Search - Barton Cummings, Vincent Persichetti, Neal Corwell :: New England Reveries

Interesting music superbly played

Mark Gilbert | Atlanta, GA | 12/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The performer: Mark Nelson, though I was hitherto unfamiliar with him, plays cleanly and clearly but without the 'piercing' quality that plagues some such players. The tone is round and engaging, nice to listen to but not so 'nice' as to be boring, with a pretty good range from warm and serene to vibrant and exciting, which he exhibits throughout this album.



The accompaniest: Sylvia Parker does a technically-fine job backing Nelson up. Don't know who this person is either, but definitely plays like a pro. There is also good and consistent communication between the two - the timing always jives, and the dynamic levels don't get off-balance. Good work.



The music: This is a very diverse glimpse (one hour) into the world of less than commonplace Tuba studies. If as a tuba player you already have your obligatory six different recordings of the Vaughan Williams and Gregson, and are looking for something on the 'different' side of life, these unique sketches and, well, reveries (a well-chosen title) will provide just that without becoming too esoteric or overmodernist. It reaches into the bag of unconventional music tricks without pulling out a glob of 'strange' or 'noise'. Probably the most disturbing thing you'll hear on the whole cd is the use of the synthesizer in the title piece, but even that you can get used to after the initial shock of it. When the tuba comes in, we find that it's a surprisingly good fit (at worst, a little 'hot' on the level of the synth). If it really bothers you, get a harpsichordist to cover this part when you play it for yourself, that would also work, but it'd be a tradeoff for some of the unique effects the synth offers. As a rule or default opinion, I don't like synths in music - I can get over that for this piece.



The recording - Nothing bad to report in the quality of the recording itself, it's professional, well-edited, studio quality. If you're used to studying how the performer breathes in individual and small ensemble studio recordings, you won't find that, but everyone else will perceive this as a good thing."