Richard Bratby, Classical Music Writer

After launching a small classical record label, I approached writer and reviewer Richard Bratby to write a small piece about the debut release, a multitracked recording of myself playing Coin Brumby’s “Suite for Four Double Basses”. Having an association with my orchestra (he’s the author of the wonderful “Forward: 100 Years of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra”) he very kindly agreed to support my startup and write a piece for me. Below is an excerpt describing the Brumby digital EP:

…”Luminate’s first release is a short multi-tracked recording in which Watt single-handedly plays all four parts in the 1975-vintage Suite for Four Double Basses by Colin Brumby. It was new to me, and as a cellist, it struck me as a bass player’s answer to Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasilieras No.1: three melodious movements, by turns lyrical and (in the central scherzo) dazzlingly virtuosic, and clearly the work of a composer in love with the sound, the texture and the sheer physicality of this surprisingly agile combination. Watt obviously loves it too; summoning dark Wagnerian harmonies one moment and making his bass sing like an Italian tenor the next. There’s no sense of digital trickery at work; just an affectionate, exuberantly musical performance of some unusual but highly enjoyable music.”

Read the entire piece by Richard on the Luminate Records website here.

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