Sparks: Eye Of London
Navona, 2022
8/10
Listen to Sparks: Eye Of London
The London Symphony Orchestra bring their inimitable talents to these original fanfare pieces by current composers, and it’s an effort that guides us through chaos, order, isolation, and triumph via their emotive skill set.
“Fanfare for Jacob Grayson”, by Beth Mehocic, opens with the booming percussion and tense strings making for a very cinematic approach of soft versus loud dynamics, and Gregory W Brown’s “(Of) Course” follows with swift and passionate interplay between the Orchestra’s many skilled players.
Halfway through, the tense and triumphant “New Day Fanfare” spotlights the composer Eric Klein with its meticulous string manipulation and thundering drums, while Sergio Cervetti’s “Gated Angel” rumbles with plenty of attention to mood in its precise ambience.
Nearing the end, the intimate gestures of “Ananke” flow with beauty and mystery in the Hans Bakker piece, and “For Whom The Bell Tolls: Overture” exits the listen with the best selection, where fluid melodies, charming percussive ideas and ebbs of bareness populate the multi-faceted finish of the Brian Wilbur Grundstrom original.
A very diverse body of work that navigates through soothing, abstract and animated song craft, the London Symphony Orchestra make the most of every superb moment here.
Travels well with: Jâca- Breakthrough; Rain Worthington- Passages Through Time