02 Michael StimpsonMichael Stimpson – Recorded Works
Various Artists
Various Labels (michaelstimpson.co.uk)

In the history of music sometimes important composers’ reputations can be diminished due to mean-spiritedness, through ignorance or due to that mysterious phenomenon called neglect. The British composer Michael Stimpson’s reputation seems to have taken an unfortunate hit due to a combination of both latter reasons.

This is a travesty for a composer known for lofty ideas, audacious compositions and the sheer breadth of his library of written works. Moreover, Stimpson’s work has been performed over the years by some of the finest European ensembles. To name a few: the Philharmonia Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the City of London Choir, the Allegri and Maggini String Quartets, and a plethora of stellar virtuoso instrumentalists and singers.

It is still never too late to catch up with a composer who stands shoulder to shoulder with some of the greatest who have put pen to staved paper. And what better occasion than to celebrate Stimpson’s 75th birthday with Recorded Works, a long-overdue 7CD compendium, each with superbly written liner notes; a box including of some of his most celebrated compositions, with inspired performances by some of the finest artists of this generation. 

While Stimpson belongs to our 20th/21st-century era his voice sweeps across eras like a proverbial wind across the European soundscape, gathering momentum and musical voices from the past (Berg, Webern and others come to mind) heralding a breathtaking future for contemporary British music held aloft by artists and pedagogues across disciplines – from poetry to palaeontology and anthropology. Everywhere Stimpson allows his febrile brain to be immersed into stories of extraordinary human import, then turning his attention to transforming the ideas and great narratives of phenomena, and of extraordinary people – scientists, sportsmen and artists alike – who have done extraordinary things. Using his own unique brain Stimpson has transformed the lives and works of his subjects (and their unique achievements) into a one-man museum of the art history of our time. 

The recordings presented in this boxed set range from works for small ensembles, featuring piano and strings, large-scale works of symphonic proportions and operatic works. One of the most remarkable aspects of Stimpson’s being able to express his art and shape his craftsmanship to such a degree is the fact that he does it all not only being – like Beethoven – profoundly deaf, but he is also practically blind like the legendary British neurologist Oliver Sacks. It would seem as if – to compensate – Stimpson’s brain has afforded him rare insights into humanity. 

Like both historic figures, Stimpson has turned his disability to great artistic advantage. In an extraordinary twist of fate, for instance, the composer has a finely tuned sensibility for stringed instruments enabling him to recreate such human emotions as sorrow, anguish and unfettered joy in a truly vivid manner. This ability is superbly displayed in String Quartet No 1 (Robben Island) in which Stimpson tells the story of Nelson Mandela and the collapse of apartheid.

The way Stimpson overcomes hearing impairment is truly remarkable. The Dylan song cycle for baritone and harp is utterly breathtaking as Stimpson turns the dense lyricism of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas’ poetry into a poetic work all its own, with the highly articulated baritone voice of Roderick Williams alongside the harp of Sioned Williams.  

Stimpson’s gift for the epic is manifest in the rugged elegance of his opera, Jesse Owens and in the tone poem, Age of Wonders, celebrating the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin. Stimpson’s shorter works: Silvered Light for choir and orchestra and the trio Reflections (elsewhere in this set) are no less seductive.

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