Various Composers - Vesper (Sean Shibe)

Information

1. Thomas Adès - Forgotten Dances: I. Overture, Queen of the Spiders
2. Thomas Adès - Forgotten Dances: II. Berceuse, The Paradise of Thebes
3. Thomas Adès - Forgotten Dances: III. Courante - Here was a swift (for Max Ernst)
4. Thomas Adès - Forgotten Dances: IV. Barcarolle - The Maiden Voyage
5. Thomas Adès - Forgotten Dances: V. Carillon de Ville (for Hector Berlioz)
6. Thomas Adès - Forgotten Dances: VI. Vesper (for Henry Purcell)
7. Harrison Birtwistle - Beyond the White Hand: Construction with Guitar Player
8. Harrison Birtwistle - Guitar and White Hand
9. Thomas Adès - Habanera from 'The Exterminating Angel'
10. Harrison Birtwistle - Oockooing Bird (arr. Forbes Henderson)
11. Harrison Birtwistle - Sleep Song
12. Harrison Birtwistle - Berceuse de Jeanne (arr. Forbes Henderson)
13. Harrison Birtwistle - Sad Song (arr. Forbes Henderson)
14. Harrison Birtwistle - Je sui aussi
15. James Dillon - 12 Caprices: No. 1
16. James Dillon - 12 Caprices: No. 2
17. James Dillon - 12 Caprices: No. 3
18. James Dillon - 12 Caprices: No. 4
19. James Dillon - 12 Caprices: No. 5
20. James Dillon - 12 Caprices: No. 6
21. James Dillon - 12 Caprices: No. 7
22. James Dillon - 12 Caprices: No. 8
23. James Dillon - 12 Caprices: No. 9
24. James Dillon - 12 Caprices: No. 10
25. James Dillon - 12 Caprices: No. 11
26. James Dillon - 12 Caprices: No. 12

Sean Shibe, guitar

Date: 2026

Label: Pentatone

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Sean Shibe’s fifth PENTATONE release, Vesper, features contemporary guitar works by Harrison Birtwistle, James Dillon, and Thomas Adès, all composed by non-guitarists and recorded here for the first time. The album explores the instrument’s expressive potential in contrasting ways: Birtwistle’s music is ritualistic and evocative, Dillon’s is elemental and textural, and Adès’s is allusive and finely detailed. Shibe’s performances highlight the guitar’s subtle colour and transformative capacity, bringing clarity and imagination to each work. On selected Birtwistle pieces, he performs on Sylvette (2021), a specially crafted instrument by Simon Ambridge featuring artwork by Lydia Corbett, adding a visual dimension linked to Picasso’s influence on Birtwistle’s aesthetic.

Sean Shibe, born in Edinburgh in 1992, trained in Scotland, Austria, and Italy before joining the Guildhall School of Music and Drama as a Guitar Professor. A former BBC New Generation Artist and recipient of major awards from the Borletti-Buitoni Trust, the Royal Philharmonic Society, and the Leonard Bernstein Award, he has established himself as an innovative force in contemporary classical music. His current and upcoming seasons feature premieres of concertos by Cassandra Miller, Oliver Leith, Mark Simpson, and Tyshawn Sorey, extensive European and US tours, major recital appearances as an ECHO Rising Star, and a Wigmore Hall residency, including a Boulez centenary programme. Performances with leading ensembles and collaborators further underscore his artistic range and growing international profile.