Mardale Changes
Clarinet Quartet (2 B flat clarinets, 2 Bass Clarinets); 8 mins
The bells of the drowned church at Mardale in Cumbria setting off their own watery vibrations.
So Many Summers
Fl, Cl, Piano, Vln, Dbs, Baritone; 15 mins
A setting of the five poems by the Scottish poet Norman MacCaig, evoking the
lunar landscape of the Northern Highlands and addressing the peculiar fact of
his presence within it. .
Re-creation
SATB, Childrens choir, baritone narrator, organ and electric guitar; 35 mins
A setting of the first book of Genesis alongside the scientific account of Big
Bang and evolution, with an idiosyncratic take on the implications of these
narratives. Written for Sale Choral Society under the aegis of Making Music
and the S.P.N.M., with funds provided by the P.R.S. Foundation.
Symphony No. 2
3223; 4230; Timps, Perc., Piano, Strings; 35 mins
Four movements in the traditional pattern, but III works as a rewritten version
of I, and IV takes as its starting point from II.
Four Reasons Why Jazz is Rubbish
Wind Quintet; 10 mins
Actually
five
bits of psuedo jazz of varying degrees of banality, including a sincerely
meant but wholly inadequate tribute to two of Simpson's heroes, Donald Fagen
and Walter Becker, a.k.a. Steely Dan.
Choral music
Various pieces including Christmas Carols, an extended Amen for SATB, and a Nunc Dimittis and Magnificat for SSAATTBB.
Cold Epiphany
clarinet, Cello and Piano; 11 mins
Part meditation on a freezing New Year spent in a remote Scottish valley with a friend, part memorial to him. Written for the European Chamber Ensemble, and played by them in the UK and Holland.
String Quartet No.1
25 mins
First performed by the Bingham Quartet in March 1993 at the Spitalfields Festival, Simpson was unhappy with the last two movements and wrote new ones in 1999. This piece was on the Society for the Promotion of New Music 's shortlist until recently.
Symphony No. 1
3233;4331; Timps, Perc., Piano, Str; 28 mins
The first of an intended series, there are three substantial movements, the second and third of which are dovetailed together.
Seven Stones From Gleann Feithisidhe
Solo violin; 7 mins
Written after spending a day pottering about with his small son beside the River Feshie in the Central Highlands, Seven Stones draws heavily on Simpson's interest in Scottish traditional music.
Dropping Anka
Solo piano; 12 mins
A sardonic set of variations on Paul Anka's My Way , first performed by Andrew Ball in 1999.
String Quartet No.2
25 mins
A three movement work, first performed at the 1997 Stoke Newington Festival by the English String Quartet.
In My Love's House
Soprano and Orchestra (3233,4331, Timps, Perc., Piano, Celeste, Str.)
Simpson's setting of Kathleen Raine's poem The House is a rapturous celebration of a recognisably northern natural world.
A Strangeness How Remote
Soprano and Large Wind Orchestra; 20 mins
Another Raine setting,
A Strangeness
tries to find comfort for humans in the impersonal majesty of nature.
Viola Concerto
30 mins
Two movements, the first slow and darkening, the second searching for rhythmic vitality and the possibility of tonal language.
Remembered Music
Soprano and String Quartet; 8 mins
The first of Simpson's Kathleen Raine setings marked a move towards a simpler and more intuitive style. His most frequently performed work.
Reversions
Alto Sax and piano; 10 mins
A set of variations in which the theme, Simpson's own, does not appear until the end. A version also exists for Clarinet and Piano.
Altitudes
Clarinet and Piano; 10 mins
Simpson used the instruments' registers to contour an imaginary landscape.
Five Historic Pieces
Saxophone Quartet; 8 mins
A satirical look at musical history, from Bach to the present, concluding with a rendition of Show Me The Way To Go Home in the style of the Grosse Fugue Quartet.
Violin Sonatine
Violin and piano; 15 mins
Simpson's earliest acknowledged piece, he has sanctioned performances despite
the overtly romantic character of the music.