Edward Gregson

Shadow of Paradise was written specially for Melinda Maxwell. The work was completed in 2005 the same year that she recorded the work together with Richard Benjafield (percussion) for the Dutton label.'The work is based on the poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Kubla Khan and I have attempted to capture some of the spirit of his highly evocative text in my music.It is structured in three main sections: the opening section (And ‘mid this tumult Kubla heard from far Ancestral voices prophesying war) is dramatic in nature with the oboe announcing two ideas - the first a high repeated note rhythmic pattern (later with multiphonics) answered by six differentlypitched drums and temple blocks and the second a short lyrical phrase mainly built on thirds.In the second section (A damsel with a dulcimer In a vision once I saw…Could I revive within me Her symphony and song) the solo oboe transforms the repeated notes and thirds of the first section into a love song underpinned by the percussionist’s vibraphone and crotales.A short reprise of the very opening leads into the final section (Beware! Beware! His flashing eyes his floating hair! Weave a circle round him thrice…) which mirrors the text with three short dances in chain form folk-like in character and increasingly climactic. A final reprise of the opening seems to suggest a violent end but the oboe’s echo of the love song answered by the percussionist’s crotales brings the work to a gentler conclusion.'            Edward Gregson - December 2011Instrumentation:Solo oboeSolo percussion (6 temple blocks 2 bongos 4 tom-toms vibraphone crotales 2 tambourines)

Edward Gregson's Le Jardin À Giverny was composed in 2016 and is arranged for Cor Anglais and Piano. It has a duration of approximately 6 minutes.

Edward Gregson’s Saxophone Concerto was commissioned by Nobuya Sugawa and first performed on 10th May 2006 as part of the Sonic Skylines Festival Manchester by Nobuya Sugawa (saxophone) and the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Clark Rundell.

Gregson's Clarinet Concerto was completed in 1994 by commission for the BBC and was first performed by the BBC Philharmonic with Michael Collins in Manchester April 1994 (later recorded on Chandos CHAN 10105). The writing is highly challenging pushing the instrument and its performer to the limits with some formidable glissandi and stark contrasts. This edition features a piano reduction of Gregson's orchestral material.