Search - Memento Bittersweet :: Memento Bittersweet

An enterprising collection of gems!

David DeLucia | East Haddam, Ct. United States | 05/09/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a compilation of works composed ... The heart of the CD is the Oldham Piano Concerto, an uneven work with some very shallow, trite gestures in the outer movements balanced by a very poignant slow movement. The guitar and organ piece is a gem, as is the delightful wind instrument work. Performances and recording is exemplary...I believe this CD is out of print, so snatch it up if you can. All the works are quite listenable and even more bittersweet since their composers are no longer with us. A "must"!"

Sometimes these things just don't work

S. Hawkins | New York, NY | 09/12/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I found this CD to be rather disappointing. I bought it for Fred Hersch's "Tango Bittersweet," a cello/piano duet featuring Erik Friedlander, but also hoped that the rest of the CD would be worthwhile.Well...First off, Tango Bittersweet is amazing. It's a truly beautiful, haunting piece of music, that is brilliantly performed by Friedlander and Hersch.Secondly, Chris DeBlasio's "God Is Our Righteousness" for guitar and organ is also quite a nice work. It has a very majestic and expansive quality about it that I think is nicely pulled off by both composer and performers."Triad-O-Rama" by Lee Gannon and "Variations on 'Amazing Grace'" by Lee Gannon and Calvin Hampton, respectively, are unfortunately throw away pieces. They're rather cliched and trite.This leaves Kevin Oldham's Concerto for Piano, a track I found myself coming back to a bit. It's a bit of an uneven oddball. It has its fantastic moments, but is generally rather sophomoric. It sounds to me as though he didn't truly finish revising this work, due to this uneven nature. And this is extremely frustrating, as the music provides several glimpses of what this piece was capable of becoming. It's still worth hearing...though it is a fitful listen.Overall, you probably should pick up this CD for, if nothing else, the Hersch composition. The rest of the CD has its moments, but its otherwise nothing to write home about. The cause that prompted the CD is great, no doubt, but the actual product leaves something to be desired."