Wilde and Haenssler
must intend that we are not distracted
from the music for, unusually, they
do not tell us who the players are.
The notes are quite full and there is
even a studio portrait of the calmly
smiling Wilde gazing out at us.
There are no voices
involved - only the orchestra speaking
in delicate and pellucidly orchestrated
tones. There are no gargantuan touches
… no Handelian sepia. Solo instruments
(bassoon, clarinet, trombone) sing out
as if voices. The meditative quality
of this sometimes drifts into redolences
of Hovhaness, the Gabrielis, Finzi,
impudently Mozartian (tr.8) or effervescently
Haydnesque (tr.9). This could have been
the last word in kitsch but it is not.
It is inventively orchestrated as in
the case of the A Rose has Blossomed
with its vibraphone and clarinet.
These are delicate
treatments of traditional Christmas
melodies in a well sustained and laid
out sequence. Light music, pleasing
without demanding undivided attention.
Rob Barnett