David Wallace trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Richard Baker, and in Ireland with Rhona Clarke. He has been the recipient of awards from Boston Metro Opera and the Tracey Chadwell Memorial Prize. In the unattributed programme notes, Wallace’s work is described as ‘(exploring) the quiet pressures and transformative behaviour of musical material’.

The two most substantial works on the disc are the Five Vignettes from the River Avon and Canticles. The first is scored for clarinet and basset horn and it consists of five miniatures, Visiting Swans, Fading Light, The Weir, Constant Flow and Walk to the Crown Inn. The notes describe them as forming ‘a quietly personal portrait of the River Avon, each one capturing a distinct moment or behaviour of the landscape.’ 

Rather to my own surprise, I found these pieces most engaging. The variety of colour which the two players evoke from their instruments is astonishing and this is some of the most lyrical contemporary instrumental music that I have heard. In mood the final movement recalls Delius’s Walk to the Paradise Garden from A Village Romeo and Juliet, another walk to a rural inn. It too, in the words of the programme note, ‘offers a grounded, human perspective – the memory of a familiar path at day’s end.’

Canticles is described as the most contemplative work on the album and group of instruments, consisting of flute, clarinet, harp and string quartet, quietly explores the many different colours that the ensemble can contain, but all within a moderate dynamic range. The effect is very soothing, with only the gentlest of dissonances to add piquancy. This contrasts well with the turbulence found in the earlier works on the album. 

Altogether this is a most impressive group of pieces which offers an intriguing portrait of a contemporary composer who has clearly established his own musical identity.