Julian Anderson: Book of Hours

Book of Hours combines ensemble and live electronics in a tribute to the glories of late medieval art; it uses electronic sound as (in the composer's words) "an extra colour … rather as gold-leaf might be applied in a Medieval manuscript".

This exploration of other times and sound-worlds is continued in Eden, Four American Choruses and Symphony (inspired by a painting of Lake Keitele in Finland); the disc is completed by Imagin'd Corners, an exuberant showpiece for five horns and orchestra.

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Note on Recording (Track 9 "noise")
We would like to point out that the crackling noise present on track 2 of Book of Hours (track 9 of the album) is intentional. The composer's idea was to begin Part 2 of the work as a distorted version of Part 1 (track 8). Julian Anderson has explained to us that he is recreating - with electronics - the surface noise of LPs bought in Eastern Europe before the fall of the Berlin Wall (he has a strong interest in Eastern European music).

"For his "fusion of direct simplicity and delirious complexity", which won him this year's RPS award for large-scale composition, Anderson has become one of the most admired British composers of his generation. Here's why."
The Observer 2006