Sensations of Travel Hebrides Ensemble

• Nigel Osborne (b. 1948): The Piano Tuner (Version with Soundscapes):
• 1 The Piano Tuner (Version with Soundscapes): I. Prelude I. Tuning 02:43
• 2 The Piano Tuner (Version with Soundscapes): II. Fugue I. Tetrachord, Hexachord 01:28
• 3 The Piano Tuner (Version with Soundscapes): III. Prelude II. Sensations of Travel 01:31
• 4 The Piano Tuner (Version with Soundscapes): IV. Fugue II. Sea Bird 00:55
• 5 The Piano Tuner (Version with Soundscapes): V. Fugue III. Dragonfly 01:05
• 6 The Piano Tuner (Version with Soundscapes): VI. Fugue IV. Tiger 02:02
• 7 The Piano Tuner (Version with Soundscapes): VII. Prelude III. Song of Loss 03:06
• 8 The Piano Tuner (Version with Soundscapes): VIII. Fugue V. Fractal Counterpoint 03:17
• Espionage:
• 9 Espionage: I. Et in Arcadia Ego "Broken Memories / Digital Surveillance" 04:05
• 10 Espionage: II. The Triumph of the Poet "Shakespeare in the Kremlin" 01:30
• 11 Espionage: III. A Dance to the Music of Time "The Art Historian and the Spy / A Sentimental Tune" 04:35
• Nigel Osborne:
• 12 Balkan Dances & Laments 15:08
• Ecological Studies:
• 13 Ecological Studies: I. White Bird 01:07
• 14 Ecological Studies: II. Kuda Kepang - Mudskipper Macaque 01:13
• 15 Ecological Studies: III. Osbornia - Makyung 00:53
• 16 Ecological Studies: IV. Egret - Kingfisher - Sandpiper 03:54
• Nigel Osborne:
• 17 Zone 09:21
• 18 My Beloved, Where Are You Going - Adagio for Vedran Smailovic 04:52
• Preludio y Canción:
• 19 Preludio y Canción: I. Preludio 02:50
• 20 Preludio y Canción: II. Canción 04:42
• Total Runtime 01:10:17

Info for Sensations of Travel

The quotation is from Daniel Mason’s 2002 novel The Piano Tuner, which itself is quoting the Oxford English Dictionary. In 2004, Nigel Osborne completed an opera based on Mason’s book, which also provided the basic material for his piano trio recorded here.

This chain of works on a common theme – itself in a sense a fugue – begins with Mason’s story. Edgar Drake is the piano tuner, working in London in 1886. Out of nowhere, and in stark contrast to his regular round of gentleman’s clubs and the homes of the city’s upper classes, he receives a commission to tune a piano in Burma, recently annexed by the British Empire.The instrument belongs to the military doctor Anthony Carroll, eccentric but with an unmatchable record of maintaining the peace, who first demanded that the army bring an Erard grand for him into the Burmese jungle. After some reservations, Drake accepts the commission and travels deep into colonial south-east Asia. ...

Hebrides Ensemble

Hebrides Ensemble
With programmes that are diverse, imaginative and inspiring, Hebrides Ensemble has established itself as one of the foremost chamber music collectives in the UK. Cofounded and led by its artistic director, the cellist and conductor William Conway, the Ensemble is renowned for its fresh and intelligent approach to programming, which places contemporary music at the heart of a diverse range of repertoire.

The Ensemble’s flexibility is its strength. It draws its performers from a pool of the most outstanding musicians in the UK and beyond, ensuring the exceptional performance standards for which it has become renowned. This is an international ensemble with its roots in Scottish culture, a collective committed to supporting the next generation of performers and composers, particularly those with links to Scotland. In recent years it has commissioned and premiered new works from composers including Sally Beamish, Hafliði Hallgrímsson, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Sir James MacMillan, Alasdair Nicolson, Alasdair Spratt, William Sweeney and Martin Suckling.

In 2015 the Ensemble broke new ground by becoming the first professional ensemble to simultaneously connect musicians in Edinburgh to London and Italy in real time. As Hebrides Ensemble celebrates its twenty-fifth birthday in 2016, it launches the next phase of its pioneering digital strategy, which will allow audiences around the world to be part of every performance the Ensemble gives, using live streaming, Twitter feeds and cutting-edge digital technology.

Among other accolades, Hebrides Ensemble’s outstanding achievements were acknowledged by the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards in 2009, with a nomination in the Chamber Music category.

Booklet for Sensations of Travel