MUSICAL SPURS

'His musical palette constantly overflows with colour,
never garish yet sometimes opulent and sometimes sombre.'

Irish convictions -
BASIL RAMSEY investigates the music of Ian Wilson

One would assume that the piano trio is a combination less likely to attract young composers today as it obviously did attract in the 19th century. Generally speaking that's true; specifically speaking, there are excellent 20th century works - Ravel and Frank Bridge two names that spring to mind.

The Irish composer Ian Wilson responded to an invitation to write for the excellent trio Kammerspiel with two works. Chamber music exploration is therefore a stimulus for his pen; there's also a recent quartet for the Vanbrugh Quartet.

The longer work takes the Seven Last Words of Christ from the Cross as the fundamental impetus, which is further intensified by Ian Wilson's personal faith. I find it becomes a spiritual journey with an inner musical strength to provide fertile ideas [listen - track 2, 0:50 - 1:50]. Whilst style and idiom are quite different, I sense a similar bedrock of religious ecstasy as with the Scottish composer James MacMillan. The Celtic touch?

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