We are delighted to be releasing on NMC the first full-length CD devoted to the music of Liverpool-born Kenneth Hesketh. The title work Wunderkammer(konzert) is a three movement chamber concerto which reflects the character of the wunderkammer, or Cabinet of Curiosities that flourished between the 16th to 18th centuries.

Graven Image is inspired by the medieval Memento Mori, a painting or sculpture which seeks to remind its owner of the brevity of life, and At God Speeded Summer’s End uses melodic ideas influenced by the structure of Dylan Thomas's poem Prologue. In Thomas’ own words: ‘The first and last line rhyme; the second and last but one; and so on and so on. Why I ackrosticked myself like this, don’t ask me.’

Kenneth Hesketh began composing whilst a chorister at Liverpool Cathedral, later studying at the Royal College of Music. He attended Tanglewood in 1995 where he studied with Henri Dutilleux and was subsequently awarded a scholarship from the Toepfer Foundation at the behest of Sir Simon Rattle. He is now a professor at the Royal College of Music and honorary professor at Liverpool University.

'The most striking aspect of Graven Image is its brilliant, indeed resplendent orchestration, combining echoes from the transparent opulence of Mahler and Henze, as well as the perfumed richness of French music, Berlioz, through Roussel and even Messaien' - Tempo

'Music which is compact, illustrative, sonorities carefully polished. Heard neat, Hesketh’s atmospheric music already takes us to strange places, where suspended notes hover, percussion battalions cut a swath, and motifs bubble and fade in synch withwhimsical scenarios.' - The Times

Contents:
1. A Rhyme for the Season
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra • Mueller

2. Ein Lichtspiel (after Moholy-Nagy)
Ensemble 10/10 • Rundell

3. Graven Image
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra • Mueller

Wunderkammer(konzert)
4. The Grand Ordo of Hephaestus’ Children
5. Karakuri in the Temple of Athene
6. Escapements within the Cartesian machine
Ensemble 10/10 • Rundell

7. At God Speeded Summer’s End
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra • Mueller