The Percussion Collective’s latest PENTATONE album, Seaborne, has been awarded a ★★★★★ five-star review in BBC Music Magazine, with critic Anne Tempest praising the recording’s exceptional musicianship, compelling programming and vivid sonic imagination.
Featuring music by Garth Neustadter and Kjell van Sice, Seaborne explores the many dimensions of water through an immersive sound world for percussion ensemble. The review highlights the album’s “crystal-clear execution” and the ensemble’s “synchronised” artistry, describing Neustadter’s writing as requiring “a clarity of vision which this ensemble seem perfectly suited to.”
Anne Tempest particularly commends the recording’s expressive range, noting how the music moves from “waves of mesmeric sound” to moments of dramatic intensity while maintaining “an awesome and transformative quality.” She concludes that, despite the work’s exploration of humanity’s relationship with the sea, “there is something in the patience and respect for the musical language throughout this recording… that provides a sense of optimism.“
The five-star accolade recognises Seaborne as an outstanding addition to today’s percussion repertoire, celebrating both the Percussion Collective’s virtuosity and the evocative compositional voice of Garth Neustadter.
Seaborne is available now on PENTATONE. The full review appears in the August issue of BBC Music Magazine.
