among my earliest compositions, the first quartet has a distinctive atmosphere which my wife nicknamed “The Russian”

1. moderato
2. adagio 13’12”
3. scherzo – coda adagio 24’43”

I decide to post this here as an example of my very early style and because it's short. It was discovered recently entirely by accident through a MIDI file and I don't remember writing it but it's obviously strongly influenced by Janacek. I've largely retained the rough and ready live recording.

a rather volatile work quite strongly influenced by Janacek. It ends uncharacteristically with a scherzo which quotes the opening of the work near the end.
1. appassionata con moto
2. adagio 11'58"
3. scherzo 21'58"

my first work for piano and strings, this has a generally romantic and cheerful character. Originally, the idea was a standard cello, violin and piano but I found myself writing all the time high for the instrument so in the end though the less conventional violin and viola mix worked better. Just two movements with the second incorporating a scherzo.

Träumerei
Adagio--scherzo--adagio 7'32"

the final work in my early heavily influenced by Janacek string quartet phase. As with the 3rd and 4th symphonies, the contrast in mood between these two quartets, written around 4 years apart, could not be greater.
appassionata 0'00"
scherzo 11'01"
lento lamentoso 15'49"

perhaps the most relaxed, classical and "lieblich" of the string quartets, despite one or two strange byways in the slow movement.
allegretto 0'00"
andante 14'50"
scherzo 24'22"
tema con variazioni 32'59"

after early quartets often influenced by Janacek, this has for the first time a somewhat more modern harmonic style and language in places, esp.in the intermezzo.

1st movement moderato
2nd movement intermezzo 10’58”
3rd movement adagio 17’14”

the cello sonata is my wife's favourite chamber music form so I decided to write one. Although she and a few others liked it, I was somewhat less convinced but with improving virtual instrument reproduction, I've started to think rather the better of it and so include it here.

andante
adagietto 9'48"
finale --giocoso 21'26"

like a number of the quartets, this is in three movements, ending with an slow movement after a short scherzo. The first movement is unusual in the recapitulation including an “offset” passage and doesn’t at all repeat the exposition. In general it’s one of the most unbalanced and strange of the chamber works.

1st moderato
2nd scherzo – presto 13’08”
3rd lento 15’43”

a fairly typical "middle period" quartet with a somewhat melancholic general character culminating in an impassioned climax.
1. moderato
2. scherzo 12'37"
3. adagio 15'55"

Among the most classically orientated of the quartets and also among the longest with five movements including a "cavatina" for reasons which should be obvious.
1. andante
2. mysterioso 8'59"
3. scherzo 14'11"
4. cavatina 16'55"
5. tema con variazioni 26'44"

in a rather slow post-romantic style, it is also relatively unusual for its length of having two short scherzos in what's the most compact of all my chamber works.

This wind sextet is a little homage to Janáček's "Mladi"

probably the most exuberant conclusion of any of my works, it has a particular status as an anti-depressant!
1. allegro con brio
2. scherzo 9'22"
3. adagio 14'46"
4. finale 25'43"

this unusual combination was inspired by Robert Simpson's work for the same forces. Generally introspective in character, it is not at all designed to be a showcase for clarinet virtuosity.
1. andante
2. allegretto 11'15"
3. adagio 19'47"

from 2019, this quartet is one of the works most influenced by Fauré.
1. tempetuoso 0'00"
2. scherzo 10'47"
3. moderato 16'37"

inspired by Schubert's masterpiece, this work however ends with a slow movement as I didn't feel it was possible to add anything after that

andante 0:00
scherzo 16:43
largo 25:13

this took its initial inspiration from Schnittke's totally original work for this combination and is among the darkest of the chamber works
Andante 0:00
Valse triste 4:37
Lento 11:02
Epilogue 19:03

There is a mixture of styles including quite a bit of Janacek whose influence strongly permeated the early quartets.
1. allegretto molto espressivo
2. pastorale 10'56"
3. allegro con brio 22'05"

my newest quartet is largely chromatically contrapuntal in character, though the final "tema con variazioni" often looks back to the classical masters in spirit if not necessarily in language. The movement timings are as follows:
1. largo -- piu mosso
2. scherzo 12'18"
3. tema con variazioni 18' 27"

originally planned as an completely abstract work, I found myself starting the second movement on Good Friday and the idea came that this should in some way evoke the Crucifixion. In the end this quintet turned out to be very loosely modelled on imagined human reactions to Christ's departure and feelings of loss, concluding with the Ascension. However, the fanciful movement titles notwithstanding, it is in no way supposed to literally represent the biblical Easter story or its message -- it is not a religious piece. The three movements are as follows:

1. Der Abschied
2. Kreuzigung 13'11"
3. Auferstehung 17'25"

the 12th quartet is something of a reflection of the times with a doleful opening adagio which frames a faster central section. The scherzo is somewhat shadowy and mysterious in character. In the last movement, the shadows are banished into a song of hope and longing.
dolente
scherzo 12'23"
dolce a molto espressivo 18' 51"

this trio largely dispels the gloom of a number of recent works and ends with a spirited finale. After hearing a work featuring the clarinet/viola combination, I though it might be nice to try this with piano.
1. allegretto
2. tranquillo 6'11"
3. rondo -- molto vivace 14'54"

an occasional series of solo piano works, this is the first time I thought a collection might be worth putting up on Reelcrafter. The idea of "Nocturnes" is inspired by Fauré's great cycle although he is only one of a number of influences here.

Nocturne no. 6
Nocturne no. 7 8'01"
Nocturne no. 8 20'00"
Nocturne no. 9 25'25"

the 13th quartet is one of my longest chamber works and has effectively two scherzos, one rather shadowy and one fast and furious. An adagio to end with a somewhat sentimental/nostalgic Russian character. It's also the first with the rendering split equally between VSL and Chris Hein libraries.

molto agitato
intermezzo 15' 00"
molto vivace 22'57"
adagio 26'02"