The Sparrow and the Mead Hall
MD 3471 (Move Records, CD)
FIRST RELEASE (1 December 2023)
Playing time: 74'
Tracks: 10
℗ 2023 Move Records
© 2023 Move Records
Reviewer: Endre Anaru
Review of The Sparrow and the Mead Hall published on 18 September 2024
Michael Kieran Harvey, piano (tracks 1-9)
Theo Pike, toy piano (track 10)
Alex Bull, extended rock kit (track 10)
Ben Cannings, vocal/guitar playback (track 10)
Michael Kieran Harvey:
Four Ballades for Piano (2021)
1 Stark
2 Implacable
3 Quasi fantasia
4 Fast
Piano Sonata No 7: 'The Sparrow and the Mead Hall' (2021)
5 Non fui (Misterioso)
6 Fui (Ansioso)
7 Non sum (Free, atmospheric)
8 Non curo (Distaccato)
9 Lawyers Are Lovely Misunderstood People and We Should All Be Much Kinder to Them, for piano (2021)
10 Death Cap Mushroom (2021)
These works are composed and (mostly) performed by Michael Kieran Harvey. They range in style from the extended techniques and rarified atmosphere of the Epicurus-inspired Piano Sonata No 7: The Sparrow and the Mead Hall to the more traditional romanticism reminiscent of Liszt and Busoni in the Four Ballades, to the entertaining bebop language of Lawyers are Lovely Misunderstood People and we Should All Be Much Kinder to Them and the strident metal-infused satire of Death Cap Mushroom, which was performed by Theo Pike (toy piano), Alex Bull (extended rock kit) and vocal/guitar playback by young Tasmanian Ben Cannings. As always, this disc includes extensive and interesting notes on each piece and performance.