M55 Flotilla

Eliott Carter Canonic Suite 7’
Bach arr. Grainger Prelude & Fugue V
Richard Rodney Bennett Saxophone Quartet 14’
Gavin Higgins New work (premiere) 10’
Graham Fitkin Hurl 9’
Steve Reich New York Counterpoint 11’

Saxophone quartet Flotilla present an broad mix of music that showcases the fantastic versatility of these instruments. Their blended colours resonate beautifully in Grainger’s Bach arrangement, while Carter’s early Canonic Suite owe more to open-prairie Copland than his subsequent modernism. There are colourful contrasts between the works of two exact contemporaries, Bennett and Reich, while the carefully-wrought energy of Gavin Higgins’ style should make his new work an excellent counterpoint to Fitkin’s punchy rhythms.

       Higgins commission supported by