‘Countdown’ – New Paths Festival

James Turnbull and Eleanor Turner perform Stephen Dodgson’s Countdown as part of a chamber music concert entitled ‘Memento’ – a morning ‘coffee’ concert that forms part of the New Paths Festival. The pair recorded the piece in 2017 as part of their Dodgson ‘Music for Oboe’ recording, to great acclaim.

Recording reviews:

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They write of the concert: Vaughan Williams’ quintet for strings was written shortly after his famous Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, and similarly takes medieval music as its starting point, creating a timeless spaciousness. With its warm texture featuring two violas there is an almost orchestral expansiveness to this nostalgic music. We mark Stephen Dodgson’s centenary year with Countdown – a jovial and lyrical suite for oboe and harp written in honour of the late Queen Mother’s 90^th birthday: each movement counts something different, from candles to sheep to blessings! Reflective contemporary works by Ayanna Witter-Johnson and James MacMillan are offset against the frothy energy of Mozart’s much-loved oboe quartet.

Mozart: Oboe Quartet
Witter-Johnson: Meditation
Dodgson: Countdown
MacMillan: Memento
Vaughan Williams: Phantasy Quintet