This
album, Four Pieces is described as a
fusion work between classical music and progressive rock. This, of course, is
not a new concept, e.g. the late Jon Lord’s meisterwerk for Deep Purple, Concerto for Group and Orchestra (1969),
or the UK No. 5 hit single for Love Sculpture with a high speed guitar-led “Sabre
Dance” (Aram Khachaturian) back in 1968. So, does Cailyn bring anything new to this
particular musical table…
The album
is called Four Pieces for the very
simple reason that there are four tracks, varying in length from 7.5 minutes to
13.5 minutes.
“Fantasia,”
track 1 and also the longest, is based on the Vaughan-Williams classic piece, “Fantasia
on a Theme by Thomas Tallis.” Never straying far from the original score, which
was for strings, Cailyn manages to insert into the musical mix a plethora of
other instrumentation which really moves the music into this
classical/progressive fusion. The guitar work is crisp and clear and never
overpowering , as well as being sparingly used, as are the input of bass, drums
and synths. The track flows along, seemingly effortlessly, but with real depth.
An excellent opening track.
“Largo,” track
2, is taken from Dvorak’s New World
Symphony and is a slower paced piece of music, which also sees the music
take on a much more blues/soulful feel. Featuring again, the very tasteful and
sympathetic guitar work from Cailyn, which never obscures the masterful piece
of music originally written over a century ago…and is there anyone out there
who would not instantly recognize the deep bass notes of Dvorak’s work.
“Adagio,”
Track 3, is another interpretation of a piece of classical music again scored
originally for strings, in this case, Barber’s Adagio for Strings. This track is certainly the most atmospheric of
the album thus far, with the guitar showing a bit more of a bite, but again
remaining understated, allowing the piece to flow towards a crescendo around
the 5.5 minute mark then a more subdued meander to the coda.
“Nocturne,”
the final track, is an original by Cailyn. A guitar duet sets the scene…very
soothing and beautifully played by the lady herself. This track builds up with
more insistent, driving guitars to the halfway mark in the music, before more
of the dueting guitars ( not dueling!) Another hauntingly beautiful piece of
work…fading out to the sound of the sea.
All in
all, while this album is not an earth-shattering, must have, multi-million
seller, it is an album that allows you to relax totally, yet still retains your
interest in all the 40 minutes of music. Cailyn is a very impressive musician,
who has ultimately shown that real sensitivity and understanding of classical
music allows a musician some leeway in interpretation, and this she has taken
to a superb level.
4/5 Stars
Key
Tracks: Largo, Nocturne
Jim “The Ancient One” Lawson
August 9, 2012
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