“

Christopher Fox has crafted an imaginative output, employing diverse approaches and many different technical resources. Heather Roche is the stalwart interpreter of these pieces. Her own versatility and facility with myriad extended techniques make Roche an ideal performer of Fox’s music. The result never ceases to be of interest.

” —Christian Carey

“

A true polyrhythmic sound festival. Roche clearly has a feeling for the rich world of Fox’s music for clarinet and plays the compositions one by one in a very convincing way.

” —Ben Taffijn

“

Fox responds to a number of intriguing stimuli from art to mathematical equations [and] explores every aspect of the instrument’s capabilities in terms of pitch, rhythm, and timbre, consistently stretching limits in the pursuit of engaging musical soundscapes. Heather Roche responds to the challenge admirably with tour de force commitment and skill, giving all of these works performances for which any composer would be grateful. The standard of musicianship is exemplary. The disc is a valuable and welcome addition to the Fox discography.

” —Andrew King

“

Utterly intriguing. This marvellous collection of works for clarinet, performed by the excellent Heather Roche, certainly exemplifies the composer’s intense, playful and endlessly exploratory musical voice. Performance 5/5 Recording 5/5

” —Kate Wakeling

“

I have always found much to enjoy and admire in Christopher Fox’s music. Heather Roche is a superb advocate for Fox’s clarinet works. Fascinating timbral contrasts. It is difficult to imagine Metier’s recorded sound could be improved.

” —Richard Hanlon

“

The composer is right when he says the collection shows how a great player can make an instrument speak in so many voices; for music that is quite abstract, the sleeve notes are straightforward and add to the experience, and Heather Roche is an accomplished clarinettist. Most of the music is also pretty accessible.

” —Jeremy Condliffe

“

There is a distinct magic about virtually every piece on this retrospective of Christopher Fox’s clarinet music. Everything tells me that it is out of my comfort zone, yet I enjoyed most of these pieces. The sound quality of this CD is perfect, allowing the brightness and precision of the instruments to be clearly heard. . I think that [even lovers of mainstream clarinet chamber music] will find something of great interest on this CD.

” —John France