TIME AND SPACE John McCabe in flight hyperion CDA 67089

An integral component of McCabe's music is repetition, be it notes, rhythm, or textures. In no way need this be a restriction or weakness in composition. Neither can it be dubbed a mannerism. McCabe uses it knowingly as part of the construction process. His fascination and skill in the use of orchestral colour lends itself well to the use of repetition, whether in ostinato, rhythmic patterning, or a cumulative and sometimes hypnotic chatter.

Taking the Flute Concerto first - written for James Galway in 1989 and premiered in London - McCabe the colorist is very much in charge, and considering the acrobatic nature of the flute, necessarily so. On balance, his use of the orchestra here is effervescent, the textures giving an extra sheen to the flute's flights of fancy [listen, track 16, 00:00-00:51], or high-register leaps over brass and percussion in sudden climaxes.

The single-movement conception binds the three succeeding groups that are generally fast-slow-fast. Probably this concerto will lure the listener to its charms more readily than the symphony. But do not, as a consequence, neglect the sterner arguments of the symphony.

The symphony I can feel as a continuation of the path he chose with the first symphony, which I know very well. The subtitle, 'Of Time and the River', is a quotation from a book read during work on the fourth symphony, which helped to focus the composer's mind on temporal matters. Music involves time, and McCabe uses it here artfully to gradually diminish speed to a moment of stillness somewhere midpoint, and then reverses the process. There are other devices from the same idea providing the composer with means to process development, tension [listen, track 7, 00:00-01:13], and release. Basic thematic material is cell-like and the repetition technique engenders its sturdy growth [listen, track 8, 00:00-00:50]. The resultant symphony brings a satisfying encounter for listeners. McCabe's language resource was mastered at an early age, and remains substantially the same, but obviously matures from slight shifts of emphasis as his worklist grows.

Both works - so well played by the BBC Symphony under Handley - add substantially to McCabe's claim for a yet-more-secure position amongst Britain's ever-growing army of talented composers.

To listen to the aural illustrations in this review, you may need to download RealNetworks' realplayer G2.