JUDITH WEIR (b.1954): The Welcome Arrival of Rain, Natural History for Soprano and Orchestra (Ailish Tynan [soprano]), Moon and Star for Orchestra with Voices (BBC Singers), Forest, Heroic Strokes of the Bow.

Catalogue Number: 03J088
Label: NMC
Reference: D137
Format: CD
Price: $19.98
Description: Although Weir characteristically draws inspiration from many other cultures - the rain of The Welcome Arrival is the Indian monsoon, the texts of Natural History are 2000 year old Taoist writings - she avoids imitation or quotation; the music always sounds refreshingly like her own. Nature-imagery is frequently important in her output; she has gone so far as to suggest that the first four (the most recent) works on this disc form a kind of Mahlerian 'nature symphony'. Listening to her organically evolving, clear-textured orchestral palette and the brooding insistence of her imaginary landscapes, it is Sibelius who is most likely to come to mind for immediate comparison. Her bold, bright orchestration and diatonic argument, constantly undermined by chromatic counterpoint yet remaining resolutely tonal in effect also recalls the Finnish master. Ultimately, though, especially in her works of the last decade or so, Weir has emerged as one of the most original and accomplished of British contemporary composers, with a confident and sure individual voice. Texts included. BBC Symphony Orchestra; Martyn Brabbins.