Search - Sung Jin Hong, Alden Banta, David Gould :: Hickey: Left at the Fork in the Road

Sean Hickey?s CV includes an impressive array of commissions and performances, due no doubt to the combination of adventurousness and accessibility that we find on this disc of nine short works. The longest, at just over 13 minutes is his Flute Sonata, whose three movements boast a nice combination of attractive melody, energetic, complex rhythms, and in the middle movement, a lively perkiness. Five other short pieces for various combinations of instruments, exhibit similar qualities. They include the aptly named Fluff for solo flute, the flute-clarinet duet Pair of Pants (Hickey has a penchant for oddball titles), and a piece for bassoon and piano, Granfaloon, that goes against typecasting by stressing the agility and lyricism the of which the instrument is capable. The immediacy and brevity of the short works on this disc seem to demand radio airplay. Included in the mix are two vocal pieces, a somber To the Wars, a setting of a 17th-century poem for soprano, and Sagesse, sung to an English translation of a Verlaine poem, for soprano and tenor with a chamber orchestra that plays a prominent role. The instrumental performances throughout are excellent, the singing less so. -- Dan Davis