Robert Davidson
Robert Davidson writes music that listens hard to speech and turns its rise and fall into line, pulse and colour. His chamber pieces for viola and guitar sit beside larger speech-driven works, always clear in contour and alive to how words already sing.
He directs the post-classical quintet Topology, playing double bass and sometimes singing, and the same ear for cross-genre clarity shapes the scores that appear on Tall Poppies. Lento for viola and piano is dark-hued and melancholy without bleakness: lyrical phrases finely shaped over a transparent, bell-like accompaniment that keeps a thread of light. Arch for three violas and the folk-tinged Junction Rd for guitar move easily between classical poise and popular inflection until the boundary dissolves. His discreet orchestration of Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata lets the viola sing with the same lyric warmth. Speech itself becomes material in pieces such as Not Now, Not Ever! and Big Decisions, where political utterance is set so the music follows the original intonation. The result is work that feels both composed and overheard.
Compositions by Robert Davidson appear on
Mirrors of Fire
Every now and then a CD comes along that makes you glad to be alive: the music is so infectious and the performances brilliant. This is one such disc, featuring Timothy Kain, Australia’s virtuoso guitarist.
Still Life: Australian Music for Viola
This is the third solo viola disc on Tall Poppies, and one of the few such albums ever issued in Australia. Patricia Pollett is widely regarded as among the country’s finest musicians, and the violist who has done most to draw new works for the instrument.
Viola Power
It's hard to imagine a CD of Australian music for the viola, but here it is. From Grainger's chirpy love song through Ross Edwards' intricate dance to Peter Sculthorpe's masterful work with percussion.
Works for Viola and Orchestra
Patricia Pollett's debut solo disc makes a strong case for the viola beyond the usual elegiac repertoire, pairing orchestrated Romantic sonatas with Bruch and a new Australian work.