MAINLY TWO - Squirrels In Matchboxes
Turquoise Coconut TC0015
Marie Schreer (violin); John Garner (violin)
Recorded 30 October 2019
If the names of the two protagonists on this delightful set of duets sound familiar, it is because you may have encountered them as members of the Guastalla Quartet who have performed and recorded with jazz pianist, Kate Williams, as part of her Four Plus Three ensemble, and who as a collective have recorded two highly acclaimed albums, the most recent being the brilliant Four Plus Three meets Georgia Mancio - Finding Home.
As well as their commitment to the Guastalla Quartet, Marie Schreer and John Garner have busy schedules both within and outside of the classical music scene. Garner is a renowned composer and producer having studied classical, jazz and South Indian music, while Schreer has played with Jonny Greenwod, Rick Wakeman and Stewart Copeland, and is currently sub-principal first violin for the Royal Northern Sinfonia. The pair formed Mainly Two in 2013 to explore and expand the repertoire for two violins and this they have done with great success on this latest release.
I have got to admit that I must have listened to the album three or four times before I could get a firm grasp of the music. Once I had grown accustomed to the sound world of two violins it became easier to hear the separate often complex lines and counter melodies, and the flow of the music became most appealing. The album is split into four distinct sections, three suites by different composers and two improvised pieces, opening with 'Duo Dances: Parts 1-13' by James Brady. A series of intense and diverse miniatures that take as their starting point Béla Bartók's '44 Duos for Two Violins'. Composed in 1931, Bartók's suite is rooted in the folk traditions from Eastern Europe, and Brady looks to expand this concept incorporating music from around the globe, depicting the carefree abandon of 1920's America with 'Duo Dances IV: Charleston II' and 'Duo Dances XIII: Charleston I'. Nothing is overlooked with Brady visiting the blues, and Latin American dance, all with panache and lovely arrangements as heard on the beautiful 'Duo Dances X: Counterpoint'.
Kate Williams' exquisite writing, albeit in a different idiom form we may be more familiar with, is presented in her four part 'Suite For Two Violins' that feature strong melodies throughout and the wonderfully percussive 'Part II' before it follows a more sombre path only for the tension to be released with the lovely 'Part III'. This work by Kate, for this listener at least, was the initial way into the music presented. Seemingly easier to hear the separation between the two violins and acclimatising to the tonal pallet, working out how violins can present different dynamics and range while operating within the same confines of pitch and registers.
Two improvisations by the duo, 'I. Matchboxes' and 'II. Squirrels' present a more challenging listen. Two distantly differing pieces from the lyrical 'Matchboxes' to the more abstract scampering of 'Squirrels'. This diversity is also captured in Garner's 'Four Seasons' that takes great delight in working off a variety of harmonic, rhythmic and textural frameworks that is a distinct departure from the music that precedes it, yet also draws much from it, and using many of the extended techniques that were heard in the earlier improvised pieces in a formally composed piece that is an integral part of the overall architecture of Garner's writing.
A departure from the usual listening for many, this is however an album that is full of surprises, and with music constantly evolving across all genres into new and exciting melting pots there is much here for all to enjoy.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Turquoise Coconut TC0015
Marie Schreer (violin); John Garner (violin)
Recorded 30 October 2019
If the names of the two protagonists on this delightful set of duets sound familiar, it is because you may have encountered them as members of the Guastalla Quartet who have performed and recorded with jazz pianist, Kate Williams, as part of her Four Plus Three ensemble, and who as a collective have recorded two highly acclaimed albums, the most recent being the brilliant Four Plus Three meets Georgia Mancio - Finding Home.
As well as their commitment to the Guastalla Quartet, Marie Schreer and John Garner have busy schedules both within and outside of the classical music scene. Garner is a renowned composer and producer having studied classical, jazz and South Indian music, while Schreer has played with Jonny Greenwod, Rick Wakeman and Stewart Copeland, and is currently sub-principal first violin for the Royal Northern Sinfonia. The pair formed Mainly Two in 2013 to explore and expand the repertoire for two violins and this they have done with great success on this latest release.
I have got to admit that I must have listened to the album three or four times before I could get a firm grasp of the music. Once I had grown accustomed to the sound world of two violins it became easier to hear the separate often complex lines and counter melodies, and the flow of the music became most appealing. The album is split into four distinct sections, three suites by different composers and two improvised pieces, opening with 'Duo Dances: Parts 1-13' by James Brady. A series of intense and diverse miniatures that take as their starting point Béla Bartók's '44 Duos for Two Violins'. Composed in 1931, Bartók's suite is rooted in the folk traditions from Eastern Europe, and Brady looks to expand this concept incorporating music from around the globe, depicting the carefree abandon of 1920's America with 'Duo Dances IV: Charleston II' and 'Duo Dances XIII: Charleston I'. Nothing is overlooked with Brady visiting the blues, and Latin American dance, all with panache and lovely arrangements as heard on the beautiful 'Duo Dances X: Counterpoint'.
Kate Williams' exquisite writing, albeit in a different idiom form we may be more familiar with, is presented in her four part 'Suite For Two Violins' that feature strong melodies throughout and the wonderfully percussive 'Part II' before it follows a more sombre path only for the tension to be released with the lovely 'Part III'. This work by Kate, for this listener at least, was the initial way into the music presented. Seemingly easier to hear the separation between the two violins and acclimatising to the tonal pallet, working out how violins can present different dynamics and range while operating within the same confines of pitch and registers.
Two improvisations by the duo, 'I. Matchboxes' and 'II. Squirrels' present a more challenging listen. Two distantly differing pieces from the lyrical 'Matchboxes' to the more abstract scampering of 'Squirrels'. This diversity is also captured in Garner's 'Four Seasons' that takes great delight in working off a variety of harmonic, rhythmic and textural frameworks that is a distinct departure from the music that precedes it, yet also draws much from it, and using many of the extended techniques that were heard in the earlier improvised pieces in a formally composed piece that is an integral part of the overall architecture of Garner's writing.
A departure from the usual listening for many, this is however an album that is full of surprises, and with music constantly evolving across all genres into new and exciting melting pots there is much here for all to enjoy.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
