Piers Hellwell at a student workshop

This month saw the debut release of Irish composer Piers Hellawell on the UK-based label Delphian Records. Airs, Waters has six works, written between 1992 and 2008, linked by a similar compositional interest in segmented or block structures.

The album’s title comes from its second piece, Airs, Waters and Floating Islands, a 1995 work commissioned by the Holst Foundation. Other commissioned pieces include Agricolas, for clarinet and orchestra, by Robert Plane, the clarinettist who performs on the album, and Estruscan Games, written for the Da Vinci Trio but here performed by the Fidelio Trio.

Track Listing:

Agricolas (2008) for clarinet and orchestral

Airs, Waters and Floating Islands (1995) for piano

Estruscan Games (2007) for piano trio

Basho (1997) for piano

Degrees of Separation (2004) for orchestra

Jan Palac and the Flaming Skier (1992) for violin and piano

delphianrecords.co.uk