Alchemy

Alicia Crossley, one of Australia’s leading recorder players, presents transcriptions that open classical, romantic, impressionist and contemporary repertoire to tenor and bass recorder.

Alicia Crossley recorder
Verna Lee harp
Joseph Littlefield guitar

Johann Sebastian Bach composer
Georg Philipp Telemann composer
Anne Boyd composer
Claude Debussy composer
Toru Takemitsu composer
Johann George Tromlitz composer
Gabriel Fauré composer
Jacob Ter Veldhuis composer
Alicia Crossley arranger
Marshall McGuire arranger
Tristan Coelho arranger

The works on Alchemy have been reshaped as lasting additions to the recorder catalogue, filling gaps left by a tradition strong in early and late twentieth-century music but thin elsewhere. Tromlitz’s Partita V, Fauré’s Sicilienne and Debussy’s Syrinx carry the instrument into classical, romantic and impressionist territory seldom explored on recorder.

Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 and Telemann’s Fantasia 10 enlarge the scant solo literature for tenor and bass instruments, which had almost none before the mid-twentieth century. Each transcription stays close to the source score, with only occasional transposition so the music sits within the recorders’ range.

Reviews

Alicia has travelled extensively throughout Australia and there is no doubt that in this CD she shows great passion for the music, and one hopes that current composers will produce copious amounts of music for her. She deserves it! Harp and guitar add some pleasant accompaniments to the recorder and overall the CD is worthy of a valuable place in the recorder repertoire. ★★★★

— Emyr Evans, 2MBS Fine Music Magazine

Artist

Alicia Crossley

Alicia Crossley is one of Australia’s leading recorder players. She performs repertoire from Renaissance dance tunes to contemporary electro-acoustic works, with a particular interest in the bass recorder.

Audio previews

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Tracks

Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007 Johann Sebastian Bach Arr: Alicia Crossley

i. Prélude 2:03
ii. Allemande 3:55
iii. Courante 2:23
iv. Sarabande 2:25
v. Menuet I and Menuet II 2:42
vi. Gigue 1:18

Fantasia 10, TWV 40:23 Georg Philipp Telemann Arr: Alicia Crossley

i. Presto 1:36
ii. Largo 2:14
iii. Allegro :51
Goldfish Through Summer Rain Anne Boyd Arr: Marshall McGuire 4:24
Syrinx Claude Debussy 2:52

Toward the Sea Toru Takemitsu Arr: Alicia Crossley

i. The Night 2:54
ii. Moby Dick 3:15
iii. Cape Cod 2:54

Partita V Johann George Tromlitz Arr: Alicia Crossley

i. Largo 4:07
ii. Allegro Assai 1:39
iii. Menuet con variazioni 6:30
Sicilienne, Op. 78 Gabriel Fauré Arr: Tristan Coelho 3:38
The Garden of Love Jacob Ter Veldhuis Arr: Alicia Crossley 7:21

Performers

Alicia Crossley
Verna Lee · tracks 10 and 18
Joseph Littlefield · guitar · tracks 12–14

Composers

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) was a German composer and organist of the late Baroque. His sacred and secular music for choir, orchestra, organ and solo instruments remains among the foundations of the Western concert and church repertory.

Anne Boyd

Anne Boyd enjoys a distinguished career as a composer and music educator. A graduate of the University of Sydney (BA Hons in Music, 1967) and the University of York (PhD in composition, 1972), she has shaped Australian musical life through both her writing and her teaching.

Claude Debussy

Claude Debussy (1862–1918) was a French composer whose harmony, colour and flexible sense of key reshaped European music at the turn of the twentieth century. Piano, orchestral and chamber works from his maturity remain central to the repertoire.

Gabriel Fauré

Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) was a French composer, pianist, organist and teacher whose music links late Romanticism with early modernism. His best-known works include the Requiem, the Pavane, and a large body of songs and piano music.

Georg Philipp Telemann

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught, he became a composer against his family's wishes and ranked among the leading German musicians of his age.

Tristan Coelho

Tristan Coelho is an arranger and mixing engineer.

Marshall McGuire

Marshall McGuire brings the harp into contemporary Australian music with uncommon colour and nerve. He specialises in both baroque and modern repertoire, drawing out unusual sonorities and serving new works with technical sureness and interpretative sympathy.

Toru Takemitsu

Toru Takemitsu's music listens closely to timbre and space: sparse lines, carefully placed silence, and a late fascination with water that runs through pieces such as Toward the Sea.

Jacob Ter Veldhuis

Johann George Tromlitz

Johann George Tromlitz (November 8, 1725 – February 4, 1805), born at Reinsdorf, near Artern, Germany, was a flautist, flute maker and composer.

Contributors

CD and booklet design

David Boyce

Photography

Kurt Sneddon

Where to listen

Alchemy is available for streaming through Spotify and Apple Music. It can also be purchased through the iTunes Music Store.

Alchemy is available as a CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer online ordering.

Product details

Catalogue number: MCD 508
List price: $25.00 AUD
Total playing time: 59 minutes 1 seconds
Recording Engineer: Benedict Carey
Roger Lock (tracks 12–14)
Mixing Engineer: Alicia Crossley
Benedict Carey
Tristan Coelho (tracks 1–9, 11, 15–17)
Mastering Engineer: Benedict Carey
Venue: Cranbrook School (tracks 12–14)
EMI Studios 301 (tracks 10, 15–18)
St. Rok Studios (tracks 1–9, 11 and 19)
Sydney Conservatorium of Music
Credit: David Boyce
Kurt Sneddon
Release date: 8 Apr 2015
Category: Classical
Genres: Baroque, Romantic & Impressionist, Contemporary Classical
Barcode: EAN 9314574050820

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