Pickard: Symphonies 2 & 6 / Verlaine Songs (SACD)

John Pickard is best known for his powerful orchestral and instrumental works, and his music has been widely praised for its large-scale sense of architecture and bold use of an extended tonal language. This recording brings together three works composed over a period of almost forty years and gives an insight into the composer's creative range. The Second Symphony, which Pickard completed at the age of 23, is an extremely impressive and concentrated work. The starting point was John Hersey's book Hiroshima, which describes how vegetation quickly regained its importance amidst the ashes of the city. The Verlaine Songs contain six poems by the French poet Paul Verlaine. The poems were chosen for their wide range of expression and grouped in an order that provides a dramatic contrast of moods. The cycle was composed for the soprano Emma Tring, with her particular vocal qualities in mind. The sixth symphony, which concludes this recording, was composed at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and is dedicated to Robert von Bahr, the founder of BIS Records. After a first movement dominated by a sense of unease, the second movement offers an escape from the darkness. This recording was the world premiere of the work.