Harrison Birtwistle: Ritual Fragment

This disc couples two major works composed in the 1970s, Melencolia I and Meridian, a setting of love poetry, with Ritual Fragment, written in 1989. The works display Birtwistle's distinctive and forceful voice and range in mood from austere introspective journeying to moments of unbearable intensity.

"Needless to say, the performances, as one would expect from Oliver Knussen and the London Sinfonietta, are exemplary... no one should hesitate before acquiring this indispensable disc."
Tempo 1993