Eclipse
Intended for 2020, this album and the Concordia Mandolin & Guitar Ensemble were eclipsed by the pandemic. Three years on comes Concordia’s sixth CD: chamber works by Michelle Nelson for plucked strings.
All works are by Concordia member and guitarist Michelle Nelson.
Bishops Spell was commissioned by Marion Blazé (née Bishop) in memory of her parents Ida and Frank Bishop, both keen musicians. The first two movements portray them with soloists Will Hardy on recorder and Darryl Barron on mandola, on Ida and Frank’s respective instruments. The third gathers the collaborative energy of the whole family.
Eclipse, a concerto for mandola and plucked strings, was first performed in 2015 at Malvern Town Hall and was a centrepiece of the Melbourne FAME Plucked Strings festival concert.
After the Fire is a new arrangement of material from Nelson’s 2012 album After the Fire. Introductory material becomes a longer movement, Incinerat, leading into the gentle, entwining main melody as it grows.
Jim Greer’s Jig remembers a founding member of the ensemble.
Artists

Concordia Mandolin and Guitar Ensemble
Concordia Mandolin and Guitar Ensemble is a Melbourne plucked-strings chamber orchestra of about twenty-four players. Formed in 1978, its members perform on mandolins, mandolas, guitars, mandocello, double bass and piano accordion.

Michelle Nelson
Michelle Nelson is a composer, guitarist and creative educator committed to developing instrumental works that are contemporary in voice yet draw on traditional composition practice.
Tracks
- Ida 2:47
- Frank 3:39
- Family life 4:48
- Eclipse: Approach 4:41
- Eclipse 7:22
- Eclipse: Release 6:19
- Incinerat 2:31
- Harmony Returns 5:03
- Jim Greer’s Jig Michelle Nelson 3:23
Bishops Spell Michelle Nelson
Eclipse – Concerto for Mandola & Plucked Strings Michelle Nelson
After the Fire Michelle Nelson
Performers
Where to listen
Eclipse is available for streaming through Spotify and Apple Music. It can also be purchased through the iTunes Music Store.
Eclipse 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 612
- List price
- $25.00 AUD
- Total playing time
- 40 minutes 33 seconds
- Release date
- 1 Apr 2023
- Musical work
copyright - © 2023 Concordia Mandolin and Guitar Ensemble
- Sound recording
copyright - ℗ 2023 Move Records
- Categories
- Australian, Classical
- Genre
- Contemporary Classical
- Barcode
- EAN 9314574061222
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