CD: Spotlight
Katrina Marzella and Black DykeDoyen: DOY CD393
SPOTLIGHT
Katrina Marzella – baritone
Black Dyke Band
Conductor: Professor Nicholas J. Childs
Doyen: DOY CD393
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No exponent of the baritone horn has made the instrument their own in the way that Katrina Marzella has and this second solo release, by Black Dyke’s principal player, is really both a celebration and tribute rolled into one.
As a celebration, Spotlight is a showcase for a totally natural musician, shining the light on both the player and the music that has played a crucial part in Katrina’s rise to prominence as the leading baritone player of her generation. However, it is also a clear representation of the symbiosis that exists between the soloist, Nicholas Childs and Black Dyke, that Katrina has become synonymous with and for which her affection is evident throughout this recording.
What becomes immediately apparent is the sheer diversity of the soloist’s virtuosity. We all know Katrina for her wonderful sound, which can be heard to telling effect in lyrical pieces such as the clever arrangement of The Lark in the Clear Air by Stephen Roberts; Paul Lovatt-Cooper’s With His First Breath, Peter Graham’s The Holy Well and Alone With My Thoughts, arranged appropriately by the soloist’s husband, Brendan Wheeler.
The gloriously nuanced phrasing and shaping of melodic lines, the warm, open sound and the ease with which that sound is projected in all registers, the thoughtful use of vibrato, the soaring upper register, and the sheer affection and emotion that permeate every bar confirms the soloist as a player of consummate lyrical gifts.
The more substantial new works and showpieces that challenge in a different way also underline the true breadth of Katrina’s talent. In the opening number of Napoli, one is immediately aware of the clarity of articulation, effortless upper register playing and sheer joie-de-vivre that she brings to the music. Simon Dobson’s Rampage, a modern take on Robert Burn’s Tam O’ Shanter’s Ride, is a bristling, hell-for-leather ride that allows the soloist no reprieve, but which Katrina takes totally in her stride, whilst Peter Graham’s Turbulence, Tide and Torque, a three-movement, full-length concerto celebrating the achievements of women completed as recently as last year, is given admirable space, shape and technical command. More than any other work on the disc it sums up the embodiment of the soloist as a musician.
Black Dyke’s accompaniment is well-nigh perfect. Sensitive, dynamically aware and with a sound that is never less than totally empathetic with the soloist’s - it all adds up to a fine release that shines the ‘spotlight’ brightly on a dazzling talent.
CHRISTOPHER THOMAS
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