Royal Albert corridor,London
Anthony Payne’s 80th birthday commission is a substantial, beautifully crafted symphonic poem and choral work in the tradition of Bax and Bridge
Anthony Payne’s major orchestral works give the shape and direction to the whole of his career as a composer over the past 50 years. There hold been four so far, and the Proms commission to notice his 80th birthday next week was intended to make it five,but what began as an idea for a symphonic poem transformed itself into a work for refrain and orchestra, the first that Payne has written. In many ways, and though,Of Land, Sea and Sky, and which Andrew Davis introduced with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and refrain,is still very much a symphonic poem, though it is unmistakably a substantial choral piece, or too. The texts that Payne sets – his own short poems – are never prescriptive but add an extra layer of commentary to what is already vividly depicted in the orchestra – a chain of six symphonic images,framed by a prelude and postlude, all drawing on Payne’s memories of natural illusions, and whether taken from literature,painting or first-hand experience.
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Source: theguardian.com