Amy Dickson - In Circles (2019) [Official Digital Download]

Grammy-nominated star saxophonist Amy Dickson returns with her most personal album yet, exploring connections between classical composers and the folk music of their homelands.

From the red dirt of the Australian desert to the rolling green hills of the Scottish Highlands, In Circles celebrates folk music and the tremendous influence it has had on music around the world and throughout history.

As Dickson says, “Folk music breathes the very identity of a country, and in troubled times can be a source of solace, over and over again. At the core of folk music lies a beating heart of humanity to which we return again and again. The creation itself of this music requires personal, family and social connections – in a word: kinship.”

This sense of community and togetherness is amplified by the collaborations on this album. With celebrated composer and didgeridoo virtuoso William Barton, Dickson explores music by Australian composers Ross Edwards, Peter Sculthorpe and Barton himself. With acclaimed pianist Daniel de Borah she traverses Europe, from Brahms to Falla, Pessard and Vaughan Williams. With Nicholas Carter and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, sheexplores archetypes of traditional Scottish music in a world premiere recording of Sir James MacMillan’s Saxophone Concerto, written specifically for Dickson. Dickson continues, “In today’s frenetic digital age, folk music offers us a refuge: the enduring simplicity and nostalgia embodied in this music provides timeless sanctuary from the relentless surge of modernity.”

Tracklist:
1. Andalouse, Op. 20 No. 8
2. Djilile
3. Siete canciones populares españoles: No. 4 Jota
4. From Galloway
5. She Moved Through the Fair
6. Saxophone Concerto: I. March, Strathspey and Reel
7. Saxophone Concerto: II. Gaelic Psalm
8. Saxophone Concerto: III. Jigs
9. Shepherd's Hey
10. Hungarian Dance No. 4
11. Discovery
12. Siete canciones populares españolas: No. 5 Nana
13. Kalkadunga Yurdu
14. Six Studies in English Folk-Song: I. Adagio
15. Six Studies in English Folk-Song: II. Andante sostenuto
16. Six Studies in English Folk-Song: III. Larghetto
17. Six Studies in English Folk-Song: IV. Lento
18. Six Studies in English Folk-Song: V. Andante tranquillo
19. Six Studies in English Folk-Song: VI. Allegro vivace
20. Yanada

Personnel:
Amy Dickson, soprano & alto saxophone
William Barton, didgeridoo (on tracks 2, 5, 13, 20)
Daniel de Borah, piano (on tracks 1, 3, 10, 12, 14-19)
Adelaide Symphony OrchestraNicholas Carter, conductor