As a complement to EM Records’ disc of piano music by Andrew Downes, this release features the composer’s music for violin and viola in performances by Rupert Marshall-Luck and Duncan Honeybourne, including world premi re recordings of the Violin Sonata, the Viola Sonata, and the work from which the disc takes its title, The God Marduk.

Downes was a student of Herbert Howells and his work is characterised by influences absorbed from a wide variety of musical cultures, including Indian ragas, African drum-rhythms and Carolingian plainchant, these being fused to form a language that is rich in colour and vivid in the immediacy of its portrayals. This recording is a dramatic representation of Downes’s art, ranging from the gentle lyricism of the second movement of the Violin Sonata, through the playful whimsy and implacable sternness of The God Marduk, to the devotional stillness and joyful assurance of the Sacred Mass for solo violin.

Hailed by BBC Music magazine for his “handsome tone and laser-like tuning” and acclaimed by audiences and critics alike for the verve, commitment and intelligence of his performances, Rupert Marshall-Luck appears as a soloist and recitalist at major festivals and venues throughout the UK as well as in France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA. His extensive discography includes many world premiere recordings as well as conspectuses of the complete music for violin and piano of Herbert Howells and C. Hubert. H. Parry. His solo performances are frequently broadcast on BBC Radio 3, ABC Classic FM (AUS), TTE (Ireland), SABC (South Africa) and in Switzerland, Canada, France, New Zealand and the USA.

Branded “the heroic Duncan Honeybourne” by Musical Opinion and commended for the “suave confidence” of his playing by International Piano magazine, Duncan enjoys a colourful and diverse career as pianist, writer and in music education. His concerto debut in 1998 at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, and the National Concert Hall, Dublin, was broadcast on radio and television, and recital debuts included London, Paris, and international festivals in Belgium and Switzerland. Duncan has toured extensively as soloist and chamber musician in the UK, Ireland and Europe, broadcasting frequently for BBC Radio 3 and networks worldwide. His many recordings reflect his long association with 20th- and 21st-century British piano and chamber music, and include works dedicated to him by celebrated composers. He is a Tutor in Piano at the University of Southampton.

“Marshall-Luck is an ideal interpreter: generously but not effusively lyrical; agile and athletic” – The Strad