Jocelyn Freeman, Gemma Summerfield, Abi Hyde-Smith, Gareth Brynmor John - The Poet's Echo (2023)

This project was initially inspired by the prophetic nature of Shostakovich’s ‘Four Pushkin Romances Op 46’, which Gareth Brynmor John introduced me to in 2019. Not only was I struck by the profundity of how the poetry echoed messages of censorship and exile forward through time; but also by similarities to the cello sonata from two year prior, particularly the composer’s approach to rhythmic features, texture and tessitura. These two works are partnered on our disc by Prokofiev’s ‘Three Pushkin Romances’ which also lyrically reference Pushkin’s exile; and Britten’s ‘The Poet’s Echo’, premiered by soprano Galina Visnevskaya and cellist and pianist Mstislav Rostropovich, a dedicatee of a several cello works by the aforementioned composers.
Tracklist
1. Three Pushkin Romances, Op. 73: I. Pines (3:26)
2. Three Pushkin Romances, Op. 73: II. Blushing dawn has covered the East (3:33)
3. Three Pushkin Romances, Op. 73: III. Into your front room (2:25)
4. Cello Sonata in D Minor Op. 40: I. Allegro non troppo (12:50)
5. Cello Sonata in D Minor Op. 40: II. Allegro (3:26)
6. Cello Sonata in D Minor Op. 40: III. Largo (7:59)
7. Cello Sonata in D Minor Op. 40: IV. Allegro (4:25)
8. Four Pushkin Romances, Op. 46: I. Rebirth (2:18)
9. Four Pushkin Romances, Op. 46: II. A Youth and a Maiden (1:30)
10. Four Pushkin Romances, Op. 46: III. Foreboding (2:47)
11. Four Pushkin Romances, Op. 46: IV. Stanzas (5:50)
12. The Poet's Echo, Op. 76 (Arr. for Soprano, Piano & Cello by Jocelyn Freeman & Abi Hyde-Smith): I. Echo (2:40)
13. The Poet's Echo, Op. 76 (Arr. for Soprano, Piano & Cello by Jocelyn Freeman & Abi Hyde-Smith): II. My Heart (1:30)
14. The Poet's Echo, Op. 76 (Arr. for Soprano, Piano & Cello by Jocelyn Freeman & Abi Hyde-Smith): III. Angel (2:20)
15. The Poet's Echo, Op. 76 (Arr. for Soprano, Piano & Cello by Jocelyn Freeman & Abi Hyde-Smith): IV. The Nightingale and the Rose (3:58)
16. The Poet's Echo, Op. 76 (Arr. for Soprano, Piano & Cello by Jocelyn Freeman & Abi Hyde-Smith): V. Epigram (0:44)
17. The Poet's Echo, Op. 76 (Arr. for Soprano, Piano & Cello by Jocelyn Freeman & Abi Hyde-Smith): VI. Lines Written During a Sleepless Night (3:53)