Passages
Navona, 2022
8/10
The composer Michael Murray illuminates the words of 19th and 20th century poets via these moving pieces that employ singing from Genevieve Fulks, where childhood adventure, hope, and tragedy are explored under Murray’s very thoughtful vision.
“Passage To Nod” opens the listen with text by Robert Louis Stevenson as Fulks’ soaring soprano guides the powerful and soaring landscape that’s cinematic in nature thanks to the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra’s fascinating playing.
“Genevieve’s Cats” follows with intimate and playful piano from Minju Choi Witte alongside the diverse pipes of Fulks that uses text by William Wordsworth, William Butler Yeats and John Keats, while “Penny Whistles” rumbles with Witte’s skilled keys, Allison Storochuk’s upbeat clarinet and Fulks’ strong range that can be both firm and bare.
The final track and perhaps the best, “The Last Invocation” pairs the Moravian Philharmonic with Fulks, and it yields a bit of mystery, even a haunting element amid Walt Whitman’s words.
Stanislav Vavřínek provides conductor duties on half the tracks, and Murray’s highly detailed approach, Fulks’ sublime voice and the strategic use of instruments makes for a captivating listen.
Travels well with: Georges Raillard- Fading Sounds; Joseph Summer- Hamlet