LYDIA KAKABADSE - THE PHANTOM LISTENERS
NAXOS 8.572524
Lydia Kakabadse was born in 1955 of Georgian/Russian and
Greek/Austrian parentage and grew up in a quiet market town in Cheshire.
She worked as a solicitor but has been composing music since the age of
thirteen, writing both chamber and choral works that include songs, string
quartets, musical dramas, a cantata, song cycles for unaccompanied male
vocal choir and a concert Requiem Mass. Drawing inspiration from a
diverse range of influences such as Middle Eastern Music, mythology, nineteenth century
poets, Latin Literature and talent for dancing, she has written five intriguing pieces for this
album. The Mermaid, for narrator (Kit Hesketh-Harvey), mezzo-soprano (Clare McCaldin),
string quartet and piano, tells an enchanting musical story in the style of Peter and the Wolf.
Kit Hesketh-Harvey is again the narrator for the longest work here, The Phantom Listeners,
which also features soprano, mezzo, baritone, organ and ensemble. Based on Walter de la
Mare's famous poem, The Listeners, this haunting musical drama is beautifully orchestrated
and suitably dramatic. The sad Song of the Shirt, for mezzo-soprano and piano and written
when Kakabadse was only fifteen, is set to a text by the 19th century poet Thomas Hood
describing the pitiful, eploited existence of a poor seamstress. Her gorgeous Arabian
Rhapsody Suite was written when she was undergoing treatment for breast cancer in 2008
and helped her get through that difficult time. The bitter-sweet Russian Tableaux, also scored
for string quartet, was inspired by the landscape, history and culture of Russia. Lydia
Kakabadse’s beguiling and richly textured music is sung and played here by an excellent
ensemble of musicians.