FAIRY TALES Horch/Perinpanayagam/Fadina

Various composers
Kyle Horch, saxophone; Yshani Perinpanayagam; Anya Fadina, piano
Norwood Recordings (2021)

October marked the release of ‘Fairy Tales’, a collection of recital music from Eastern Europe. It features Kyle Horch on alto and soprano saxophones. Twenty-four short – often very short – pieces. Yshani Perinpanayagam plays piano on thirteen tracks. These commence with Tcherepnine’s ‘Sonatine Sportive’. ‘Lutte’, the first of three, instigates the terrific tonal and dynamic balance of the performances. In ‘Mi-temps’ there is an almost flute-like quality to the sax, a tincture of the music’s potency.

The album offers world premiere recordings including Horch’s arrangements of Prokofiev’s ‘Cinq melodies’. ‘Andante’ is busy but unhurried – exemplifying the appealing dichotomies within each. ‘Lento, ma non troppo’ reveals elements of a Debussy-esque refrain. ‘Animato, ma non allegro’ has a pleasing undercurrent of modernity. Expansions of form veer to subtle experimentation. The final ‘Andante non troppo’ is slightly more pianistic. In the saxophone part, a touch of drama does not overpower.


Tubin’s ‘Sonate für Alt-Saxophon und Klavier’ follows a different path. A shade darker, as expected. The terrific modulations between distinct phases in ‘Allegro’ dovetail intriguingly. Its trundling motifs eventually set-up their own rhythm in a partially non-resolved close. ‘Adagio’ is a slower, melancholic, air indeed – with longer, horn-like notes from the sax. The lively and folksy ‘Allegro’ contrasts with Markovitch’s ‘Complainte et Danse’. Its gentle pattern of accompaniment patters like rainfall, strange and soft. And then, another premiere recording: Tonu Korvits’ ‘Wings’. A single bell at start marks a wash of sound airborne. 

Anya Fadina plays piano on the remaining tracks. These commence with a first-time recording of Mikiska’s arrangements of Balsys’ ‘Three fragments from the ballet Egle Queen of the Serpents’. ‘Little Fish’ begins with a Jazzier edge before morphing to traditional folk idioms. Balsys’ approach to melody results in a shifting syncopation between saxophone and piano. ‘Mischievous Drebulyte’ proffers fresh, lively riffs from both instruments. ‘Egle’s Lament’ is highly atmospheric. Rippling patterns of clusters on piano are separate from the sax and yet the two meld together magically.

The selection concludes a set of eight miniatures, Herdzin’s ‘Fairytale Stories’. There is a bright clarity from the piano on ‘Amoroso’. It echoes a light and airy performance from the saxophone. ‘Con bravura’ rattles along like a steam train, stopping midway to ponder its route. In ‘Giocoso e leggiero’, Fadina accords the piano its stringed rather than percussive aspect. Variations of tempi in accelerando in ‘Leggiero con fantasia’ complement the swingy style of its musical phrasing. ‘Molto cantabile e espressivo’ is of a quieter, reflective, sensibility. ‘Giocoso e leggiero’ makes for a cheerful finale, variations within a two-minute lifespan, smooth and graceful, through to its joyful closing folderol.

– Martin Slidel

Available to purchase here.

#AltoSaxophone #AnyaFadina #Balsys #ClassicalMusic #EasternEurope #FairyTales #Herdzin #Korvits #KyleHorch #Markovitch #MartinSlidel #MartinSlidelMusic #Mikiska #Miniatures #MusicReview #NewCD #NewRelease #NorwoodRecordings #Piano #Prokofiev #Sax #Saxophone #SopranoSaxophone #Tcherepnine #Tubin #WorldPremiere  #YshaniPerinpanayagam

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