Album reviews: Lyell Cresswell | Mairearad Green | Crimson Jazz Trio

Published on Sunday 29 November 2009 19:45

LYELL CRESSWELL: THE VOICE INSIDE ***** NAXOS, £5.86

JAMES Judd and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra offer up four superb works in this celebration of New Zealand-born, Scots-based composer Lyell Cresswell. All but one – the trombone concerto Kaea – were written in the current century, but all represent Cresswell in truly magnificent form. Two of the works are for voice and orchestra, and both feature the mezzo-soprano Madeleine Pierard singing texts by Edinburgh writer Ron Butlin.

Pierard captures the full gamut of emotion in Cassandra's Songs and the near-solitary exposure of the title track, The Voice Inside, which pits the singer ingeniously against a solo violin and orchestra. Cresswell's powerful and evocative scoring is quite breathtaking at times.

So, too, the virtuosity of trumpeter Michael Kirgan which gives a fearsome urgency to the restless Alas! How Swift. And trombonist David Bremner's performance in Kaea imbues this music – based on the terrorising qualities of a Maori war trumpet – with all the manic eccentricity it needs.

FOLK

MAIREARAD GREEN: PASSING PLACES (CD & DVD)

****

BUIE RECORDS (only available through www.mairearadgreen.com)

ONE from the heart, as Wester Ross piper and accordionist Mairearad Green does more than any tourist board to celebrate her native Coigach peninsula in her Celtic Connections New Voices commission, recorded at its premiere in January and exhibiting all the freshness and verve of live performance.

Green is making a name for herself as a composer of well-received tunes, as well as a player in outfits such as Box Club and the Poozies. Joined here by such sterling associates as guitarist Anna Massie, drummer Donald Hay and fiddlers Adam Sutherland and Peter Tickell, the ensemble generates such highly melodic and exuberant sets as The New Band and The Pipe Set, as well as the beautifully wistful Homecoming.

On the DVD, Magnus Graham's film, made as a backdrop for the premiere, sets the music against a cyclist's-eye panorama of glowing scenery.

JAZZ

CRIMSON JAZZ TRIO: KING CRIMSON SONGBOOK VOLUME 2

****

PANEGYRIC, 13.70

THE second volume of trio interpretations from the King Crimson repertoire will be the last from this group – former King Crimson drummer Ian Wallace died shortly after they laid down these tracks; they provide a fitting career finale.

Pianist Jody Nardone and bass player Tim Landers complete the trio, and are joined on two tracks by another Crimson alumni, saxophonist Mel Collins.

They adopt a slightly more open, improvisational approach than in the first volume. A clever interpretation of the iconic The Court of the Crimson King sets the standard for an imaginative exploration of the material, which also includes powerful versions of Heartbeat and Lament, and a suite that combines Formentera Lady and Sailor's Tale with solo features for Wallace, Nardone and Landers. The results are definitely jazz, but with recognisable references to the originals.