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Fauvel's Rondeaux: Chamber Music by John McCabe

As a first recording of important works from a key British composer, this disc helps to establish the scholarly infrastructure for performance by providing reference performances of significant works by John McCabe. Shorr plays piano in the Sonata for Clarinet, Cello and Piano (1969, track 8) and in a new version (with clarinet doubling bass clarinet) of Fauvel’s Rondeaux (1995/6, track 9) in these world premiere recordings.

The researcher, alongside Linda Merrick, Neil Heyde and his long-term research collaborator Peter Sheppard Skaerved, worked with John McCabe in developing their performances, and the composer was also present at the recording sessions ensuring that these performances are (in as much as any performance may be) definitive.

Both works present considerable challenges to interpretation, with Fauvel’s Rondeaux presenting particular challenges of interpretation, as a review of this disc noted: ‘Fauvel's Rondeaux ... is a disconcerting piece of symphonic breadth and ambition which probes dance music's sinister and baser aspects... the darkly sinister nature of the score emphasized by the use of a version for clarinet doubling bass clarinet.’ (Paul Conway, Tempo, July 2012).

The impact of this release is clear from the positive reviews it has attracted internationally: International Record Review, for example, described it as an ‘outstanding album’ (IRR, June 2012).