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Muse

Australian recorder virtuoso Alicia Crossley and the acclaimed Acacia Quartet present the premiere recording of Australian compositions for recorder and string quartet inspired by poetry, mythology, historic tunes and storybook characters.

Artists

Alicia Crossley

Alicia Crossley is one of Australia’s leading recorder players. She performs a wide variety of repertoire from renaissance dance tunes to contemporary electro-acoustic works with a particular interest in bass recorder repertoire.

Acacia Quartet

Founded in 2010, Acacia Quartet has won great respect for its versatile and inventive programs. “Acacia Quartet performed so well that at times they seem like only one instrument, such is their clarity and unison.” (City News Canberra)


Press quotes

“This fascinating, attractive disc from Australian recorder player Alicia Crossley and the Acacia Quartet brings together works by Australian composers of different generations, from Anne Boyd to Chris Williams. Crossley herself is one of our most hard-working and dedicated musicians: the Australian equivalent of Micaela Petri (the older Danish recorder player). The CD opens with Three Bilitis Moments by Lyle Chan. Chan revisits Debussyan impressionism through a contemporary vantage point that recognises the musical patterns of minimalism. The lyrical second piece (The Rains of Spring and Morning) is particularly beautiful. Anne Boyd's work Yuya takes its influence from Japanese Noh theatre, and has the tenor recorder imitate the shakuhachi (a Japanese bamboo flute) by playing around a Japanese scale, while the strings form a ritualistic chorus. Rising star Chris Williams has Crossley switch to the bass recorder for his piece, Pass to us the cups with which sorrow is forgotten, a meditation on a 12th Century Spanish song. Stephen Yates' Bat Music for alto recorder and quartet is, predictably, more up-tempo and dancelike, as is the first of the two movements of Copenhagen Christmas by Jessica Wells. The final work, Three by Three, is by Sally Whitwell who is also a talented pianist. Loosely inspired by Alice in Wonderland, its sections are all in triple time. The piece is notable for a delightfully mordant waltz at its centre. Each of these composers has a distinctive voice, and all the music is written with a sharp ear for texture. Crossley plays beautifully (and) The Acacia Quartet is terrific too, and sound is warm and well balanced. 5 STARS (CD)” ★★★★★

— Phil Scott, Fish Fine Music

“Muse, from Acacia Quartet and recorder virtuoso Alicia Crossley, is a tight and varied collection, fizzing with energy and unpredictable bite. Crossley specialises in the lower-voiced recorders, and the Acacia string quartet has found a handy niche working closely with composers – sometimes, but not always, Australian – deciphering the new. It is a great combination.”

— Harriet Cunningham, Spectrum, Sydney Morning Herald

Audio previews

Track Listing

    Three Bilitis Movements Lyle Chan

  1. I. The Dancers of Mytilene
  2. II. The Rains of Spring and Morning
  3. III. To invoke Pan, god of the summer wind
  4. Yuya Anne Boyd
  5. Pass to us the cups with which sorrow is forgotten Chris Williams
  6. Bat-Music Stephen Yates

    7. Copenhagen Christmas Jessica Wells

  7. Nisse
  8. Hygge
  9. Three by Three Sally Whitwell

Performers

Composer

Anne Boyd

Anne Boyd enjoys a distinguished career as a composer and music educator. She graduated from the University of Sydney with a BA Hons in Music degree in 1967 and from the University of York in England with a PhD in composition in 1972.


Where to buy

Muse is available for download from the iTunes Music Store.
It's available for streaming through Apple Music.

Muse 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
November 2018
Copyright
© 2018 Alicia Crossley
Phonogram
℗ 2018 Move Records
Category
Classical
Catalogue number
MCD 587
Alternate catalogue number
MCD587
Barcode
EAN 9314574058727