Albion Trails - an octet for violin, viola, ‘cello, flute, clarinet, horn, harp and vibraphone - was commissioned for the Barbican Centre’s Total Immersion event 2010 and performed by the BBCSO octet. The piece was later recorded at Maida Vale studios for broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
Thinking about the journeys and peoples that have shaped modern Britain, Albion Trails takes a well known melody from nostalgic past to imagined future.
“[Without Words] by the composer David Ibbett, really appealed to us and we have taken it into our repertoire. It is the only commission on our CD and we love it. It has really pushed us technically, and opened doors to new ideas and compositions.”
“David Ibbett’s lo-fi electronic score put me in mind of John Carpenter’s soundtracks for his own films, which I mean entirely as a compliment.”
“Jacob Hobbs’s consistently amusing Project 51 was first out of the gate… Fuelled by a kick-arse score (by David Ibbett) fusing quasi-big screen bombast and club grooves, the grimacing threesome threw themselves into a series of stealthy, bellicose and OTT slow-mo macho moves that yielded wittily knowing juvenile pleasure.”
“The Ibbett and Riddell e-cello compositions were the ones that I found most accessible and compelling. Gregor Riddell’s cello performances were passionate and elegant, and the use of electronic DSP software effects was tasteful. The textures and timbres provided by the DSP contributed meaningfully to the compositions’ narrative arc and lent extra emotional tension and complexity to the pieces.”
