CD REVIEW -
JENEBA
KANNEH-MASON
FANTASIE
SONY 19802889462
[72:47]
When early in 2024
Sony signed this 22-year-old
rising star pianist – the
fifth of the seven remarkable
musical family siblings from
Nottingham – in an exclusive
contract, they promised a
recording in "Spring
2025", and here it is: her
début solo album, and for piano
lovers well worth the wait.
By the age of
nine, Jeneba had already achieved
a Grade 8 Distinction in both
piano and cello. A decade later,
in 2021, she made her first
appearance at the Royal Albert
Hall. The Evening Standard opined
that she "proved an eloquent
advocate for the (Florence Price)
piece with her sensitive yet
alert playing".
This self-curated
programme opens with her
favourite composer, Chopin
(1810-49), and his 'Piano
Sonata No.2', one of his
most powerful works that has the
familiar Funeral March
as its third movement. It is
followed by two five-minute Nocturnes.
There are then
three pieces by African-American
composers dear to Jeneba's heart:
Florence Price's (1887-1953) 'Fantasie
nègre No.1' based on the
spiritual "Sinner,
Please Don’t Let This
Harvest Pass", Margaret
Bonds' (1913-72) 'Troubled
Water' also based on a
spiritual, "Wade in the
Water", and William
Grant Still's (1895-1978) 'Summerland',
a vision of paradise.
Next are Claude
Debussy's well-known 'La
fille aux chevaux de lin' ('The
Girl with the Flaxen Hair')
and 'Bruyères', which
for the pianist echo the Chopin
Nocturnes. Completing the set are
Russian composer and pianist
Alexander Scriabin's (1872-1915)
two very short '24 Preludes
Nos 1 & 11') and 'Piano
Sonata No.2', which gives
the album its title.
Booklet notes
author, James Jolly, writes that
"Jeneba Kenneh-Mason is a
musician deeply committed to her
craft, relishing the challenges
of performance and recording and
dedicated to her audience –
a talented young artist for whom
mastery isn’t just technical
but emotional too".
There is much to
enjoy in this well-filled album
and future releases can
expectantly be looked forward to.
©
Peter Burt, March 2025
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