Peter Wiegold has spent many years studing Indian and Gamelan music, playing with leading Indian musicians in the Gemini-Bhavan Ensemble and in the English Gamelan Orchestra. He is currently Professor, Head of Music Research, at Brunel University.

Peter’s music is influenced by his strong interest in eastern philosophy, especially Buddhism. It is a mixture of fully notated, freely improvised and anything inbetween – he often allows the performers to participate in the creative process. This is his first portrait recording on NMC.

Works on this disc include the plaintive, pastoral Earth, receive an honoured guest, for cor anglais and strings, inspired by WH Auden’s well known elegy for WB Yeats; the elemental Kalachakra for large ensemble depicting the creation of the universe using Tibetan bells and brass; and the bittersweet, Viennese Earth and Stars, commissioned for the 200th anniversary of Mozart’s death and featuring 4 harmonicas to represent an ancient funeral band, dug up from the soil by future generations.

Contents:
- Kalachakra
Notes Inégales / Peter Wiegold

- Earth, Receive an Honoured Guest
Melinda Maxwell (cor anglais)
Southbank Sinfonia / Peter Wiegold

- Les Roses
Juliet Fraser (soprano)
Martin Butler (piano)

- Earth and Stars
Notes Inégales / Peter Wiegold conductor