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Congleton Review

For the first couple of tracks you might think this is “Now That’s What I Call Moderately Easy Listening Music from the Woodwind Section” but it’s not that at all, and gets more complex both as it plays through and with repeated plays. Conductor Shea Lolin and composer/producer Christopher Hussey have joined the Czech Philharmonic Wind Ensemble, “curating an album of premiere recordings spotlighting the woodwind orchestra” says the PR, “capturing its kaleidoscopic colours and symphonic potential in order to deepen and broaden appreciation of the medium’s power”.

“Alice in Wonderland” (Keiron Anderson) opens and is very jolly, slightly whimsical and with varied changes as Alice meets the cat or falls down the rabbit hole. There are 12 movements but for the listener it is one cohesive piece. In parts it’s reminiscent of “New World Symphony” or Elgar, or some jaunty generic English piece drawing on folk. A nice tune.

Judith Bingham’s “Mozart’s Pets” follows. Who knew Amadeus was a pet man? He had dogs, cats and a grasshopper according to this, and a canary by his deathbed. (We always think of Prince as the modern Mozart, and it would have been a so much better way to go with a canary at your bedside than keeling over in a service lift).

After warming the listener up we get Charlotte Harding’s “Bright Lights” (the woodwind mix) which is a little more out there, trying to capture the mood as one moves to a new city (though being taken out by two friendly racists for a pub crawl, as happened to the Review Corner after moving to one big city, is not covered). It’s more haphazard in sound to reflect the cars, the lights and the people.

Two long pieces close, “Domes”, which varies from a tranquil sound to something more raw, even strident — it’s about staring out over the rooftops of Rome and Constantine — and starts off slightly jaggedly. “Child of the Wandering Sea” — about marine life found at increasingly deep oceanic zones — is shimmery and descriptive of water.

Standout track is perhaps “Domes”, whose range of sounds and feelings is absorbing.

This is out now on Divine Art, DDX 21117