Gerard Schwarz - Sorrow Is Not Melancholy / Clarinet Concerto [CD]

The music of Deborah Drattell is saturated in vivid colour and neo-Romantic vitality, and this selection reflects both it's warmth and also it's dynamism. In Sorrow is not Melancholy gentleness co-exists with pervasive melancholy and tenser sonorities, whereas the Clarinet Concerto is a very different work, embracing dance patterns that pulsate with excitement. Both Lilith and the Fire Within share Middle Eastern influences. The first is a sensual, sinuous evocation of 'the female demon' whilst the latter is imbued with drones, drums and tambourine, all exotically spiced. Syzygy brilliantly explores nature in all it's elemental power.