December 2023 performances
3 Dec 2023, 10:16Three LeFanu works were performed in York on December 2nd. My Christmas carol 'St Ita's Lullaby' was sung by Ebor singers at St Lawrence's Church. In the Late Music concert at St Saviourgate Chapel, Kate Ledger, piano, played 'A Postcard and a Letter' and Nina Kümin, violin, played 'Prelude after Grinling Gibbons'.
'After Farrera' horn trio in New Zealand
13 Nov 2023, 14:49Ben Goldscheider gave the New Zealand premiere of 'After Farrera' on October 14th at the festival 'At The World's Edge'. Here is a link to a glowing review:
Horn trio premiere September 14th 2023
16 Sep 2023, 11:19'After Farrera' for horn, violin and cello was premiered by Ben Goldscheider, Savitri Grier and Laura van der Heijden at the Lammermuir Festival on September 14th, in a concert given by the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective. It is dedicated to Ben Goldscheider, who commissioned it; a second performance takes place in Leicester on September 23rd.
Quartet no5 on CD
30 Aug 2023, 08:45The Lafayette String Quartet have issued a new cd 'Four Voices', showcasing their recent commissions. The recording of my fifth string quartet is very fine.
Clavichord pieces on CD
10 Jul 2023, 09:07A new Cd of clavichord music includes three of my Broadwood Bagatelles. The CD 'Chit Chat', Prima Facie PFCD214, features music for two clavichords played by Terence Charlston and Julian Perkins.
Catalan residency and 'The Moth Ghost' in concert
21 Jun 2023, 14:05In May I was in residence at the Centre d'Art i Natura at Farrera in the Catalan Pyrenees. My project was the composition of a new horn trio, for Ben Goldscheider. It will be premiered at the Lammermuir Festival in Scotland in September.
During May, the Lafayette string quartet continued to present my String Quartet no5, as they toured in British Columbia.
Meanwhile my scena The Moth Ghost has two performances in London, prior to its recording next month. Clara Barbieri Serrano is the soprano, with Aleksander Szram, piano. On Tuesday morning June 28th there is a presentation at the RCM, and on Friday evening June 30th, a mini-salon concert at my cousin Lucy Le Fanu's house in Shepherds Bush.
String Quartet no 5 - premiere
16 May 2023, 16:18I was in residence in Canada at Victoria University, Vancouver Island, from March 20th-28th. During that time I worked with the University's quartet in residence, the Lafayette String Quartet, and with composition students.
The Lafayette commissioned my new quartet, no5, and gave its premiere on March 23rd. Following a successful concert, they recorded it for cd release later this year. During the summer they have several further performances of it, in British Columbia and in Ottawa.
Meanwhile in the UK, Gemini have scheduled recording sessions for a new Cd album of my chamber music. In preparation for it, they have released this video, in which I talk about my work:
March 2023 performances
3 Mar 2023, 15:42The Bourne, a setting of Christina Rossetti, will be performed by Heloise Werner and The Hermes Experiment at the Wigmore Hall on Wednesday March 8th, 7.30pm. It will also be live streamed. The Bourne will be performed in Anne Denholm's ensemble arrangement, and the concert celebrates International Women's Day.
String Quartet no5 will receive its premiere on Thursday March 23rd at the University of Victoria, Canada. It was commissioned by the Lafayette String Quartet, who present the premiere. I shall introduce it in a pre-concert talk.
February 2023 performances
30 Jan 2023, 10:04String Quartet no2
Tuesday February 21st. Bloomsbury Quartet, at Skipton Town Hall, 7.30. The programme includes Maconchy nos 1 and 11 and Janacek no2.
as heather curves (SATB) Text: Eithne Strong. Premiere.
Saturday February 25th. New Dublin Voices, Trinity College Chapel, Dublin, 7.00pm. The programme includes six premieres, of works based on poems by Irish women poets in the Windharp anthology.
Songs for Jane - new cd
30 Jan 2023, 09:54A fine recording of Songs for Jane has appeared on the Polish label Dux. The artists are Aleksandra Kubas-Kruk (soprano) and Szymon Kruk (viola). DUX 1875.