Review, Dream with Me: Clarinet and Saxophone Magazine (December 19, 2009)
CD Reviews - Winter 2009
"Dream with Me is Nicola Pennill's first solo CD, an eloquent collection of twelve pieces with which she feels a 'strong personal connection'...ably accompanied by Alistair Parnell on piano and electronic instruments. Alistair is also producer and the CD design is Nicola's own, the overall package providing an impressive launch for her CD label.
The dream concept provides a coherence for a wide variety of material, and John Adams' Consuelo's Dream is an excellent choice as opening track, with EWI accompaniment generating an appropriately wistful and other-worldly atmosphere. The theme is explicitly continued in the CD's title track Dream with Me by Leonard Bernstein, its romanticism given full voice by Nicola on baritone. A well-played baritone can be the most expressive of the saxophone family, and it is the case here, Jan Sandstrom's Sang till Lotta where it seems to reveal another, underlying theme which emerges as yearning, sweet melancholy and even loss.
Subtle variations on this emotional palette are explored on alto and soprano in folk song arrangements by Herbert Hughes and Benjamin Britten, Jean-Michel Damases' Vacances, the 'Lento' from Joseph Horowitz's Oboe Concerto (Nicoa was originally an oboe player), a transcription of another John Adams aria, Leila's Song, and Craig Rickard's Romance. Even the album's more upbeat tracks - Richard Ingham's extrovert Bennachie, arranged especially for the CD, Bill Connor's Celtic-tinged Skaladur and Craig Rickard's fiery Duende - retain poignant or even darker elements. Thoughtful programming means that the album has a compelling momentum despite its wistful character, and it closes with an unexpected touch of cabaret in Richard Rodney Bennett's Nicole's Theme.
...Whichever saxophone Nicola is playing she does so with fine control and unobtrusive vibrato...a great deal for saxophonists and others to reflect on and enjoy in this accessible and imaginative album."
Clare Mackney Click here to return to the News page |
