PETER MAXWELL DAVIES (b.1934): Psalm 124 for Flute/Alto Flute, Bass Clarinet, Glockenspiel, Marimba, Violin/Viola, Cello and Guitar, Dove, Star-Folded for String Trio, Economies of Scale for Clarinet, Piano, Violin and Cello, Ave Maris Stella for Flute/Alto Flute, Clarinet, Marimba, Piano, Viola and Cello.

Description: Three of the works here share a common feature, that of the composer's preoccupation with the transformation of mediæval and renaissance material into his own idiom - something that turns up repeatedly in his output from the very beginning. Ave Maris Stella (1975) is constructed according to serial procedures applied to the eponymous plainsong, a technique common in Davies' earlier works. The original material shifts in and out of focus within a matrix of complex subsidiary material derived from it. As with many works originally conceived for The Fires of London, exuberant instrumental virtuosity and precision of ensemble are celebrated in their own right. Psalm and Dove stay closer to their origins, while imaginatively superimposing layers of material in clear, distinctive instrumental textures. Economies shares its instrumentation with Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, with which it also has some elements of harmony and rhythm in common. Gemini.