MUSICWEB:
Allen’s Three Pieces Op.23, completed in 1994, are clearly influenced by the music of John Ireland and Francis Poulenc, particularly so in the second piece D’alliance française which pays homage to the French composer and to some of his colleagues. The last movement Blue Wrens at Amberley obliquely refers to John Ireland’s piano piece Amberley Wild Brooks. Allen’s Piano Sonata No.4 Op.29, in one single movement, is quite similar – musically speaking – to the Three Pieces Op.23 and is, according to the composer, "a conscious effort to write in a more concentrated and concise manner".

Felix Werder’s Monograph, written for the present recording, is a rather more serious piece in three compact movements and one of the finest works in this collection.

Le Gallienne’s Piano Sonata was composed in 1950-1951 during the composer’s second stay at the RCM when he studied with the late Gordon Jacob. At that time the composer planned a four-movement sonata. However, he allowed the first three movements to be performed publicly and the fourth movement was apparently never written. The piece nevertheless stands well and is quite satisfying in its present form : a lively Scherzo framed by a sonata-form first movement and a beautifully serene Molto lento.

Tim Dargaville’s Night Song was commissioned in 1997 as incidental music for a play about Ned Kelly. It was originally to be a musical depiction of Kelly’s last night in Old Melbourne Jail. A beautiful atmospheric nocturne.

Both works by Michael Bertram belong to his early output and "are in a style in which [he] no longer writes". The Sonatina (1977), in three short, contrasted movements, was premièred by Keith Humble. The Five Pieces for Piano were composed in 1984 and are dedicated to Trevor Barnard.

Trevor Barnard is an ideal performer in this collection of pieces with which he has a long association. Indeed, most of them were dedicated to and/or first performed by him. No great masterpieces here, maybe, but a very enjoyable cross-selection of accessible and attractive works that repay repeated hearings. Very entertaining and well worth investigating.
 Hubert Culot

MUSIC TEACHER MAGAZINE (Australia):
Blue Wrens was recorded at the Melba Hall, The University of Melbourne, and all works performed are published by the Keys Press, 66 Clotilde Street, Mount Lawley, Western Australia 6050.

Trevor Barnard is an English born pianist, who studied at the Royal Academy of Music, London, and had tuition with Herbert Fryer, before winning a full scholarship to the Royal College of Music, London. His performance of the works on this CD is excellent and he has captured the style and mood of the works well.

Barnard performs works by Allen, Werder, Le Gallienne, Dargaville and Bertram. The CD notes give an excellent synopsis of each composer and their composition being performed. For those collecting Australian works this is another 'must'."
Glenn Clark

FANFARE:
This relatively recent music from down under is as eclectic and free-spirited as the music of similar vintage from our own Anglo-Saxon outpost. Perhaps this can be attributed to the same fearlessness and independence that our nations share, but the fact is, only two of these men were born and raised in Australia. What all five share is another quality widely attributed to New World culture: unvarnished, direct expression. Felix Werder, who was born in Germany in 1922, offers the starkest and most harmonically advanced music on this disc. But even this brief Monograph, which was written for this CD, is vivid and easy to grasp, despite an often angular and chromatic language. British-born Michael Bertram also utilizes atonal gestures, but in a bright and energetic manner that produces the most imaginative material on this disc.

Geoffrey Allen is another Brit, providing music of a far more conventional nature. His Three Pieces are sweet and whimsical, with wry accents, while his Sonata, dedicated to pianist Trevor Barnard, is more neoclassical in its terse exposition. The music of the two native Aussies is even more concentrated and direct. Dorian le Gallienne's Sonata for Piano is an almost simplistic conception, proceeding in Baroque lines that are disturbed by occasional angry blasts of notes. Tim Dargaville wrote his Night Song for a radio play about the last evening of Ned Kelly, a folk hero who was executed in the old Melbourne gaol. The music is quietly theatrical, dark, and dirgelike.

Trevor Barnard, another British-born and -trained musician, is an established figure in Australian musical life, as a performer, teacher and writer. He presents this music with power and conviction, and is nicely captured in a recital hall at the University of Melbourne.
Peter Burwasser

MUSICWEB / FEDERATION OF RECORDED MUSIC SOCIETIES BULLETIN
Contemporary Australian music is little known in the UK, and this CD gives us a chance to get the flavour by featuring a selection of the piano music of five Australian composers.

Geoffrey Allen (b. 1927) is represented by Three Piano Pieces Op. 23. These comprise The Parson’s Pleasure, D’Alliance française and Blue Wrens at Amberley (these Australian birds are featured on the lino-cut illustration on the cover and also give the title to the CD). These are gentle melodic pieces reminiscent of Delius, spiced with just the occasional touch of dissonance. The Sonata No 4 is a recent work which is dedicated to Trevor Barnard. This is a one movement work written in a concentrated manner. Felix Werder (b. 1922) has written several operas, symphonies and concertos and has been honoured with the Order of Australia. The three movement Monograph is written in a very ‘modern’ style and is at its best in the faster last movement. Dorian Le Gallienne (1915-63) was a leading musical figure of his time. His Sonata is an interesting and approachable work in three movements with the first two full of energy followed by one that is serene and slow.

Night Song , by Tim Dargaville (b. 1962), is from a play about Ned Kelly and represents his calm during the last night in gaol before his execution. It is a moving and poignant piece.  Music by Michael Bertram (b. 1935) concludes the CD. His Sonatina is a short three movement work which begins to reveal its secrets only after repeated hearings. His Five Pieces for piano have short descriptions – Remelia, a mythical kingdom; Inegu, a slightly knowing ingenuousness; Kinetic, an endless energy source; Violet, a formidable lady; and Iconoclast, the breaker of idols. These are fascinating sound pictures of which Kinetic is the most spectacular.

Trevor Barnard, the British-born Australian pianist plays these often difficult pieces very well, achieving a wonderful full sound. The recording is exemplary. The cover design and full notes (many by the composers) are excellent. The disc is an interesting one and indicates the wealth of composing talent in the Antipodes.
Arthur Baker

THE STUDIO (Australia):
It always gives me much pleasure to review works by talented Australian composers and performers and this disc is no exception. Five composers feature on this recording of contemporary piano music, superbly interpreted by pianist Trevor Barnard who plays with feeling, sensitivity and enormous conviction.

The title takes its inspiration from “Blue Wrens at Amberley”, the third of Geoffrey Allen’s Three Piano Pieces written in 1993/4 and premiered by Trevor Barnard in 1999. This collection of delightful works shows English and French stylistic influences with strong climactic areas, while a hint of well-known national songs features in the second work, “D’Alliance français”. Allen’s Piano Sonata No. 4 also features on this recording. A one-movement work, at times its long flowing lines display somewhat Spanish overtones, suggested by guitar-type figuration, staccato areas and parallel thirds which help to enunciate its character. As a composer, Allen has found his major influence in the work of British composers, particular Delius; as a publisher, he has done much to bring to the notice of the public and teachers alike the works of past and present Australian composers writing in a variety of genre.

Dating from the early part of 1951 [and published posthumously in 1969] the dramatic three movements of Dorian Le Gallienne’s Piano Sonata are a powerful monument to the inspired genius of this most original composer. Unblemished playing makes for passionate climaxes and an invigorating sense of drama and controlled tension, elements that make this work and its interpretation a truly exciting event.

Dedicated to Trevor Barnard, Felix Werder’s contribution, Monograph, was written especially for this recording and is the newest of the works on the disc. Within a discernible dance-like character, a subtle, virtuosic element is evident in this eloquent, three-movement work.

Composer Michael Bertram is represented by two works, the early Sonatina and the 1984 collection, Five Pieces for Piano. The eerie sparseness of the Sonatina’s first movement is in direct contrast to the textural richness and bell-like sounds of the aleatoric middle movement, - so well defined by Barnard - while the short, final movement turns back to the ideas of the original opening. Five Pieces represents a variety of moods and emotions: the sense of calm naivety found in “Rumelia” and “Ingenu” contrasts with the energetic, swirling cascade of “Kinetic” while the bold explosions of “Violet” preface the independent meanderings of “Iconoclast”.

Tim Dargaville is represented by his solemn 1997 work Night Song, which has an extra-musical association with the Ned Kelly story. Low bass notes, sparse texture and ostinato-like figures give a certain hypnotic calmness to the work, the whole superbly defined by Trevor Barnard.

Teachers and students alike will enjoy this splendid recording whilst teachers will find these works a most worthy addition to their studio teaching material. Recorded on the Divine Art label, CD 25017, the recording is available at good record stores. Apart from Le Gallienne’s Sonata, which is an Allan’s publication, the scores are published by, and available from, The Keys Press.
Rita Crews