John Shand Posts

August 23, 2018 / Concert Reviews - Archive

Lennox Theatre, August 5 8/10 As much as an actor and singer she was an artefact of an era. Like an exquisite piece of art deco glass, Marlene Dietrich simultaneously epitomised the 1930s and was timeless. That quality, missing in the first half of Jennifer Ward-Lealand’s tribute, luxuriantly filled Act…

August 21, 2018 / Album Reviews - Archive

CROSSING (Romero/Newmarket) 9.5/10 Out of the constant deluge of new music bursts an expected vision of beauty to rival Joseph Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne. Part bucolic dream and part sonic rainbow (arching from the 13th century to now), this has guitarist Julian Curwin and soprano Jane Sheldon composing settings for assorted…

August 18, 2018 / Album Reviews - Archive

ZEPHYRIX (Extra Celestial Arts) 9/10 With each album Barney McAll’s artistry currently seems to scale new heights. Certainly Zephyrix (Zephyr amalgamated with Phoenix) is his most ambitious composition to date: a suite for 15 players evoking the five birds of alchemy. The music is both programmatic and philosophical in intent,…