ik(s)lands[s]

Music of Chris DENCH ELISION Ensemble with Sandro GORLI, Carl ROSMAN, and Franck OLLU conductors NMC Recordings NMC DO89 Total timing 73:03 Released 2005

Driftglass (1990) 10:15

percussion solo and five amplified instruments
Peter NEVILLE percussion
Sandro GORLI conductor

funk (1988-89) 10:08

Carl ROSMAN bass clarinet
Peter NEVILLE percussion

ruins within (1992-94) 10:22

Carl ROSMAN clarinet in A solo

ik(s)lands[s] (1997-98) 20:26

mezzo-soprano solo and six instruments
Deborah KAYSER mezzo-soprano
Carl ROSMAN conductor
Text from Mangon by berni m janssen

'e/meth (1995) 10:34

Stephen ROBINSON oboe solo

the blinding access of the grace of flesh (2002-03) 11:03

mezzo-soprano solo and six instruments
Deborah KAYSER mezzo-soprano
Franck OLLU conductor
Text from e(i)ther by berni m janssen, assembled by Chris DENCH

Chris DENCH's wide-ranging extra-musical influences -- from Angela Carter and Ludwig Wittgenstein to Thomas Dolby -- are displayed on this disc of works written for the acclaimed Australian new music ensemble ELISION Ensemble: the glittering mosaic of driftglass contrasts with funk, a punchy duet for bass clarinet and percussion; while the two most substantial pieces on the disc -- the blinding access of the grace of flesh and ik(s)land[s] itself -- both set the calligrammatic poetry of berni m janssen.

Critical Acclaim

"Dench was an exponent of `new complexity' here during the 1980s, but moved at the end of that decade to Australia. His work has evidently burgeoned there. These pieces have fresh, appealing surfaces, arresting continuity and, though the complexity is manifest (not least in the texts Dench likes to set, and the orthography of his titles), they convey a tactile delight in manipulating sound." (Three stars)
---Paul DRIVER Sunday Times London

"Opening track Driftglass (1990) is a glistening mosaic scored for solo percussion, clarinet, trombone, guitar, double bass and flute doubling piccolo. It's music with mineral hardness and glint, attractive yet rigorous, and ELISION are in their element.  . . .  The title track and the blinding access of the grace of flesh feature mezzo-soprano Deborah Kayser and exhibit the brilliancy that radiates from the knotty intellectual depths of Dench's work."
---Julian COWLEY The Wire London, July 2005

Performers and Production

Elizabeth BARCAN flutes, Kees BOERSMA contrabass, Anthony BURR clarinets, Richard HAYNES clarinets, Rosanne HUNT violoncello, Deborah KAYSER mezzo-soprano, Brett KELLY trombone, Geoffrey MORRIS guitars, Peter NEVILLE percussion Susan PIEROTTI violin, Paula RAE flute/piccolo, Stephen ROBINSON oboe/cor anglais, Carl ROSMAN clarinets

Sandro GORLI, Carl ROSMAN, Franck OLLU conductors

Daryl BUCKLEY, Marita EMIGHOLZ and Trevor WELLBY recording producers; Jim ATKINS, Garry HAVRILLAY, Michael HEWES and Hein LAABS recording engineers; Colin MATTHEWS executive producer

Driftglass was recorded live in concert at the Beckett Theatre, CUB Malthouse, Melbourne. ruins within was recorded for Radio Bremen, Germany. All other tracks were recorded at the Iwaki Auditorium, Australian Broadcasting Corporation Melbourne.

This recording was produced with the support of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Radio Bremen. ELISION Ensemble was assisted by the Commonwealth of Australia through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body. NMC Recordings is grateful for funding from the Britten-Pears Foundation and the Arts Council of England.