high quality journalism that informs as well as entertains our readers.

So if like us you value a strong, independent perspective on the brass band world - then why not consider becoming a supporter and help make our future and that of a burgeoning brass band movement more secure.

So one less cappuccino then?

Support us    



The Hepworth Band - A Summer Proms Concert

Sunday 20 July • Hepworth United Sports Club, Far Lane, Hepworth, Holmfirth. HD9 1RN


Petworth Town Band - Ebernoe Horn Fair

Friday 25 July • Ebernoe Cricket Ground GU28 9LD


Petworth Town Band - Dorset House School Fete

Saturday 26 July • Dorset House School RH20 1PB


Haverhill Silver Band - A Nightingale Sang... (an evening concert)

Saturday 2 August • Foakes Hall, Dunmow CM6 1DG


Haverhill Silver Band - East Anglian Beer & Cider Festival

Sunday 24 August • St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Bury St Edmunds IP33 1QX


Rushden Town Band

July 18 • Second Trombone vacancy. A friendly Midlands 1st Section Band, Rushden are looking for a Second Trombone player to come and join us. Great repertoire and concerts plus contests twice per year. Every other year, the band goes on tour.


Welwyn Garden City Band

July 18 • We are a friendly & sociable Second Section Band with an exciting and varied summer season of concerts. Due to an employment relocation, we have an immediate vacancy for a FRONT ROW CORNET player.


Bedford Town Band

July 18 • Bedford Town Band have vacancies for 1st trombone, 1st horn, EEb and BBb bass. We have several concerts and Wychavon contest in the Autumn. In the last few years the band won the Butlins 2nd section , been promoted to 1st section then 3rd at Wychavon


Dr. Stephen Arthur Allen

D. Phil. (Oxon) [Ph.D Oxford University], GBSM, LTCL, ABSM, ALCM, Cert. Ed.


               

 © 2025 4barsrest.com Ltd