7141148051202

Richard Francis: Solo Piano Music (2006-2015)

Duncan Honeybourne

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Format: CDR

Cat No: PFCD108

Release Date:  04 September 2020

Label:  Prima Facie

Packaging Type:  Jewel Case

No of Units:  1

Barcode:  7141148051202

Genres:  Classical  Contemporary Classical  

  • Description

    Prima Facie’s release of recent piano music by Richard Francis celebrates the craftsmanship, wit and eclecticism of this popular Shropshire composer, winner of the 2001 Gregynog International Composition Award. The disc comprises Francis’s complete solo piano output from the years 2006-2015, all played by its dedicatee, Duncan Honeybourne, whose previous Prima Facie discs - of piano music of Sadie Harrison and John Joubert - have met with critical acclaim.  Francis graduated with distinction from the Birmingham School of Music (now the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire) and studied composition with William Mathias at the University of North Wales, Bangor, where he was awarded an MMus degree. He was Organist of Ludlow Parish Church for 30 years and has given many recitals at home and abroad. Francis has developed a vibrant international profile as a composer, and is best known for his organ and choral works, many of which have been recorded to great critical acclaim. “I would gladly play or listen to any of the pieces�, wrote David Saint in Organists Review of a 2-disc set of Francis’s organ music recorded at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral.  Duncan Honeybourne plays here the Piano Sonata no.2 (Irish Memories) with its references to Irish folk melodies, premiered in Christ Church Cathedral, Waterford, in 2011. The first movement evokes a Donegal storm whilst the second is a set of variations on the much-loved hymn tune Slane. The Grand Concert Variations are inventive and virtuosic, while the set of 10 More Characteristic Pieces must surely contain something for everyone, ranging from the touching Evensong to the rumbustious Seaside Jaunt!  This attractive and varied disc was recorded on a Bosendorfer piano in the Ty Cerdd studio at Cardiff Bay, in April 2019.

  • Tracklisting

      Disc 1

      Side 1

      • 1. Francis: Piano Sonata No.2 Irish Memories (2010) Introduction: Nocturne – Sempre Adagio
      • 2. Francis: Piano Sonata No.2 Irish Memories : Storm – Tempestuoso
      • 3. Francis: Piano Sonata No.2 Irish Memories: Variations
      • 4. Francis: Scherzo: Vivace Ed Animato
      • 5. Francis: Finale – “Killiney Strandâ€� (Air: Maggie Pickens) : Allegro Piquante
      • 6. Francis: Grand Concert Variations On A Theme Of Greville Cooke (2015) Theme (the Hymn Tune Golden Grove )
      • 7. Francis: Grand Concert Variations On A Theme Of Greville Cooke (2015) : Variation 1 : Fantasy
      • 8. Francis: Grand Concert Variations On A Theme Of Greville Cooke (2015); Variation 2 : 2 Part Invention
      • 9. Francis: Grand Concert Variations On A Theme Of Greville Cooke (2015): Variation 3 March 1
      • 10. Francis: Grand Concert Variations On A Theme Of Greville Cooke : Variation 4: Canon At The Octave
      • 11. Francis : Grand Concert Variations On A Theme Of Greville Cooke : Variation 5: In The Manner Of An Eclogue
      • 12. Francis : Grand Concert Variations On A Theme Of Greville Cooke : Variation 6: Finale: Fugue In 3 Parts
      • 13. Francis : More Characteristic Pieces For Piano : Folorn
      • 14. Francis : More Characteristic Pieces For Piano : Jack- In- A -box
      • 15. Francis : More Characteristic Pieces For Piano : Painted Sky
      • 16. Francis : More Characteristic Pieces For Piano : Scales And Arpeggios (in Modo Di Czerny)
      • 17. Francis : More Characteristic Pieces For Piano : Seaside Jaunt
      • 18. Francis : More Characteristic Pieces For Piano : Evensong
      • 19. Francis : More Characteristic Pieces For Piano : Folk Tune (Buckley Mug)
      • 20. Francis : More Characteristic Pieces For Piano : Cock-a-doodle-do
      • 21. Francis : More Characteristic Pieces For Piano ; The Lost Garden
      • 22. Francis : More Characteristic Pieces For Piano : Revelry