A Foreign Field
‘…full of chromatic harmonies slithering downwards like a world subsiding into chaos, and orchestral interludes that fiercely evoke the screaming shells and ear-shattering artillery as well as (in a magnificently moving, Berg-like ending) the heroism and sacrifice of the millions who died… the best movement is also the simplest: a superbly crafted, unaccompanied choral setting of Psalm 91.’
The Times (Richard Morrison), 4 August 2014
'One of the finest, most worthwhile premieres I have heard in many years… a gripping melding of frontline verismo, the tearing-apart of lovers, and desperately-needed compassion… '
The Birmingham Post (Christopher Morley), 4 August 2014
‘The musical score was as many-layered as the text. Washes of glittery metal percussion, creating an otherwordly atmosphere, sat cheek-by-jowl with a densely expressive texture... '
The Telegraph (Ivan Hewett), 1 August 2014
4 Songs
‘Rasch's elegant simplicity and directness of expression put the words in sculpted relief, initially lulling the listener into a sense of security. This was soon dispelled when the dark night of which Housman warns reached a sudden peak in Lewis's lines: "And Death the wild beast is uncaught, untamed." This setting, from Postscript: for Gweno, had a startling potency.The frisson which came at the end of the cycle, with the gentle anguish of Housman's line "And we were young", was all the stronger for being an echo of Richard Sisson's setting of the same poem, How Dead We Lie, in the opening cycle So Heavy Hangs the Sky.
The Guardian (Rian Evans), 1 August 2013
The Duchess of Malfi
‘Sold out within six hours,"The Duchess of Malfi"-co-produced by site-specific company