Fanfare

Robin Stevens was born in Wales in 1958 but has resided for many years in England. This thoroughly enjoyable set of short pieces for various wind instruments will bring pleasure not only to wind players but to a great many general listeners. The music is quite varied, avoiding the possibility of listener fatigue from hearing too much of the same thing. The opening work, Oceanic Lullaby, is scored for oboe and piano and is in essence a lovely song without words (using the composer’s own description in the accompanying booklet). Immediately following is the upbeat Concert Rondo, with just enough rhythmic spikiness and mild dissonance to offer a striking contrast.

Stevens’s musical grammar is relatively conservative, but it is not lacking in originality or personality. Grief’s Portrait, for example, is a work for French horn and piano meant to honor the losses felt in World War 1, whereas Jig, a few tracks earlier, is a jaunty Scottish folk-style dance. Stevens is adept at alternating moods in this way, keeping the listener always alert and engaged. He does this within pieces, too, supported by a genuine melodic gift and sense of humor. I found myself chuckling along the way, but at times (An Uneasy Dialogue for clarinet and piano, for example) I got caught up in the musical tension Stevens has created.

A high level of musical imagination, combined with skilled and involved performances from all participants and a clean, well-balanced recording, all add up to a very enjoyable pair of CDs.

—Henry Fogel