Works by Dobrinka Tabakova, Shirley J Thompson et al
Black Oak Ensemble
Cédille CDR90000237 69:59 mins
Black Oak Ensemble is a string trio on a mission. The ensemble is hungry to expand the repertoire for this curiously under-served chamber configuration, and this outstanding album features eight contemporary works by British women composers, with four world-premiere recordings to boot.
The joyful title work by Shirley J Thompson is a spirited piece which showcases the trio’s enviably crisp ensemble and exuberant performance style. Written for the group in 2024, the piece thrums with sprung rhythm, aptly described by the composer as a form of ‘musical breakdancing’. From here, it is near-impossible to pick out highlights on an album so packed with delights, but certainly Judith Weir’s The Bagpiper’s String Trio (1985) follows the Thompson beautifully. While also rich in rhythmic interest, the work is more introspective in mood and deftly recounts the life of James Reid, a bagpiper in the rebel army of Bonnie Prince Charlie. Reid was captured by the English in 1746 and subsequently executed after his bagpipes were deemed a ‘weapon’ in their own right.
Carol J Jones’s bulawayo railway has echoes of John Adams in its satisfying use of repetition. Inspired by Jones’s grandfather, who served as a station master in Zimbabwe, the piece evokes the surging force of a passing train and is performed with terrific gusto by the trio. Errollyn Wallen’s Making Hay (2024) closes the selection in style. Beginning with an elegant arrangement of Bach’s Prelude in E major from Book 1 of The Well Tempered Clavier, the work then bursts into ferocious dissonance, returning to the serenity of the opening only in its final bars. It is a striking finish to this altogether accomplished, invigorating and imaginative release. Kate Wakeling
