Recorded by Etcetera (Etcetera KTC1835)
My trio for clarinet, violin and piano, Come Shepherds Deck Your Heads, has recently been recorded and is being released on the CD Wonderings and Other Revelations (Etcetera KTC 1835), which features pieces written for the American clarinettist Nancy Braithwaite, who lives in the Netherlands. Nancy has always been very active with her own chamber music ensembles, and this CD is the result of that, full of works written especially for her and her friends.
The trio, composed in 2004, was intended for her then-current Bartók Trio, with Marta Abrams on violin and Bas Verheijden on piano. Various ensembles have performed it, and it was given a memorable performance at the Zeister Muziekdagen by violinist and artistic director Alexander Pavlovsky, alongside Nancy and Bas. On this CD, the piece is performed by Amarins Wierdsma, the fantastic first violinist of the Barbican Quartet – and, moreover, Nancy’s daughter.
You can read more about the background to the piece and its special significance to me in this CD liner notes.
