David Dubery: Observations- Seventeen Songs and a String Quartet

A brief thumbnail sketch of the composer may be of interest to listeners who have not come across his music before. David Dubery was born in Durban in South Africa. In 1961 he came to live in the United Kingdom in his mother’s hometown of Manchester. From a very young age Dubery composed music but studied formally at the Northern School of Music in Manchester between 1963 and 1971. He studied piano with Eileen Chadwick and Kendall Taylor. Dubery’s composition teacher was Dorothy Pilling. Much of his musical activity has been in broadcasting and for the stage where he has worked as a solo pianist, accompanist, vocal coach, musical director and teacher of piano and voice.  From a compositional point of view he is quite definitely a miniaturist (however his Quarteto Iberico is certainly no bagatelle) He is particularly interested in writing for the voice and has written many songs over his career. Dubery has contributed music for the theatre including an American-styled musical Love Line. His musical language is immediately approachable but can also be challenging to the listener.

The longest work on this new CD of music by Dubery is the fine above-mentioned Quarteto Iberico (Los fantasmas de los tiempos pasados): ‘Ghosts of Times Past’ which was composed in 2005 and reworked in 2013.  This string quartet is conceived in four movements with each having a ‘picture postcard’ title.  Dubery has noted that his interest in Spanish music began when he was still living in South Africa and witnessed Antonio and his Dancers at the Alhambra Theatre in Durban.  It was not until some years later that he visited the places that his youthful dreams had nurtured. The four movements are entitled (in English) ‘The Dancer in the Square’, ‘In the Maria Luisa Park, Seville’, ‘The Beggar Man in the Gothic Quarter’ (of Barcelona) and ‘Carnival’. The musical language of this work holds no terrors. In fact, it is ‘intentionally accessible, tonal and impressionistic.’  There are nods to a variety of composers that Dubery has come to admire – de Falla, Granados, Albeniz, Piazzolla and Rodrigo.

The liner notes provide a detailed ‘programme’ for each movement which can give a literary and topographical impulse to the listener’s experience of this Quartet. However, this is not necessary: it is sufficient to note that this work is inspired by the sunshine, occasional drama and edginess, and the charismatic characters of the Iberian Peninsula. I tend to regard each of these movements as a kind of aide-memoire that the composer has written for himself. If the listener wishes to share these impressions good and well – if not, just enjoy this vibrant, well constructed, sun-drenched score.  It is one of the most delightful ‘modern’ string quartets I have heard in a while.

The main proportion of this CD is devoted to a number of David Dubery’s songs. Four complete cycles are included as well as the early ‘Full Fathom Five’ from Shakespeare’s The Tempest.  Interestingly, this lugubrious version won an important composition prize in 1965. I guess that Holst and Britten are the models, but it is a delight in in its own right.

It is good to see the the song-cycle Observationsrecorded here. These settings of Walter de la Mare’s Rhymes and Verses for Children include some poems which do not appear to have been set before. The cycle was completed in 1979 but was later revised. These songs are composed in a vibrant style that reflects the mood of the text. Poems include ‘The Barber’s’, ‘The Old Sailor’ ‘Esmeralda’, ‘The Window’, ‘Done For’ and ‘The Promenade 1880’.   They cover a wide range of experience and emotion, including ‘noise and bustle’, shopping in the rain and the ‘question’ of hunting.

Dubery has noted that these songs often ‘reveal musical theatre influences’ from a time when he was writing for that medium. However, do not for one moment think that these little works of art are in any way ‘Lloyd-Webberian’ – they are much cleverer. Dubery has managed to balance innocence with subtlety in a very successful ‘song cycle’ that deserves to be in the repertoire. They are beautifully and imaginatively sung by Adrienne Murray.

The poet Douglas Gibson has clearly caught David Dubery’s imagination. Gibson was born in 1912 and wrote much of his best work whilst working in the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford during the Second World War. He had been allocated this position by the courts as he was a conscientious objector.  Many of Gibson’s poems reflect a deep interest in nature and a largely ‘pastoral’ interpretation of the landscape.

The opening song-cycle presents three of Gibson’s poems: ‘Swans in Flight’, ‘Lizard’ and ‘A Memory’. The first and last songs feature a beautifully written flute obligato. One of the characteristics of Dubery’s vocal music is his ability to indulge in some subtle word-painting. In the first song we hear undulating music which depicts the swans in flight. There is a clever musical reference to the Lizard’s darting tongue in the second.  The final song is (as the composer suggests) ‘Schubertian’: the accompaniment conjures up the ‘rhythm of the rails’ as the singer recalls a memory as seen from a carriage window. At the end of this song, the mood changes to an almost Constant Lambert-ian blues riff. Altogether a superb set of songs.

The second song-cycle featuring Douglas Gibson’s poems is the Housman-sounding Time will not Wait. These settings date from 1982.  Dubery suggests that this work is conceived as a ‘sonata for voice and piano in three movements.’  These songs major on the passing of time in a passive landscape where little appears to happen. There is a sense of stasis here that leads the listener into the poet’s dream-world.  Only occasionally does passion break forth – ‘the way the clouds are blown… [clouds] that now slide down the wooded hill’ or the dramatic opening and closing of the eponymous song.

Four other songs are included on this CD. They are grouped here as ‘Nightsongs’: they are all meditations on evenings during the year and also have a flute obligato. ‘One Night in December’ is an exquisite version of the beloved carol ‘Away in a Manger’. The second and third songs are further settings of Douglas Gibson. ‘The Evening in April’ is an enchanting number that perfectly balances flute, singer and soloist. It is dedicated to the author/composer Anthony Hopkins.  ‘June Evening’ is a lugubrious number that explores the beauty of creation in the countryside: ‘there is genius here/In the delicate hand/That traced these exquisite pastels across the sky…’ The flute takes on the persona of birds in flight. The final song in this ad-hoc group is Thomas Hardy’s ‘An August Midnight’. It is dedicated to the composer Peter Hope. The song imagines the great poet and novelist at his desk and the various insects that are attracted to his desk lamp. ‘A Longlegs, a moth, and a Dumbledore (bumble bee)… While ‘mid my page there idly stands/A sleepy fly, that rubs its hands.’ But the thought provoking element of this poem is the realisation that ‘God’s humblest, they!...They know Earth-Secrets that know not I.’ It is an idiomatic setting of what is one of my favourite Hardy poems.

The performance by the singers James Gilchirst and Adrienne Murray are superb. The composer is a remarkably sympathetic pianist and the flautist Michael Cox brings a magic to the two song cycles that include an obligato.  Finally the Cavaleri Quartet gives a well-balanced and convincing performance of David Dubery’s Iberian adventures.  The liner notes by the composer are detailed and include valuable biographies of all the participants.

This is a worthy disc of attractive music that demands to be explored slowly. There is nothing here that is particularly challenging or difficult to grasp on a first hearing. Each song is a perfect example of the composer’s art. The advertising for this CD suggests that the composer is one of the ‘leading exponents of the new lyrical post-modern music in Britain.’ David Dubery writes music that is in the trajectory of all that is best in English song – Ireland, Britten and Finzi. Yet there is an individual element that ensures that his music is never parody or pastiche. 

TrackListing:

Three Songs for voice, flute and piano to poems by Douglas Gibson (2012) [6:53]

‘Full Fathom Five’ for alto voice and piano (Shakespeare) (1965) [4:26]

Time will not wait: Three songs for tenor voice and piano to poems by Douglas Gibson (1981/2) [9:44]

Night Songs: for voice, flute and piano (2010-13) [14:53]

Observations: Six songs for voice and piano to poems by Walter de la Mare (1979) [12:32]

Quarteto Iberico (Ghost of times past) for string quartet (2005, rev.2013) [22:46]

James Gilchrist (tenor) Adrienne Murray (mezzo-soprano) Michael Cox (flute) David Dubery (piano) Cavaleri Quartet: Martyn Jackson (violin) Ciaran McCabe (violin) Ann Beilby (viola) Rowena Calvert (cello)

Carole Nash Recital Hall, Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester 6 September 2013 (all vocal tracks) 12 September 2013 (Quartet)

Metier MSV 28548 [71:13]

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David Dubery: New CD Recording – Observations: songs and quartet

The Lancashire-based composer David Dubery has informed me that Divine Art Records is releasing a new CD of his music in July 2014 (Metier MSV 28548). It will feature 17 songs for voice and piano as well as the ‘Ibérico’ String Quartet. 

The songs include four ‘cycles’ or collections and a single setting, of Shakespeare’s well-known ‘Full Fathom Five’ (1964) from The Tempest.  The album’s title is reflected in a cycle of six poems by Walter de la Mare (1979, later revised) and includes the well-loved poem ‘The Window’ – ‘Behind the blinds I sit and watch/The people passing - passing by/And not a single one can see/ My tiny watching eye.’ It is good to note that Dubery has set some of de la Mare’s verse that has not (to my knowledge) been done before, such as ‘Esmeralda’ and ‘The Promenade’.

Two of the song collections, Three Songs and Night Songsfeature an obligato part for flute which is played by Michael Cox.  There are a number of settings by the poet Douglas Gibson, including the cycle Time will not Wait (1981-2). I have never heard of Gibson or his work; he was born in 1912 and wrote many of his poems whilst working at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford during the Second World War. He was a conscientious objector and had been allocated this task by the court. After the war he lived in Leigh-on-Sea until his death in 1984.  Glancing at some of his poems reveals some beautifully written lines.

The string quartet is a major work by any standards.  Cuarteto Ibérico: (Los fantasmas de los tiempos pasados): Ghosts of Times Past, was composed in 2005 and reworked in 2013.  The quartet is in four movements, each having a subtitle. Dubery writes that his interest in Spanish music began in his childhood when taken to see Antonio & His Dancers at the Alhambra Theatre in Durban, South Africa. Later in life, the composer visited the places of his early dreams - Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, and Granada.  The quartet paints pictures of ‘The Dancer in the Square’, ‘In the Maria Luisa Park, Seville’, ‘The Beggar man in the Gothic Quarter’ and Carnival. However, these ‘pictures’ are simply suggestions for the listener to use their own imagination.  Dubery has written, ‘the musical language is intentionally accessible, tonal and impressionistic, unashamedly filled with influences from Spanish and South American composers whose music I love and often performed: de Falla, Granados, Albeniz, Rodrigo and Piazzolla.’ Based on the short extracts I have heard, this work is lining up to be a masterpiece.

The title of the album, Observations is appropriate, relating to not just the eponymous song-cycle but the other works on the disc- especially the string quartet.

The Divine Art record label blurb describes the composer, as one of the ‘leading exponents of the new lyrical post-modern music in Britain’. Certainly all the works by David Dubery that I have heard are approachable, subtle, not in any way patronising, and are always well-constructed and musically satisfying.  There is a review of his recent CD (METIER MSV28523) of songs and chamber music on MusicWeb International. 

The soloists on Dubery’s new CD will include the Cavaleri String Quartet, with the songs performed by James Gilchrist and Adrienne Murray. The composer plays the piano. A brief taster of this new CD can be heard on YouTube.  A sample of one of the songs can be heard on the Divine Art webpage. (Click on ‘preview ‘Winter Journey’)

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David Dubery: Composer’s Update

About this time last year, I reviewed an exciting retrospective CD called ‘Songs & Chamber Music’ by David Dubery. I was impressed by nearly every track. Since then I have heard a couple of other pieces of his music. The first, Oberon’s Delight for oboe and string quartet, was at a concert in Wilmslow celebrating counter-tenor James Bowman’s 70th birthday.  This is a well-considered piece reflecting the character of Oberon as realised by Bowman in Benjamin Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream.  The second was in a recent 2-CD exploration of Antony Hopkins’ music: Dubery had contributed a short piece to Eight Tributes to Antony Hopkins, which was presented to the composer in 2011. These were gifted by eight contemporary composers including Gordon Crosse, David Ellis and Anthony Gilbert.  Dubery’s contribution was the ‘delicious’ ‘Evening in April’ for soprano, recorder and piano. This work is based on a poem by Douglas Gibson from his collection The Singing Earth. It is a heart-achingly beautiful piece of music.

Biographically, three things need to be borne in mind about David Dubery. Firstly, he was born in Durban in South Africa in 1948 and in 1961 he came to his mother’s home town of Manchester. Secondly, from an early age he composed music and was a junior at the Northern School of Music from1964-66. He subsequently studied there as an undergraduate until 1970 and followed this with a post-graduate year specializing in piano accompaniment. His performing career is that of accompanistworking in the fields of stage and broadcasting.

And lastly, from a compositional point of view, he works with a traditional musical language that is always approachable, but is sometimes demanding. He prefers to compose miniatures rather than large scale pieces, however amongst the songs and the chamber pieces there are a few music-theatre pieces such as Once upon an Ark and an American styled musical called Love Lines. Although there is no symphony, (yet) there are a number of concerted works and tone poems.

Dubery has told me that there have been some excellent reviews of his CD in the British and American press. David DeBoor Canfield in the Fanfare Magazine states that this ‘disc is a delight from beginning to end’. He suggests that the composer ‘writes in a style that is both immediately accessible and richly rewarding. The lyricism of this very tonal music is underpinned by harmonies that are imaginative and unexpected’. D. Moore commenting in the American Record Guide notes that Dubery’s ‘music has a traditional flavour to it...’ and that his ‘... idiom is romantic at heart with a leaning towards jazz.’

On 13 July 2012 the RTE Lyric fm radio station broadcast a number of tracks from the ‘Songs & Chamber Music’ album on the Paul Herriot Lyric Concert. It is still available as a podcast.

In my reviewof Dubery’s CD, I wrote that the masterpiece (in my opinion) was the Cello Sonata. This work was originally written for double bass and piano, however that work was seemingly abandoned. The Sonata in its present form was completed in 2006 and lasts for about eleven minutes. It is in three movements. This is a lyrical work that sits fairly and squarely in a late twentieth century tradition of music that does not greatly challenge the listener with issues of musical language, but certainly makes demands on their emotional engagement. The heart of the work is the deeply felt ‘lento’ – which is both profound and moving. The composer suggests that this music was inspired by a tramp across the hills above Varenna, near Lake Como in Italy. I felt that there was not a bar of this piece that is not interesting, enjoyable and satisfying. In addition, I concluded by believing that this was an important Cello Sonata that must surely enter the repertoire. This importance has been recognised in two future performances of this work. These are on 11 October 2012 at St Olave’s Church, Hart Street and on 25 October 2012 in ‘London and Music’ at St Pancras’ Lunchtime Music series. The performers will be the distinguished cellist Felicity Vincent with pianist Richard Black.

New compositions from Dubery’s pen include a Sonata for Recorder & Piano due to be recorded for CD release in a collection of Sonatas by the end of August 2012. The performers will be John Turner (recorder) with Harvey Davies (piano). The CD should be available in 2013.

Four Escapades (which also featured on his CD in an arrangement for recorder, bassoon and piano) will be published in 2013 by Emerson Wind Music. This will be in a version for flute, bassoon & piano with optional recorder. I felt that the flute edition would ultimately be more satisfying. Escapades (2008) originally had the bassoonist Graham Salvage in mind. The musical idea is to present material as a conversation or dialogue between all three players. The suite has great variety, with an opening movement of considerable metrical change; the second is a bit hard-edged and has ‘oriental’ overtones. The third is a rhapsody of some beauty, whilst the final movement is a neo-classical dance.

Finally, information has been received that a USA premiere of Sonetti d’amore, that was written for, and performed by James Bowman, will take place in Chicago next April (2013). The soloists have yet to be announced.

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David Dubery: Songs and Chamber Works

David DUBERY (b.1948)

Songs and Chamber music

Sonatina for oboe and piano (Threesome for 2 players) (1986); Three Songs to Poems by Robert Graves (for mezzo soprano, recorder and piano (2001); Four Songs for mezzo soprano and piano (1971-1985); Suite from Degrees of Evidence for recorder, oboe and viola (2004);‘Remember’ for voice and piano (2005) Two Stopfordian Impressions for recorder and piano (2008-2009); Sonata for cello and piano (2006); Escapades for recorder, bassoon and piano (2008-2009); Walking Cimbrone for bassoon and piano (2007) Harlequinade for recorder and guitar (2007) ‘Mrs Harris in Paris’ (Valse Temptation) for treble recorder and piano (2003)

Adrienne Murray (mezzo-soprano) John Turner (recorder) Peter Dixon (cello) Richard Simpson (oboe) Graham Salvage (bassoon) Craig Ogden (guitar) Richard Williamson (viola) David Dubery (piano) Paul Jones (piano)

Metier MSV28523 [78:47]

Until hearing this CD, David Dubery was a composer largely unknown to me. I had heard his short miniature Mrs Harris in Paris, but that is all. However, as a Manchester-based composer he appealed to me. It seems that so many great and good composers from that part of the world have been largely sidelined by the musical establishment. Think only of Eric Fogg, Thomas Pitfield, John Foulds and Alan Rawsthorne, to name but four.

It is not the place to give a comprehensive biography of David Dubery; however three things can be said. Firstly he was born in Durban in South Africa in 1948. In 1961 he came to his mother’s home town of Manchester. Secondly, from an early age he composed music and later studied at the Northern School of Music between 1964-1967. He has spent the intervening years working in the fields of music, stage and broadcasting. And thirdly, he works in a traditional musical language that is approachable, but sometimes demanding. He prefers to compose miniatures rather than large scale pieces, however amongst the songs and the chamber pieces there are a few musical theatre pieces such as Once upon an Ark and an American styled musical called Love Lines. Although there is no symphony (yet) there are a number of concerted works and tone poems.

The best place to start this fascinating musical journey is spending some time with Mrs. Harris [who] goes to Paris. This miniature for recorder and piano is subtitled Valse Temptation! The original work dates back to 1980 when the composer was working on a musical adaptation of the novel of the same name by Paul Gallico. Some of the music was reworked into the present ‘Parisian Waltz’ in 2003. Apparently the ‘temptation’ was not a man but a Dior gown! A lovely little piece to get to know the composer with.

I know that it is working backwards through the track-lisitng, but the delightful suite Harlequinade is a good place to continue our exploration. This was written in 2007 for the unusual combination of guitar and recorder. Just to recap, the name Harlequinade was given to the 18th century English adaptation of the Italian commedia dell’arte. There are four lovely, varied and balanced movements. The work opens with Pantalone’s Minuet which is a wistful (but with an occasional ‘edge’) little number with some really ‘Mediterranean’ moments about it. Pantolone was the greedy and ‘over-amorous’ father of the lovely Columbine. He tries to keep his daughter and Harlequin apart. The second movement, which is short, reveals her ‘gossiping and intriguing’. However, this is followed by Columbine’s Romance with Arlecchino (Harlequin). This is the heart of the work: a truly beautiful piece of ‘love’ music. The final movement is given over to Harlequin himself with a lively and vibrant dance –this includes a drunken moment from which everyone eventually sobers up. Altogether a great little suite that is totally in sympathy with its subject. However, I would prefer to hear the recorder part played by the flute: I understand from the composer that such an arrangement exists.

I would then move on to the short Walking Cimbrone written for bassoon and piano. It was inspired by a stray dog that ‘adopted’ the composer and his partner whilst they were visiting the Villa Cimbrone in Ravello. Dubery writes that the ‘dog was ... sad, comic and caused embarrassment at every turn. Certainly the present pieces matches Elgar’s Mina as a nice little character sketch of ‘man’s best friend!’ The piece was written for the bassoonist Graham Salvage.

Escapades also had Salvage in mind. These four short pieces were composed in 2008 for recorder, bassoon and piano. The musical idea is to present material as a conversation or dialogue between all three players. The suite has great variety, with an opening movement of considerable metrical change; the second is a bit hard-edged and has ‘oriental’ overtones. The third is a rhapsody of some beauty, whilst the final movement is a neo-classical dance.

As part of our wayward exploration of this CD it would be good to now examine some of the songs. A number of poets are represented including Hilaire Belloc, Jonathan Swift, Robert Graves, Douglas Gibson and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Begin with the lovely ‘Remember’ by Christina Rossetti from her Goblin Market sequence. It is a well-wrought little song that expresses the brave sentiments of the poem. Certainly the last line is heart-breaking ‘Better by far you should forget and smile/than that you should remember me and be sad.’

The Four Songs for ‘medium voice’ are worthy additions to the repertoire of English lieder. The set opens with Douglas Gibson’s fine poem ‘Another Spring’. Gibson is a poet that I do not know, but his lines are a perfect example of pastoral poetry that nods to John Clare: it is sympathetically set by Dubery. Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s great metaphysical poem, ‘Sudden Light’ (I have been here before/but when or how I cannot tell) is the heart of the cycle. This is deep and thoughtful music. Things lighten up a bit with Swift’s ‘rollicking, colourful Irish characterisation, ‘Onyons’. The final poem is the favourite Belloc poem ‘The Birds’ – (When Jesus Christ was four years old/The angels brought Him little toys of gold). It is a setting that reflects the childlike simplicity of the words, but also notes the deeper thoughts hidden between the lines. It was the composer’s first published song in 1971.

There were originally another two songs in this group but these were set aside.

Move back now to instrumental music. The Two Stopfordian Impressions for recorder and piano were written for the redoubtable John Turner. For those not blessed with North-Country connections the adjective ‘Stopfordian’ applies to people and things related to the great Cheshire town of Stockport: pupils at Stockport Grammar School style themselves Stopfordians. David Dubery has composed two delightful and utterly poetic little numbers called Pinch Belly Park and The Glass Umbrella. The former is evocative of a winter’s day walk in the said Pinch Belly Park, which is the local name for Vernon Park. This is a little bit of minimalism that creates a chilly feel. The latter is a musical portrayal of the stunning Victorian market hall and St Mary’s Church bells. The work was composed in 2010. There is also a version for oboe and piano.

I have a problem with the Three Songs to Poems by Robert Graves: I really feel that the woodwind part does not add value. In fact, I believe that the tonal characteristic of the recorder jar or competes with the singer: it certainly does not complement her. I would rather hear this in a revised arrangement for piano and mezzo-soprano only. The songs themselves and their performance (the above comment notwithstanding) are absolutely beautiful – encompassing moods from the dreamlike ‘Under the Olives’ to the urbane ‘I will write’ which borders on jazz. The first performance of these songs took place at Prestwich Music Club in 2003.

After this move onto the Suite from Degrees of Evidence for recorder, oboe and viola. Not the set of pieces that most impressed me: they seemed just a little contrived. For one thing they are only four of six pieces that were originally conceived. They are based on a ‘chapter heading class 4, ‘intellect’ from Roget’ Thesaurus!’ I find them disjointed and largely unmemorable. Perhaps the version for String Quartet may be more impressive? There are four movements: ‘Memory’, ‘Certainty’, ‘Possibility’ and ‘Absurdity’.

Lastly, it is time to move onto the two most impressive, and possibly the most important works on this CD. The disc opens with the Sonatina for oboe and piano which is subtitled ‘Threesome for 2 players.’ This short work is in three clever and well-balanced movements which display the talent and technique of both oboist and pianist. From the opening bars of the ‘allegro vivace’ with its ‘quirky’ tune to the closing ‘cheeky’ passages in the ‘presto’ this work hold the interest both entertains and impresses. The middle movement, which is a little ‘moderato’ pastoral, is truly lovely and quite moving. This Sonatina is fresh, tuneful and a delight. It deserves to be in the repertoire of all oboists.

The masterpiece (in my opinion) on this present CD is the Cello Sonata. This work was originally conceived for double-bass and piano; however that work never came to pass. The Sonata was completed in 2006 and lasts for about eleven minutes. It is in three movements. This is lyrical work, that sits fairly and squarely the late twentieth century tradition of music that does not challenge the listener with issues of musical language, but certainly makes demands on their emotional engagement. The heart of the work is the deeply-felt ‘lento’ – which is both profound and moving. The composer suggests that this music was inspired by a tramp across the hills above Varenna, near Lake Como in Italy. However all is put to rights in the frenetic ‘energico’: apart from a brief respite, this is all movement and pace. The cello part sounds extremely difficult, with the pianist’s technique is pushed a bit too. The conclusion is ‘bravura’ to say the least.

This is an important Cello Sonata that must surely enter the repertoire. There is not a bar of this piece that is not interesting, enjoyable and satisfying.

All in all this is a great ‘retrospective’ CD of music by the Mancunian composer David Dubery. With one exception, I enjoyed every single item on this disc. Let us hope that over the coming years many other works from his catalogue find their way into the recording studio.

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