Aldeburgh World Orchestra - Charlotte Bray: At The Speed Of Stillness

At the Speed of Stillness, commissioned by Aldeburgh World Orchestra, explores paradoxes of energy and movement: 'the hummingbird motionless as a star' (in Dora Maar's description), or the contained energy of a power station. Caught in Treetops, a violin concerto written for Alexandra Wood and BCMG, takes its inspiration from two poems by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Federico Garc�a Lorca, while also drawing on the relentless energy of Sonny Rollins.

Two song-cycles make explicit Bray's close relationship with poetry: Fire Burning in Snow sets three poems by Nicki Jackowska exploring desire, obsession and loss - also the subject of Songs from 'Yellow Leaves', a sequence of haikus based on Shakespeare's sonnets. The album is completed by the energetic piano quartet Replay, and Oneiroi, a dark study for piano.

This album is part of our Debut Discs series.