W H A
T O T H
E R P E
O P L E A R E
S A Y I N G
"Kaspar Hauser is a powerful and disturbing story told with theatrical flair, dramatic pacing and excellent characterisation."
- Jury Citation: British Composer Awards, November 2010
"
"Honours all round for everybody involved in the first performance of Rory Boyle’s new bassoon concerto, “That Blessed Wood”. What a piece, and what a performance by soloist David Hubbard. It’s an amazing concerto, a huge piece at 26 minutes, packed to the rafters and the basement with action, incident and atmosphere."
- Michael Tumelty: Glasgow Herald, April 2011
"In his new set of songs “Watching Over You”, premiered by mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill and the Red Note Ensemble, Rory Boyle has shown that, if you write with the characteristics of a particular voice in mind, the outcome can be one of immense beauty and powerful evocation. The Dilys Rose poems on which the songs are based are lyrical in shape and sentiment, and Boyle’s hypersensitive musical response seems a natural amplification of their concise language and measured rhythm."
- Ken Walton: The Scotsman, May 2015
"Rory Boyle’s “Muckle Flugga” score is vividly descriptive and abundant in powerful imagery."
- Christopher Thomas: Brass band world, June 2014
Rory Boyle’s music will be new to many listeners. This varied and compelling collection shows him to be a composer of considerable range and depth. What matters here is Boyle’s distinctive and emotive music and Willshire’s outstanding performances. This disc is strongly recommended.
(David Jennings: Musicweb International, September 2012)
Crowning James Willshire’s programme was a superb performance of Boyle’s Piano Sonata, a big-boned piece which, after a grand opening gesture, roared off into a fast toccata race, very punchy and propulsive in its momentum.
(Michael Tumelty: Glasgow Herald, March 2011)
Rory Boyle’s “Ceremony After a Fire Raid” is a moving setting of Dylan Thomas’s poem evoking the death of a child in wartime. Voice and trumpet seem to unite in grief as the emotional intensity of the poem is played out in uncomprehending desolation. A piece that rewards repeated listening, I found myself increasingly fascinated by its combined strength and subtlety.
(Jerry Wigens: SPNM New Notes, August 2007)
This new recording features music written by the award-winning Scottish composer Rory Boyle. All of the music was new to this reviewer, and there is much to recommend: it is inventive, colourful, rhythmically incisive, emotionally wide-ranging, economical and with a certain transparency of sound that is very attractive. Clarinettists everywhere should study this repertoire and consider it for inclusion in solo and chamber music recitals.
(Larry Guy: The Clarinet USA, March 2018)
"
W H A
T O T H
E R P E
O P L E A R E
S A Y I N G
"Kaspar Hauser is a powerful and disturbing story told with theatrical flair, dramatic pacing and excellent characterisation."
- Jury Citation: British Composer Awards, November 2010
"
"Honours all round for everybody involved in the first performance of Rory Boyle’s new bassoon concerto, “That Blessed Wood”. What a piece, and what a performance by soloist David Hubbard. It’s an amazing concerto, a huge piece at 26 minutes, packed to the rafters and the basement with action, incident and atmosphere."
- Michael Tumelty: Glasgow Herald, April 2011
"In his new set of songs “Watching Over You”, premiered by mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill and the Red Note Ensemble, Rory Boyle has shown that, if you write with the characteristics of a particular voice in mind, the outcome can be one of immense beauty and powerful evocation. The Dilys Rose poems on which the songs are based are lyrical in shape and sentiment, and Boyle’s hypersensitive musical response seems a natural amplification of their concise language and measured rhythm."
- Ken Walton: The Scotsman, May 2015
"Rory Boyle’s “Muckle Flugga” score is vividly descriptive and abundant in powerful imagery."
- Christopher Thomas: Brass band world, June 2014
"Rory Boyle’s music will be new to many listeners. This varied and compelling collection shows him to be a composer of considerable range and depth. What matters here is Boyle’s distinctive and emotive music and Willshire’s outstanding performances. This disc is strongly recommended."
- David Jennings: Musicweb International, September 2012
"Crowning James Willshire’s programme was a superb performance of Boyle’s Piano Sonata, a big-boned piece which, after a grand opening gesture, roared off into a fast toccata race, very punchy and propulsive in its momentum."
- Michael Tumelty: Glasgow Herald, March 2011
"
"Boyle’s “Behemoths”, an aggressive rant against wind farms, had some wonderfully threatening and ominous grinding sounds with a threatening stillness at its heart and a colossal crescendo at its climax."
- Michael Tumelty: Glasgow Herald, October 2009
"Rory Boyle’s opera, Kaspar Hauser, premiered by students from the RSAMD accommodates the sensitivities of emerging voices and instrumentalists without compromising an operatic stature."
- Ken Walton: The Scotsman, March 2010
"Everything in Kaspar Hauser, from its textual construction to Boyle’s dark, wonderfully-detailed scoring, was evocative and effective."
- Michael Tumelty: Glasgow Herald, March 2010
"Rory Boyle’s “Ceremony After a Fire Raid” is a moving setting of Dylan Thomas’s poem evoking the death of a child in wartime. Voice and trumpet seem to unite in grief as the emotional intensity of the poem is played out in uncomprehending desolation. A piece that rewards repeated listening, I found myself increasingly fascinated by its combined strength and subtlety."
- Jerry Wigens: SPNM New Notes, August 2007
"Rory Boyle’s CD, “A Box of Chatter” - challenging witty music for woodwind from this engaging and gifted Scottish composer."
- Gwyn Parry-Jones: Classical Music, September 2013
"Edward Gardner is clear and unfussy, qualities that served the premiere of Rory Boyle’s Oboe Concerto “Sorella” particularly well. Boyle’s ear for orchestral sound and his talent for clarity and economy featured as the strongest aspects in a tow-movement work dedicated to his sister who had died several years ago from cancer. Gardner captured the flirtatious, fiery textures of the opening movement vividly, then outlined the stark contrasts of the ensuing finale – its opulent complexity giving way, through the concerto’s one thrilling climax, to a luxuriant stillness – with skilled judgement."
- Ken Walton: The Scotsman, March 2007
"This new recording features music written by the award-winning Scottish composer Rory Boyle. All of the music was new to this reviewer, and there is much to recommend: it is inventive, colourful, rhythmically incisive, emotionally wide-ranging, economical and with a certain transparency of sound that is very attractive. Clarinettists everywhere should study this repertoire and consider it for inclusion in solo and chamber music recitals."
- Larry Guy: The Clarinet USA, March 2018
"The most significant work here is Boyle’s Piano Sonata, particularly the nine-minute opening section of “Toccatas, Dances and Interludes”, which has a wilful quality to it, darting about with an impulsive energy."
- The Independent, May 2011
"Rory Boyle’s very fine “Partita a Quattro” for guitar has its dissonances and dramatic gear changes, but in a traditional idiom with plenty of familiar hand holds."
- Dominy Clements: Musicweb International, April 2012
"Rory Boyle’s “Tallis’s Light” was another welcome repeat from the 2011 concert. The motet by Thomas Tallis, “O Nata Lux”, on which the work for brass and organ Is based, was sung from the back of the cathedral to familiarise the audience with the music, then in a great sunburst of sound the brass began a kind of duel with the organ culminating in the brass playing the motet in rich shining tones while the organ disported in clamorous contemporary tones above them. This was a wonderful moment in which musical voices from more than four hundred years distance clashed, yes, but somehow magically blended together as well."
- Alan Cooper: Aberdeen University Music, February 2013
"Rory Boyle’s very fine “Partita a Quattro” for guitar has its dissonances and dramatic gear changes, but in a traditional idiom with plenty of familiar hand holds."
- Dominy Clements: Musicweb International, April 2012
"The myth of Phaethon driving the sun chariot allows Boyle to compose a compact sequence of five bleak, pithy dances. It’s not a comfortable listening experience, but it’s so, so exciting."
- The Arts Desk, June 2011
W H A
T O T H
E R P E
O P L E A R E
S A Y I N G
"Kaspar Hauser is a powerful and disturbing story told with theatrical flair, dramatic pacing and excellent characterisation."
- Jury Citation: British Composer Awards, November 2010
"
"Honours all round for everybody involved in the first performance of Rory Boyle’s new bassoon concerto, “That Blessed Wood”. What a piece, and what a performance by soloist David Hubbard. It’s an amazing concerto, a huge piece at 26 minutes, packed to the rafters and the basement with action, incident and atmosphere."
- Michael Tumelty: Glasgow Herald, April 2011
"In his new set of songs “Watching Over You”, premiered by mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill and the Red Note Ensemble, Rory Boyle has shown that, if you write with the characteristics of a particular voice in mind, the outcome can be one of immense beauty and powerful evocation. The Dilys Rose poems on which the songs are based are lyrical in shape and sentiment, and Boyle’s hypersensitive musical response seems a natural amplification of their concise language and measured rhythm."
- Ken Walton: The Scotsman, May 2015
"Rory Boyle’s “Muckle Flugga” score is vividly descriptive and abundant in powerful imagery."
- Christopher Thomas: Brass band world, June 2014
"Rory Boyle’s music will be new to many listeners. This varied and compelling collection shows him to be a composer of considerable range and depth. What matters here is Boyle’s distinctive and emotive music and Willshire’s outstanding performances. This disc is strongly recommended."
- David Jennings: Musicweb International, September 2012
"
W H A
T O T H
E R P E
O P L E A R E
S A Y I N G
"Kaspar Hauser is a powerful and disturbing story told with theatrical flair, dramatic pacing and excellent characterisation."
- Jury Citation: British Composer Awards, November 2010
"
"Honours all round for everybody involved in the first performance of Rory Boyle’s new bassoon concerto, “That Blessed Wood”. What a piece, and what a performance by soloist David Hubbard. It’s an amazing concerto, a huge piece at 26 minutes, packed to the rafters and the basement with action, incident and atmosphere."
- Michael Tumelty: Glasgow Herald, April 2011
"In his new set of songs “Watching Over You”, premiered by mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill and the Red Note Ensemble, Rory Boyle has shown that, if you write with the characteristics of a particular voice in mind, the outcome can be one of immense beauty and powerful evocation. The Dilys Rose poems on which the songs are based are lyrical in shape and sentiment, and Boyle’s hypersensitive musical response seems a natural amplification of their concise language and measured rhythm."
- Ken Walton: The Scotsman, May 2015
"Rory Boyle’s “Muckle Flugga” score is vividly descriptive and abundant in powerful imagery."
- Christopher Thomas: Brass band world, June 2014
"Rory Boyle’s music will be new to many listeners. This varied and compelling collection shows him to be a composer of considerable range and depth. What matters here is Boyle’s distinctive and emotive music and Willshire’s outstanding performances. This disc is strongly recommended."
- David Jennings: Musicweb International, September 2012
"Crowning James Willshire’s programme was a superb performance of Boyle’s Piano Sonata, a big-boned piece which, after a grand opening gesture, roared off into a fast toccata race, very punchy and propulsive in its momentum."
- Michael Tumelty: Glasgow Herald, March 2011
"Rory Boyle’s opera, Kaspar Hauser, premiered by students from the RSAMD accommodates the sensitivities of emerging voices and instrumentalists without compromising on operatic stature."
- Ken Walton: The Scotsman, March 2010
"
"Boyle’s “Behemoths”, an aggressive rant against wind farms, had some wonderfully threatening and ominous grinding sounds with a threatening stillness at its heart and a colossal crescendo at its climax."
- Michael Tumelty: Glasgow Herald, October 2009
"Everything in Kaspar Hauser, from its textual construction to Boyle’s dark, wonderfully-detailed scoring, was evocative and effective."
- Michael Tumelty: Glasgow Herald, March 2010
"Rory Boyle’s “Ceremony After a Fire Raid” is a moving setting of Dylan Thomas’s poem evoking the death of a child in wartime. Voice and trumpet seem to unite in grief as the emotional intensity of the poem is played out in uncomprehending desolation. A piece that rewards repeated listening, I found myself increasingly fascinated by its combined strength and subtlety."
- Jerry Wigens: SPNM New Notes, August 2007
"Rory Boyle’s CD, “A Box of Chatter” - challenging witty music for woodwind from this engaging and gifted Scottish composer."
- Gwyn Parry-Jones: Classical Music, September 2013
"Edward Gardner is clear and unfussy, qualities that served the premiere of Rory Boyle’s Oboe Concerto “Sorella” particularly well. Boyle’s ear for orchestral sound and his talent for clarity and economy featured as the strongest aspects in a two-movement work dedicated to his sister who had died several years ago from cancer. Gardner captured the flirtatious, fiery textures of the opening movement vividly, then outlined the stark contrasts of the ensuing finale – its opulent complexity giving way, through the concerto’s one thrilling climax, to a luxuriant stillness – with skilled judgement."
- Ken Walton: The Scotsman, March 2007
"This new recording features music written by the award-winning Scottish composer Rory Boyle. All of the music was new to this reviewer, and there is much to recommend: it is inventive, colourful, rhythmically incisive, emotionally wide-ranging, economical and with a certain transparency of sound that is very attractive. Clarinettists everywhere should study this repertoire and consider it for inclusion in solo and chamber music recitals."
- Larry Guy: The Clarinet USA, March 2018
"The most significant work here is Boyle’s Piano Sonata, particularly the nine-minute opening section of “Toccatas, Dances and Interludes”, which has a wilful quality to it, darting about with an impulsive energy."
- The Independent, May 2011
"Rory Boyle’s very fine “Partita a Quattro” for guitar has its dissonances and dramatic gear changes, but in a traditional idiom with plenty of familiar hand holds."
- Dominy Clements: Musicweb International, April 2012
"Rory Boyle’s “Tallis’s Light” was another welcome repeat from the 2011 concert. The motet by Thomas Tallis, “O Nata Lux”, on which the work for brass and organ is based, was sung from the back of the cathedral to familiarise the audience with the music, then in a great sunburst of sound the brass began a kind of duel with the organ culminating in the brass playing the motet in rich shining tones while the organ disported in clamorous contemporary tones above them. This was a wonderful moment in which musical voices from more than four hundred years distance clashed, yes, but somehow magically blended together as well."
- Alan Cooper: Aberdeen University Music, February 2013
"The myth of Phaethon driving the sun chariot allows Boyle to compose a compact sequence of five bleak, pithy dances. It’s not a comfortable listening experience, but it’s so, so exciting."
- The Arts Desk, June 2011