Reviews
The musical jewel in the crown was Petersiliensommer by Graham Lack, the score’s shimmering surface quite magical in expression.
Die Harke, Hannover, June 2016
Lack’s upbringing in the British choral tradition and familiarity with change ringing, with permutations that follow a precise mathematical mode, play a part in the genesis of the set of Six Preludes, of which the first two were heard here…Seen through the prism of Lack’s musical inspiration, individual sounds collide and overlap, resonating with spatial effects [the] pieces begin softly with descending scales, progressing through accentuated cascades until the ripples stretch – barely audible – into infinity.
The Classical Source, 10 February 2015
The work remains contemporary in feeling yet evinces a wonderful sense of harmonic structure. (Lux divisa)
Frankfurter Neue Presse, June 2014
In Graham Lack’s The Pencil of Nature, premiered [as part of the musica viva series] the composer satisfies the principle of maximum transparency to the full, his string trio cast in a musical language of mysterious fluttering sounds. Graham Lack’s compositions represent a real highpoint to the programme.
Süddeutsche Zeitung, January 2013
Last Monday, there was an unexpected Easter present in St. Jakobus in Miltenberg: the impressive premiere of the one-act church opera The Angel of the East. This is certainly a successful new work, one representing a magnificent attempt to tread new paths in church music. The partly atonal musical concept is convincing in terms of form, melody and concomitant transparency. The soprano solos breath musicality, the harp accompaniment provides a serene spirituality.
Main Echo, April 2012
An artful composition that follows entirely in the King’s Singers tradition (Demesnes)
Westdeutscher Allgemeine Zeitung, June 2011
Especially convincing in their clearly defined structures and mildly dissonant harmonic language. (Four Lullabies)
Süddeutsche Zeitung, August 2008
Graham Lack’s music is proving to be a really interesting discovery.
Applaus Magazin, May 2004
Evincing a personal musical language, his works draw freely on an earlier Renaissance style.
Münchner Merkur, February 2002
These pieces raise goose-bumps immediately, with their admixture of earlier styles which are then rendered in contemporary terms. Passages admitting a strict level of dissonance lead directly into others which might have been tailor-made for an ensemble like the King’s Singers. (Four Lullabies).
Gmünder Tagespost, July 2002
Virtuoso choral choreography (Two Madrigals for High Summer)
Süddeutsche Zeitung, July 1999
Evidence of a composer who delights in sound…here is a composer with a sure understanding of timbres and the experience to know how to say what he wants to say in musical terms. (Four Lullabies)
Musical Opinion, August 1997
The Allegri Quartet played a short Quartettsatz by the very accomplished Munich-based composer Graham Lack…this pregnant little piece was full of fitful melody; one hopes it will be the prelude to more works in the quartet format.
Oxford Times, May 1996