Vocal Works reviewed in Fanfare Magazine
There is a difference between “diverse” and “diffuse,” and Brian Field knows it well. The choral By and By utilizes traditional harmonies, positing methods for better understanding between humans via a text by Charles Albert Tindley. It is remarkable that this is the Budapest Chorus that performs this, as the English is impeccable, the diction outstanding. There is a hint of the Spiritual about this, and the music at times swings nicely; the performance is compelling in its honesty and truth, and congratulations are due to the sopranos handling some of the higher-lying phrases.
It is also over in a jiffy. The more extended love songs, to texts by Neruda, take us to a completely different region; geographically we hop over to South America, and the music shifts in sympathy, with slinky rhythms taking us to a more sensual place (as befits the subject matter, of course). Well conducted by Peter Illenyi, the Hungarian Symphony is at least an equal partner to the singer here, and the numerous lines are splendidly disentangled. Yanis Benabdallah is the tenor, plaintive of voice and fully within the flow of the music. Field brings the mini-cycle to the most satisfying of conclusions before the very American harmonies of Let’s Build a Wall (An American Satire) issue forth. With a very close-miked voice (deliberately, presumably, to invoke a sense of musical theater) and a singer who seems to live and breathe this sort of music (Zoli Mujahid), this is brilliance personified. When the mood shifts to set the Frost, the effect is magical. This is a multi-faceted satire, no mere piss-take but a piece that reveals more and more on each hearing.
It’s lovely to have the Sephardic Lullaby as a touching contrast, sung with by most lovely voice of Orsi Sapszon. The genesis of the piece is outlined in the interview above; and I stick by my contention there is a Christmas-y glow to this one. There is an artful simplicity, too, that is extended by the lovely choral Shine a Light on Me, again with Spiritual overtones.
Suddenly, with the E. E. Cummings texts of the final piece, we enter a more rarefied world. One can detect gestures from earlier in the disc, such as vocal “asides” that one might more easily find in musical theater, but now held within the orbit of a Modernist aesthetic. The pianist, Veronica Tomanek, is magnificent: She has such a wide variety of touch and is absolutely at one with the expressive singer, baritone Edward Whalen. This final piece is taken down live from one of the “other” Londons dotted around the globe (New London, Connecticut, in this case); there is some audience noise to validate the recording status. I mention this as the standard of performance is so high that it sounds like a finished studio product. Field’s major triumph here is that he proves how wit and a light touch are absolutely possible within a more advanced musical language; and the way he has created a microcosm within each song with Webernian concision is remarkable. Compelling from first to last, this is a fine way to end a satisfyingly diverse disc, chock full of surprises, delights, and complexities.
— Colin Clarke, Fanfare
from issue 45:3 - Jan/Feb 2022