This disc presents Poul Ruders’s latest orchestral composition, a 31 minute “Organ Symphony” in four movements, featuring a superbly wrought organ part played by Danish virtuoso, Flemming Dreisig. The brilliantly orchestrated Symphony No. 4 is perhaps Ruders's most extroverted work to date.
Ruders composed his Trio Transcendentale as the set piece for the Carl Nielsen International Organ Competition, and it is recorded here by the winner of the 2011 ‘Ruders Prize’, the British organist Nicholas Wearne.
Songs and Rhapsodies is a 25 minute suite, written for the Danish accordionist Frode Andersen and the woodwind quintet of Athelas, Denmark’s foremost new music ensemble.
Poul Ruders, Vol. 7 is the follow-up to last year's Vol. 6 (BRIDGE9336), which was a finalist in the Contemporary category at the 2011 Gramophone Awards.
April 2012
*****
“The organ Symphony ranges from rapt contemplation to searing power. The Trio Transcendentale is attractive, the Songs and Rhapsodies are striking.”
May/June 2012
***
“The solo organ work Trio transcendentale is a trio like no other...Nicholas Wearne - winner of the Ruders Prize at the 2011 Carl Nielsen International Music Competition - handles its fearsome challenges impressively.”
Classical Music Sentinel
March 2012
“His ace in the hole is his wonderful and inventive orchestration techniques. By creating odd or unusual instrument combinations, he often discovers new and vibrant orchestral colors...For those of you looking to expand your musical horizons as well as your CD collection, this captivating series of recordings by Bridge Records, which casts a wide net over the music of Poul Ruders, deserves some real estate on your shelves.”
April 2012
“Trio transcendentale was a test-piece for the 2011 International Carl Nielsen Organ Competition, at which Nicholas Wearne gave what was judged (surely deservedly) the winning interpretation...[Songs and Rhapsodies] explores the relationship between diverse timbres with energy, imagination and inventiveness...I do not expect to come across another disc of contemporary music as richly rewarding as this one in a hurry.”
March 2012
“This is, not to mince any words, a marvellous CD...the sheer craftsmanship of Ruders's writing is a joy in its own right...[Trio Transcendentale] must be terrific in live performance - it's already terrific here...[Songs and Rhapsodies] is a score of constant variety...The recordings are fresh and immediate.”
July 2012
“the Odense Symphony Orchestra is in scintillating form...But it is Dreisig who really earns his fee in the final tumultuous pages of this surprisingly approachable, highly memorable work, as Ruders lets rip with a saturnalia to blow the church roof off...[Wearne] performs [Trio Transcendentale] here with aplomb.”
22nd January 2012
“Ruders is equal to the competition, his invention characteristically sizzling. He does not obtrude the soloist, but delights in blending organ tone with related textures so one can’t always tell the difference...Trio Transcendentale, for organ alone (Nicholas Wearne), is fast and fun.”
