? The Scottish Chamber Orchestra celebrates the life and works of its much-loved Composer Laureate Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. ? Maxwell Davies was closely associated with the SCO since the 1980s, when he became its composer/conductor-in-residence; this is the last recording preceding his passing in March 2016. ? Maxwell Davies was one of the UK's foremost composers; he made a significant contribution to music with his prolific and wide-ranging output, which was celebrated with a 2014 BBC Prom devoted entirely to his works, and conducted by Ben Gernon. ? An Orkney Wedding brilliantly portrays the beauty of the rising sun after a boozy celebration, using bagpipes to close in a blaze of light. ? Maxwell Davies composed the concert overture Ebb Of Winter in 2014 to mark the SCO?s 40th birthday. The hauntingly beautiful piece depicts a wintery landscape with the optimism of the coming spring. ? The two pieces for solo guitar each demonstrate the emotional frankness of Maxwell Davies?s music, from the menacing flashes of Hill Runes to the unaffected tenderness of Farewell To Stromness; young guitarist Sean Shibe is the soloist. ??a substantial, introspective and hauntingly beautiful piece, a depiction of the first stirrings of spring in Orkney.? The Guardian ?This music was fun, the playing of the musicians superb, and it left the audience in an excited and bedazzled celebratory mood.? BachTrack MusicWeb International
'An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise is a "joyous and show-stopping" piece...This performance is both refined and deliciously decadent...As a final salute to Sir Peter Maxwell Davies it could hardly be bettered.'
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Gramophone
'For a single-disc introduction to the many voices of Max, look no further.'
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New Zealand Herald

'The Scottish Chamber Orchestra has released a most attractive sampling of orchestral works, interspersed with solos by guitarist Sean Shibe...He gives it a magnificent performance, especially in the luminous resonances of a breathtaking Adagio molto [of Hill Runes].'
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The Arts Desk
'[Peter Maxwell Davies?s An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise] packs an emotional, uplifting punch, and this performance is a belter...The Scottish Chamber Orchestra, whose flawless, fearless playing under Ben Gernon is a consistent pleasure.'
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Herald Scotland
'The most beautiful, resonant and soulful performance of Max's Farewell to Stromness.'
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McAlister Matheson Music Newsletter
'...played with an irrepressible panache and swinging energy...It's all hugely life-inspiring.'
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The Sunday Times
'...this disc affords a fond farewell to the composer and the musical realisation of his adopted Orkney.'
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The Observer

'...it makes a worthy and deeply felt portrait of Max's Orkney.'
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