Michael Nyman – Symphony No. 11: Hillsborough Memorial [RLPO] (FLAC)

WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING

Commissioned by the Liverpool Biennial 2014

World Premiere Performance September 5th 2014 at Liverpool Cathedral Michael Nyman Symphony No. 11: Hillsborough Memorial pays tribute to the 96 Liverpool football fans who lost their lives in 1989 and for whom Justice has only recently been served.

Nyman sets the names of the 96 victims to music in the opening movement, ‘The Singing of the Names’, powerfully performed by Liverpool born mezzo-soprano Kathyrn Rudge. The names of the 96 will be included within the booklet notes, along with Michael’s own thoughts on the events leading up to the writing of the music. Josep Vicent conducts the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in this emotionally charged recording.

"unspoken, unplayed, unsung, beneath the surface of this Symphony is the history of family pain and my personal anger with the corruption of the Thatcher government and her duplicitous police force." – Michael Nyman

Testimonies from the World premiere performance:

Jill Thompson "It was truly moving and incredibly powerful… thank you."
Bryan Shearer "An experience we will never forget."
Ray Wood "a fitting tribute to the 96…full of reverence and hope."
Jane Hughes "a magnificent tribute so very beautiful. The sections with the soloist and children’s choirs were particularly moving and I know that I was not the only one brought to tears by the whole experience."

Review

Last July, in Liverpool Cathedral, the composer Michael Nyman presented the premiere of a symphony he had been contemplating since the very day of the disaster. A substantial work for mezzo-soprano soloist, chorus and orchestra, Hillsborough Memorial opens with a musical declamation of the names of each and every victim. The music pulses with simple themes and direct rhythms. An adagio balm follows the singing of the names, succeeded in turn by a current of rage. The music may offer crumbs of comfort but it does not cover up the deep social wounds exposed by the Hillsborough disaster. Catharsis comes very late in this 40-minute choral symphony. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra play loudly and, at times, harshly on this live recording; the city’s youth choir sings with sweet precision; Kathryn Rudge delivers a memorable song of names; Josep Vicent conducts. Sometimes, it seems, only music can put things back together in a broken world. The performers are all clearly committed to this repertoire, and equal to its demands. The Heritage Orchestra is a fraction of the size of the National Youth Orchestra that premiered the concerto, but it works well both ways. Recorded sound is very immediate, if slightly like the leader of the opposition, have families been able to mourn their dead with justice and dignity. *** — Sinfini Music , 3/11/14

LINK (https://mega.co.nz/#!ncsECaAY!63StUV9gd7tTbk5ChitfIitQ3J-Vc13mZJYuiHnAs-Y)

Enjoy…