Search - Gordon Jones, Antoine Busnois, Gavin Bryars :: Lockerbie Memorial Concert

"No doubt this was a special occasion?The Hilliards give a very solid performance?Bryars?s re-working of [The Cadman Requiem] for viols is very effective?"-GRAMOPHONE "Cadman Requiem was written in memory of Bryars?s sound engineer, Bill Cadman, who was killed in the Lockerbie plane crash, and for the most part it?s a dark, harmonically bare piece. The vocal writing, which is often in unison, is perfectly offset by the plangent timbre of the viols?a near comparison might be Arvo Pärt, though Bryars is much more quirky, and you never encounter quite what you expect around the corner." -BBC MUSIC Composer Gavin Bryars?s numerous recordings have been among the best-selling CDs by any contemporary composer. Two of his albums, The Sinking of the Titanic and Jesus? Blood Never Failed Me Yet, have sold more than 250,000 copies! Bryars was deeply affected by the death of his friend and sound engineer Bill Cadman, killed in the Lockerbie plane crash at the young age of 32, and felt compelled to write the Cadman Requiem in Cadman?s memory. This work is the anchor the of the present CD, taken from a free concert for the 10th anniversary of the tragedy, which was given in Westminster Cathedral in December 1998. A very large audience (including relatives of the victims) attended this memorial concert, held in memory of the 270 people who died. The program of this concert, devised by Bryars with the help of John Potter of the Hilliard Ensemble and Richard Campbell of Fretwork, consists of works Bryars had written for both the Hilliard Ensemble and Fretwork heard alongside pieces of early music. The Hilliard Ensemble is one of the world?s most celebrated choral groups. They have recorded extensively for the ECM label and have reached the Billboard bestseller lists on numerous occasions. Their repertoire ranges from medieval and Renaissance polyphony to many modern works, including a series of best-selling recordings for ECM of the music of Arvo Pärt. Fretwork is the world?s foremost viol consort. Recordings from both groups have been hailed as the best in their genre, and both have won numerous awards. The Lockerbie Memorial Concert marked the first time that these two legendary groups, the Hilliard Ensemble and Fretwork, had performed together in a live concert.