New CD release from Robert Saxton
Alumnus Robert Saxton (Worcester, 1975) has released a new recording of two major works.
The first, Scenes from the Epic of Gilgamesh, is performed by the English Symphony Orchestra and takes inspiration from The Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest written literary text in Middle Eastern/Western cultural history, predating the Hebrew Bible. The English String Orchestra plays the second work, The Resurrection of the Soldiers, which was commissioned by George Vass for the 2016 Presteigne Festival. The title derives from the final panel of Stanley Spencer's Sandham Chapel visionary series of paintings which were the result of Spencer's experiences in the British army in World War One and depicts soldiers emerging from their graves on the last day. Both works are conducted by Kenneth Woods.
Reviewed in this month's Gramophone, Guy Rickards writes:
Scenes from the Epic of Gilgamesh (2022) … the musical language is broadly tonal and appealingly descriptive, its succession of vigorous sections and threnodies, and a finale worthy of Tippett at his best… it is a haunting work.
The Resurrection of the Soldiers (2016) is a searing, intense work for string orchestra, one that should by rights take its place among the finest English works for string orchestra…. Yet another thoroughly gripping, intriguing album, strongly recommended'
You can buy the album on the Wyastone website, home of Nimbus Records, or listen on Spotify.
Robert Saxton was Professor of Composition at the Music Faculty and tutorial fellow in music at Worcester College from 1999 until his retirement in 2021. He has been Composer-in Association at the Purcell School for Young Musicians since 2013 and was appointed Hon Research Fellow at the Royal Academy of Music in 2021.
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