Nicholas Simpson: Remembered Music

Zelkova Quartet; Trepess, Charlotte

Remembered Music is an album of chamber music by composer Nicholas Simpson. A former pupil of John Tavener, Manchester-born Simpson studied law at university and played guitar in rock bands before studying at Trinity College of Music in London, where he won the Chappell Prize for composition and the Ricordi Prize for conducting. His music has been widely played by leading ensembles throughout Europe and the USA. The Zelkova Quartet presents these world-première recordings of two of Simpson’s string quartets. Winners of the 2017 St Martin’s Chamber Music Competition, this Manchester-based ensemble has performed throughout the UK, taking their name from the Zelkova tree (which varies enormously in appearance depending on its species). Rising-star soprano Charlotte Trepess (a Samling Artist and graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music) joins the Zelkova for Simpson’s 1988 work Remembered Music. This setting of text by another of Tavener's friends, the visionary poet Kathleen Raine, is a powerful reflection on loss, rooted in the natural world of the West Highlands beloved of both Raine and Simpson.

Price: $25.98