CD REVIEW
found
in dreams
Helen Habershon (clarinet)/John
Linehan (piano)
divine art dda
25225 [57:12]
'
When I read a
record company referring to a
performer/composer and using the
words "easy listening"
and "in the light music
tradition", I soon have
their latest CD plopping through
my letterbox. So it was with
clarinettist Helen Habershon, who
I must admit I had not heard of
before. Evidently, this is her
fourth album, with one receiving
'Album of the Month' and two
'Album of the Week' accolades on
Classic fM.
She is accompanied
by a name I did know, pianist
John Lenehan, which is not
surprising as he has over 70
albums to his credit. The
Guardian newspaper describes him
as "peerless".
The disc is a
delightful discovery. It has 19
tracks, with six composed by
Habershon: Yesterday's
Dreams, Whisperings of Love,
Contentment at Dusk, Ill
Love You Forever, Love Never Ends
and Found in a Dream,
that are tuneful, and largely
contemplative. There are also two
pieces written by Linehan: Dreaming
of Summer and Deep
Reflections, together with
three lovely arrangements.
Some of the tracks
will be familiar to readers, such
as Fauré's Aprčs un Ręve,
Robert Schumann's Träumerie
('Dreaming'), the
traditional Deep River
and Dvorák's Goin' Home.
Short pieces from the repertoire
written for clarinet by Debussy,
Elgar, Finzi and Brahms are also
included. The tempo is upped for
my favourite track: Sonatina
for Clarinet and Piano Con
Brio written by Joseph
Horovitz*, best known for Noah
and His Floating Zoo. There
is quality playing all the way.
The disc's merits
include being ideal restorative
late night listening; and
Habershon writes in the booklet
notes, "I hope this album
will enable the listener to take
time off from the constant goings
on of their lives and dream with
the music". Dream on!
In case you are
wondering, the booklet cover is a
sketch by Helens grandson
George at age 5.
© Peter
Burt 2022
*Editors
Note: Viennese-born Joseph
Horowitz died recently, at the
age of 95, in London. Apart from
his composing career, he was a
long-time member of staff at the
Royal College of Music, where,
amongst many others, he taught
John Wilson. A very long list of
his compositions may be found on
Wikipedia, together with much
other very interesting
information. TC
|