University of York Music Press

"The programme begins with Sadie Harrison’s Portraits from the Place of the Yew Trees (2020), a musical journey through ancient and modern Yorkshire, premiered at Howden Minster on 26 March 2022 with great sensitivity and attention to detail by Duncan Honeybourne, for whom the cycle was written.  In this finely judged recording he allows the subtleties of each vignette time to register, while at the same time underlining the score’s convincing structure, not least by the resilience he suggests in the recurring ‘yew tree’ theme.  The various historical figures and settings are brought to life with flair and, above all, dignity in a compelling account that does full justice to the music’s range and richness... Sadie Harrison’s …on a name… (2017) is a set of three miniatures that explore the historical derivation of the surname of the pianist, for whom the score was a birthday gift.  Gentle, flinty and ethereal in turn, these tersely compact movements have an elusive, hard-won integrity that repays repeated listening."

The CD recording can be found here.

A video recording of Duncan's premiere of Portraits from the Place of the Yew Trees at the Howdenshire Music Festival can be found here: