> Douglas Lilburn: Violin and Piano Works. Elizabeth Holowell (violin), Dean Sky-Lucas (piano). Atoll CD.
They give a good performance of Salutes to Seven Poets (1952), written as brief interludes for a poetry reading, and Incidental Music to Shakespeare's Othello, a 1944 entertaining set of brevities for a Ngaio Marsh production.
The intrusion of actor Cameron Rhodes with interspersed quotes from poems and play sounds melodramatic and too loud.
Two sonatas for violin and piano (1943 and 1950) provide the main and most successful fare for this recital, allowing listeners to follow the development of the composer. The booklet provides good notes on the music.
Unusual: musical portraits of seven of our famous poets.
> Life Is A Dream. Anna Leese (soprano), Peter Lodahl (tenor), Alistair Hogarth (piano). MSM CD.
Unfortunately, the Danish-born tenor is pedestrian by comparison. Annoyingly, the case and accompanying booklet do not provide a key to the singers over 19 tracks.
Lyrics and translations there are, however, plus an incongruous series of photos of the singers in modern dress inspecting railway tracks or gazing from a dilapidated house.
Leese shows her brilliance in The Wanderer, Der Gleichsinn and Fidelity. Hogarth accompanies her well with his fast triplets in The Mermaid. Strangely, the two singers alternated verses in two songs not meant to be dialogues.
Highlight: canzonettas in English.
