Anu Komsi & Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra & Juha Kangas - Being Beauteous (CD)

Release Date: 01/01/11

'I don't know if the planning was deliberate, but the effect of coming past the familiar string-orchestral sounds of Bri

'I don't know if the planning was deliberate, but the effect of coming past the familiar string-orchestral sounds of Britten's Les Illuminations (where Komsi, Anu is accompanied by the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra) to the remaining four pieces (whose delicate traceries are outlined by the Uusinta Chamber Ensemble) is rather like coming through a waterfall into a secret cave, with Komsi acting as a guide to the mysteries within. Her liquid tone weaves its way through the shimmering colours, gliding over the instrumental lines or darting in among them. Henze's Being Beauteous, setting a Rimbaud text already in the Britten, sets the verbal tone: all of this music is beauteous, the sensuality reaching an exquisite peak in Szymanowski's Slopiewnie (Cherry Trees), which ought to send a shiver of delight down your spine. And clarity is the hallmark of the performances and recording alike.'Martin Anderson / FMQ