ALCHEMY Alicia Crossley, Recorder
Verna Lee, harp Joseph Littlefield, guitar
Move Records
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Here at Fine Music 102.5 we’re delighted to know that Alicia Crossley is developing her prowess as a creditable musician. Last year she was awarded the Kruger Scholarship, our prestigious prize, and judging by the appearance of this CD she is moving forward with great confidence to fulfil her aspirations. Not many people are closely familiar with the bass recorder and Alicia has seized the challenge of producing a formidable and fascinating programme involving the tenor recorder and the bass which appears only in the Bach. Among the music is Bach Cello Suite, Telemann’s Fantasia 10, Anne Boyd’s Goldfish through Summer Rain, Debussy’s Syrinx, Takemitsu’s Toward the Sea and JacobTV’s Garden of Love, a considerable contrast to other works and inspired by natural rhythms and melodies that occur with spoken words. One of the serious problems of the recorder in this performance involves breath control. The fluency of the melodic line can easily be affected and the intonation is not always secure particularly with the arrival of long notes at cadence points. The playing on the tenor is controlled with lots of musical shaping and the playing overall produces impressive articulation. That articulation is commendable throughout and contributes to some great control in the many embellishments sometimes sounding like a flutter tonguing. Alicia has travelled extensively throughout Australia and there is no doubt that in this CD she shows great passion for the music, and one hopes that current composers will produce copious amounts of music for her. She deserves it! Harp and guitar add some pleasant accompaniments to the recorder and overall the CD is worthy of a valuable place in the recorder repertoire. – Emyr Evans.
Alicia Crossley won the Fine Music 102.5 Kruger Scholarship 2014. She is touring her new CD across NSW and the ACT. Link here for more information.
Applications are open for the 2015 Kruger Scholarship until 29 June 2015.
This review was first published in the May edition of Fine Music Magazine. You can read the entire magazine here or subscribe and receive it mailed to your home address every month. More information on subscribing to Fine Music 102.5 here.
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