PELLE GUDMUNDSEN-HOLMGREEN (b.1932): Run for 10 Players, Turn II for 4 Voices, Flute, Harp, Guitar and Percussion, Play for 14 Instruments, Company for 4 Voices and 14 Instruments, Song, Sound I and Sound II for 4 Voices.

Description: This sequence of pieces form a fascinating series of views, as it were, refracted in different ways, of Dowland's Lacrimae / Flow my Tears. Some aspect of the Dowland is present in all, though often obscured - the most literal quotation is in Song, though in its early stages it is subverted by quarter-tones and Stimmung-esque vocal effects. The a cappella Song and the mercurial, kaleidoscopically kinetic instrumental Play are finally combined to form Company, taking on an entirely new aspect in the process. Pulsing, energetic rhythms, and an occasional hint of jazz, occur in Run, while Sound I and II are exercises in extended vocal techniques, the first strongly rhythmic, emulating primitive chanting. The composer's eclectic style somehow makes a cohesive whole out of many disparate styles, and when the 'puzzle' is finally 'solved' in Company, the result is an unexpectedly satisfying catharsis. Texts included. Theatre of Voices, London Sinfonietta; Paul Hillier.