Fugitive Footsteps
Navona, 2023
8/10
The composer Laurence Sherr surrounds the ideas of persecution, trauma, and survivor’s guilt and how it relates to Holocaust resistance and survival across these 8 involved pieces, where many players lend their talents for the remembrance and tribute.
“Sonata For Cello And Piano- Mir Zaynen Do!” starts the listen with Inbal Megiddo’s swift cello and Jian Liu’s playful piano interacting with beauty, warmth and adventurousness, and “Khayele’s Waltz” follows with Deborah Rawson’s clarinet and Megiddo’s cello making for a cinematic, dreamy climate that uses plucking amid the smooth wind delivery.
The middle recruits the Kennesaw State University Chamber Singers and Cory Schantz’s soaring baritone for the rich title track, while “Khayele’s Waltz” for Friedrich Edelmann’s bassoon and Rebecca Rust’s cello emits a rare charm and intimacy from the pair’s dynamic interaction.
The final track, “Elegy Vision”, is just Meggido’s lone cello, and it emits much emotion and poeticism thanks to its stirring presence.
A listen that focuses much on tonal language and truly surrounds the notion of overcoming adversity, every moment here is carefully executed and resonates opposition, hope and renewal.
Travels well with: Sydney Hodkinson- Chamber Works; Vincent Ho- Sandman’s Castle