The Bottom Line
- Music is lyrical, rich, and full of expression
- Perkinson's works are relatively unknown; music is "fresh"
- Several works are reminiscent of Barber, Dvorak, and Bach
- A few works require an acquired taste
Description
- Released: November 29, 2005
- 1 Disk, Seven Works, 16 Tracks
- Total Play Time: 79:00
Guide Review - Classical Music CD Review: Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson - A Celebration
This classical album features seven works by Perkinson, spanning in time nearly 50 years. The opening piece, composed in 1954, Sinfonietta No. 1 for Strings, is my favorite piece of the album. Its structure, melodies, and orchestration resemble Dvorak, Barber, and Bach. In the middle of the third movement, the unison between the first violins and cellos instantly reminds me of a piece in the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon soundtrack. Could it be that Tan Dun knew of this piece long before? Perhaps. As the album progresses, solo blues works for violin and Lamentations for solo cello are original and intriguing in design, yet don't deliver the aesthetic quality I tend to desire in music.
The Chicago Sinfonietta, the New Black Music Repertory Ensemble Quartet, violinist, Sanford Allen, pianist, Joseph Joubert, cellist, Tahirah Whittington, violinist, Ashley Horne, and conductor, Paul Freeman, deserve a great round of applause. Their musicianship is among the best in the world. There's no doubt, that each piece was performed the way Perkinson intended it to be.
