Fable
The breadth of this remarkable collection of solo harp music encompasses sixty-six years of original Australian composition, performed by Jacinta Dennett, featuring Australian women composers and showcasing the harp’s unique sonic and expressive qualities as a solo instrument.
The stylistic diversity among this cohort of composers is illuminated, advocating the extraordinary capacity of the harp to sound and express the richness of their differences.
Artist
Jacinta Dennett
From the outset of her creative education, Jacinta Dennett has intrinsically entwined movement and music. The responsive nature of the harp and its unique capacity to continue resounding after it has been played have led Jacinta to research the essence of gesture in harp playing and develop her idiosyncratic performance style.
Press quotes
“Jacinta Dennett characterises the remarkable variety of soundscapes she accesses in her new disc of music by female Australian composers as 'swimming with sound'. She’s got that right; Fable is brimming in variety with shades all the way from shadowy to brilliant and everything in between, and is a distinctive and valuable addition to the recording library. This is a superb collection of seldom-heard works that deserve a platform by a virtuosic performer taking the time and dedication to bring all the possibilities of their sounds to our ears—and the ideal musician to take on that challenge is Jacinta Dennett.” ★★★★★★★★★
Read full review— Alison Young, HarpColumn
“Fable features harpist Jacinta Dennett performing a collection of works by Australian women – mostly living, save for Miriam Hyde and Peggy Glanville-Hicks. (The album) is an athletically virtuosic and sublimely colourful display of artistry from Dennett. The disc also serves as a compelling anthology of Australian works composed over the last 70 years for solo harp. Helen Gifford’s Fable (1967) is a captivating work in which rhapsodic gestures cover the full range of the instrument. Dennett imbues the harp with impressive coloristic dimensions across its different registers, from a gnarly bass timbre to an ethereal, floating high twinkle. Harmonically this work slides between states of harmonious ambiguity, lending the ‘storytelling’ aspect that the title promises. Like a bolt of lightning, Elena Kats-Chernin’s Chamber of Horrors (1995) thunders into being with a dramatic opening statement. This is perhaps the most programmatically inclined work on the album, providing musical provocations for the listener to imagine their own fantastical creepy wonderland. My personal favourite work of the album followed, Johanna Selleck’s Spindrift (2008). Organised in seven through-composed sections, the work is captivating and joyous. Fable is an excellent album of Australian solo harp music, featuring masterful artistry from Jacinta Dennett. Highly recommended as an inviting, colourful, and enriching listening experiences for all listeners.”
Read full review— Alex Raineri, Music
Track Listing
- Fable Helen Gifford
- Saeta
- Pastorale
- Rondo
- Sunlit Waterfall Miriam Hyde
- Chamber of Horrors Elena Kats-Chernin
- The Sun Behind It, Burning It Eve Duncan
- Threaded Stars 2 Jennifer Fowler
- Spindrift Johanna Selleck
- Sea Breezes
- Footprints in the sand: Homage to Debussy
- Ocean Floor
Sonata for Harp Peggy Glanville-Hicks
Three Pieces for Harp Alicia Grant
Performers
- Jacinta Dennett · harp
Composers
Helen Gifford
Like Sculthorpe and Grainger before her, Australian composer Helen Gifford has found inspiration in the gamelan and Balinese music.
Peggy Glanville-Hicks
Peggy Glanville-Hicks was born in Melbourne, studying in London, Vienna and Paris. Her activities on behalf of contemporary music and musicians were extraordinary. She returned to Australia in the 1970s, and in her will established a fund and residency for young Australian musicians at her house in Paddington.
Miriam Hyde
Miriam Hyde's style is lyrical and post-romantic. Her considerable output represents many genres and she is very well known for her piano music, particularly the numerous pieces written for students.
Elena Kats-Chernin
Elena Kats-Chernin AO is an Australian composer based in Sydney, born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Eve Duncan
Eve Duncan has composed chamber, orchestral and vocal music, and her work has been presented in many festivals in Australia, Asia and Europe.
Johanna Selleck
Johanna Selleck is a composer, musicologist, and flautist. She holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne, where she is currently an honorary fellow. Her compositions have been performed by internationally renowned artists including in Australia, Europe, the USA, Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, Malta, and Israel.
Alicia Grant
Alicia Grant has had works performed by many orchestras and ensembles both in Australia, Europe and North America.
Where to buy
Fable is available for download from the iTunes Music Store.
It's available for streaming through
Apple Music.
Fable is available as as CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer secure online ordering.
Move CDs can be ordered through music retailers across Australia including Readings.
Product details
- List price
- $25.00 AUD
- Release date
- March 2022
- Copyright
- © 2022 Jacinta Dennett
- Phonogram
- ℗ 2022 Move Records
- Category
- Classical
- Catalogue number
- MCD 630
- Barcode
- EAN 9314574063028
