Search - Lentini, Ganson, Applegate :: Orchestra Hall Suite / El Signo Del Angel

Very pleasant discoveries from someone you should know!

Daniel R. Coombs | Mesa, AZ United States | 08/16/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The new collection of chamber music from Detroit native, James Lentini (Naxos 8.559626), is a very pleasant surprise and well worth checking out! Lentini, a graduate of Wayne State University and ,presently, the Dean of the School of Fine Arts at Miami University of Ohio, is clearly well trained with a unique vision. His music is accessible to listen to and challenging for his performers without being needlessly complex and mathematical. This collection opens with the very compelling "Orchestra Hall Suite". Written for Paul Ganson, bassoonist with the Detroit Symphony for the remodeling of their Orchestra Hall, this is a largely tonal and somewhat jazzy suite for bassoon and string quartet that refers to Weber, Mahler and even Lionel Hampton in places. Bassoonists should rush to add this to their repertory in a fairly small category of works. "El signo del angel", from 2004, is written for harp and viola. Written for a new music festival in Spain, this is another very interesting work for a very unusual combination that works! The composer states that the title is his inspiration from a near miss and potentially fatal car crash and his thoughts on guardian angels. As such, it is beautiful and a bit ethereal throughout. The "Five Pieces" fro cello and piano (1987) opens in a very declamatory fashion and remains a virtuoso work; even during the evocative middle movements which are quite lyrical. A highlight of this collection must be the "East Coast Groove" for tuba and piano. This vibrant, challenging piece is a terrific addition in another somewhat slight genre and soloist Velvet Brown must be one of the country's best tubists, exhibiting smooth tone and clear, bell like articulation. As an Arizona resident, I was quite taken with Lentini's "Scenes for Sedona" (1996) as well. This piece for viola and cello is a very picturesque evocation of certain landmark locations in the redrocks country. Particularly interesting is the movement named after Cathedral Rock which, quite cleverly and impressionistically, quotes briefly from Debussy, "La cathedrale engloutie". The "Devil's Bridge" is understandably frantic and spiky. The disc concludes with the piano trio, "Montage" which follows traditional forms but makes good use of some solid melodic and thematic material, giving all three players plenty of showcase moments. All of this music is of high quality, the performances are great and congratulations to Naxos, again, for giving venue to a living American composer whose voice deserves to be more widely heard!"

Interesting New Compositions & Great Performances!

Scordatura | 07/29/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It is sometimes hard to know what you will get when giving a listen to "new"

music, but in this case, it was a treat to listen to well-crafted music

played with such passion and dedication. The pieces are written in such a

way that the listener is drawn in to the musical idea, and taken on an

expressive journey through sometimes sonorous and sometime dissonant

territory, but all with a sense of adventure and freshness. There are some

truly beautiful melodic passages in the piano trio "Montage," in "5 Pieces

for Cello and Piano," and in the piece "El Signo del Angel." The American

Classics series is describes as being dedicated to works by composers both better and lesser

known, and in this case, it is well worth the time to get to know Lentini's

music better. Outstanding performances are turned in by members of the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra and others, and the sound production is superb. Highly recommended!"