Legends And Light Vol. 2
Navona, 2022
8/10
Listen to Legends And Light Vol. 2
The follow up to the 2018 release of the Legends And Light series, this installment brings new works for large ensemble, where the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Brno Philharmonic Orchestra lend their vast talents.
Helen Mackinnon’s “The Rinns Of Islay” opens the listen with a radiant, cinematic quality that brings lush, bold moments as well as calm, dreamy ebbs of winds magic, and “Tributum: For Celtic Bagpipes And Orchestra” follows with the soaring strings complementing the great highland and uilleann pipes in the Nan Avant composition.
In the middle, Richard E. Brown’s “Voices Of The Night: A Nocturnal Fantasty For Orchestra” takes a dramatic turn into more ominous territory that’s unpredictable in all the best ways with a booming delivery, while “Lost Voices” emits a busy demeanor of deep brass, sweeping strings and bold percussion thanks to Deborah Kavasch’s vision.
Ben Marino’s “Yrast 2.0” lands near the end, and finds a hypnotic place to reside with swirling melodies, and “Striadica: A Symphonic Passage” exits the listen with both intimacy and exploration populating the Kim Diehnelt piece.
A listen that highlights cultures, locations, forces of nature, and human life, each track here brings its own unique presence and is executed with tremendous skill.
Travels well with: Trio Casals- Moto Finale; Carl Vollrath- Old & New Poetry