THE WIRE:
A well-programmed selection of the composer's compositions from around the 1990s, superbly performed by Ensemble Exposé, a group which , as director Roger Redgate explains, is almost identified with New Complexity composition. Two pieces that stand out are Trittico per GS and Allgebrah , the former inspired by a Gertrude Stein lecture. Its three types of musical material – glissandi, double stops and microtonal melodies – steadily increase in density. Allgebrah is for solo oboe – the superb Christopher Redgate – and nine strings. The oboe moves around unstable string textures, colliding with and sometimes guiding them, but Redgate's assured pyrotechnics make what is otherwise ferociously taxing music easier on the ear.
Andy Hamilton

INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW:
Brian Ferneyhough's recorded representation continues to grow, and there are few more persuasive advocates of his chamber output that Ensemble Exposé. This disc comprises six pieces for varied forces and if the odd one out might seem to be Coloratura (1966), this latest returnee from the composer's formative years (1967 seeing his ‘breakthrough' with Sonatas for String Quartet ) is already typical in its making a virtue of the oboe's and piano's incompatibility so that a clearly defined trajectory comes through almost in spite of itself. Compare this with the later Allgebrah (1996) where the oboe pursues its linear, expressively focused dialogue against a volatile context of nine solo strings in this visceral, if relatively impersonal musical parallel to the schizophrenic artist Adolf Wölfli.

The remaining works are equally representative of Ferneyhough's combative though never disengaged (or disengaging) idiom. Trittico per G.S. (1989) takes its starting point from Gertrude Stein' in terms of an interaction of the double bass's three types of material in a ‘continuous present' of new beginnings and false endings. Incipits (1996) not dissimilarly brings together oboe, percussion and ensemble in a sequence of volatile combinations and diverse textures. Flurries (2997) takes this further in a stark juxtaposition of thee duos whose material is at length transformed by two trios that imply evolution without any overt sense of completion, while In Nomine a 3 (2001) succinctly transforms a piece by Christopher Tye in ways that Ferneyhough has since investigated extensively.

The performances are as persuasive as one has come to expect from an ensemble that has championed music of the so-called ‘new complexity' for almost a quarter of a century. Christopher Redgate achieves feats of meaningful agility, while Bridget Carey and Corrado Canonici are hardly less assured in their respective roles. Roger Redgate, who also contributes an informative booklet note, directs with his customary dedication, and the recorded sound is well-nigh ideal for such intricate and polyvalent music. Those who have the excellent Ensemble Recherche disc, which features three of these pieces, will need this for comparison, while those unfamiliar with Ferneyhough's chamber output could not wish for a better induction. Hopefully, Metier's coverage of the composer ( a fine disc of choral music was reviewed in June 2007) will continue in due course.
Richard Whitehouse

GRAMOPHONE:
Most of the works on this CD date from 1987-97. During that decade Ferneyhough concentrated on a series of works for chamber ensemble, usually with soloists, three of which are included here. The fact that all of the works heard on this CD have been recorded before is a positive development in Ferneyhough's discography. Especially since, for the most part, these performances offer more immediately attractive alternatives to existing versions. Perhaps the most engaging of all is the solo double-bass piece Trittico per GS (the initials standing for Gertrude Stein), which under Corrado Canonici's fingers often sounds as though several instruments are involve (an impression deliberately conveyed in the score). In fact, the instrument is remarkably agile, while remaining unmistakably gruff and cavernous.

The most substantial ensemble work is Allgebrah for oboe and strings, whose almost claustrophobic density of material contrasts with the occasional sparseness of both Flurries and Incipits . Christopher Redgate is the soloist, and though there's little to choose between his and Peter Veale's rival reading with Ensemble Surplus under the late James Avery, the string ensemble is more incisive and more crisply recorded here. The same is true in Incipits , in which viola-player Bridget Carey and percussionist Julian Warburton excel as soloists. Redgate gives a characteristically nervy rendition of the early Coloratura for oboe and piano. Only the In Nomine sounds less keenly observed than Ensemble Recherche's version for Kairos. It's the latest work on the disc, and shows signs of a marked change of direction. Taken overall, it's an attractive package.
Fabrice Fitch

FANFARE (USA):
For a celebrated and prolific composer, Brian Ferneyhough (b. 1943) is poorly represented in the catalogs, with just a handful of discs, and some important archive recordings unavailable. These Metier recordings were made in England in 2003, and they appear now thanks to the Divine Art company in North Yorkshire. Frustratingly, four of these pieces can also be found on competing CDs. The exceptions are Aligebrah for oboe and strings, written in 1996 (the longest piece on the CD is 18 minutes), and Coloratura , a short piece for oboe and piano.

This composer's music looks fearsome on the page, but to the ear it's accessible. The meaning is what matters, and Ferneyhough says his music is about “life.” I'd agree: life as it's lived, thought about, struggled with, reconsidered, is more like Ferneyhough than Pärt.

The earliest piece here is the Coloratura from 1966, an enjoyably non-serial modernist duo, with the players diverging, and occasionally finding common ground. All the other pieces are far more recent and much more complex on the surface. Flurries (1997) starts out like Carter, but entropy leaves an isolated voice, muttering irritably, 10 minutes later. The Trittico (1989) is, like the celebrated Cassandra's Dream Song , an example fo Ferneyhough's manically multivocal approach to solo-writing. Life gets wrestled with, and once more leaves you alone with the sound of yourself. Incipits (1996) explores instrumental relations in the context of a series of “new beginnings” every minute or two, but no successful relations are established, and the tonal variety doesn't add enough interest for me.

Aligebrah and the In nomine (2001) make the CD worth buying for Ferneyhough fans, though some of these other performances lack the final ounce of extremity. Aligebrah meshes oboe with wild lines from nine solo strings, before, as usual, ending with a solitary sound. In nomine carries on a centuries-old tradition, and is brief, to the point and effective.

Ferneyhough uses music to express complex ideas, but as he points out, music is different from the other arts in the way it exists culturally and in terms of what one can get away with stylistically, with enough people. His own art will therefore have a limited audience, though soloists with an interest in transcendental technique will always be interested. There is wit and an extreme version of sensuality built into his work, especially when experienced live, but this music is often hard work all round. Ferneyhough collectors will want all Ferneyhough CDs, including this one. If you have no Ferneyhough, first get hold of the choral recital on Metier 28501, which may convert you.
Paul Ingram

MIDWEST RECORD:
Ferneyhough is leading the way in England in contemporary classical music by charting such uncharted musical waters as the works represented here.  Not trying to make this easy, he likes pushing the envelope, making you pay attention to the journeys he takes everyone on.  With an under current of creativity inspired by roiled waters, this is music that can take you to the dark side and bring up images of Stephen King's writing long after the sounds have faded away.
Phil Spector