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The Arts Desk

I’ve been aware of American composer Lance Hulme for a few years – I’m a big fan of his orchestral piece Sirens’ Song – but this two-CD portrait album is a great opportunity to get to know the full range of his work. And range there certainly is. I am pleased that Sirens’ Song kicks things off, in a vibrant performance by the Brno Philharmonic and Mikel Toms. The piece, a 14-minute quasi-symphony, is inspired by the composer’s lifelong fascination with the Odyssey, with a colourful scoring and intoxicating energy. The final movement pits a long, evolving melody against beautifully-crafted orchestration that recalls Berg. It’s a fine piece.

The rest of disc 1 has a punchy and vivid saxophone nonet depicting a rollercoaster ride, a solo violin study, the entertaining JethroZen for the unlikely combination of flute and electric guitar (the “Jethro” in the title is a nod to Jethro Tull) and Caritas Abundat: Setting the Diamond, which takes us into electronic territory. This latter piece places a song by Hildegard on a “computer-generated sonic bed”, supplemented with solo cello. I liked the idea a bit more than the execution, which had a few too many ideas, and too many echoes of Vangelis, for my taste.

The title piece, Leaps & Bounds, has, according to Hulme, an “asymmetrical polymetric ostinato” but is more fun than this makes it sound. The three textural strands come together at the end in a thrilling confluence, and there is a similar restless energy in the mercurial percussion duo, Slapdash Redux. Appalachian Advent is a real change of tone, setting folksongs Hulme remembers from his childhood for soprano and piano before we finish with a spiky, sassy duo for sax and piano. The downside of this album as a miscellany of recordings made over many years in different venues and setups is that the sound varies in quality a great deal between items. But the playing is always committed and excellent, and regardless of some reservations I had about some pieces, there is much to like here – and Sirens’ Song is certainly worth a listen or two.