Miss Donnithorne's Maggot; Eight Songs for a Mad King

by Peter Maxwell Davies

Miss Donnithorne's Maggot; Eight Songs for a Mad King cover art
  • Type: Album
  • Released: 1987
  • Label: Unicorn-Kanchana
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Length: 1:07:19
  • Community rating: 3.31/5 from 2 ratings

Album Notes & Community Reviews

This recording pairs two of the British composer's most notorious, theatrically demanding expressionist masterworks into a single definitive release. Featuring the vocal acrobatics of Julius Eastman and Mary Thomas, the album navigates themes of severe madness, historical delusion, and terrifying avant-garde dissonance. The harrowing performances remain a benchmark for 20th-century classical monodrama.

Genres

Descriptors: avant-garde, history

Tracklist

  1. Eight Songs for a Mad King: I. The Sentry (King Prussia's Minuet) (5:30)
  2. Eight Songs for a Mad King: II. The Country Walk (La Promenade) (3:37)
  3. Eight Songs for a Mad King: III. The Lady-In-Waiting (Miss Musgrave's Fancy) (3:54)
  4. Eight Songs for a Mad King: IV. To Be Sung on the Water (The Waterman) (2:34)
  5. Eight Songs for a Mad King: V. The Phantom Queen (He's Ay A-Kissing Me) (2:33)
  6. Eight Songs for a Mad King: VI. The Counterfeit (Le Conterfaite) (2:53)
  7. Eight Songs for a Mad King: VII. Country Dance (Scotch Bonnet) (4:04)
  8. Eight Songs for a Mad King: VIII. The Review (A Spanish March) (3:36)
  9. Miss Donnithorne's Maggot: I. Prelude (1:25)
  10. Miss Donnithorne's Maggot: II. Miss Donnithorne's Maggot (8:19)
  11. Miss Donnithorne's Maggot: III. Recitative (6:24)
  12. Miss Donnithorne's Maggot: IV. Her Dump (3:00)
  13. Miss Donnithorne's Maggot: V. Nocturne (The Instrumentalists) (2:00)
  14. Miss Donnithorne's Maggot: VI. Her Rant (4:34)
  15. Miss Donnithorne's Maggot: VII. Recitative (4:22)
  16. Miss Donnithorne's Maggot: VIII. Her Reel (8:26)

Credits

  • Mary Thomas - primary artist, mezzo-soprano vocals
  • Julius Eastman - primary artist, baritone vocals
  • Fires Of London - primary artist, ensemble
  • Jennifer Ward Clarke - cello
  • Jonathan Williams - cello
  • Alan Hacker - clarinet [clarinets]
  • David Campbell - clarinet [clarinets]
  • Judith Pearce - flute [flutes]

More from Peter Maxwell Davies: full discography