Michael Leser Johnson reviews Fire & Fancy in Analog Planet

…Both sides of this record are a tour de force….

All the little details such as note decay, string bite, pizzicato tone, piano weight, are all here in spades.

“Nene” by Diego Schicci takes the listener through four themed movements: I. Jumping on the Walls, II. Dozing on a Hanger, III. Riding a mosquito, and IV. Oozing Away. The compositional style is assuredly tonal, but with enough modern thematic elements to appear new and refreshing. The perpetual motion of the first movement; ‘Jumping on the Walls’, as well as mvmt 4 ‘Riding a Mosquito’, is masterfully played by the trio, particularly in the frantic and seemingly random string ostinato that weave in and out of the texture. On another note, I was very impressed by the depth of the recorded Steinway piano tone, which is almost always frustratingly difficult to capture. Just because this is more modern fare, doesn’t mean the musicians do away with any of the ensemble sensitivity they demonstrated on the Sibelius work. Slow and haunting moments in ‘Dozing on A Hanger’ are played with keen attention to the musical affect, with perfectly placed moments of silence and anticipation. ‘Oozing Away’ serves as a fitting resolution to the many different ideas Schicci introduces throughout the piece, starting with the frantic themes present in the previous movements, then evolving into something more melodic and thoughtful, a beautiful and bittersweet end to a rather thrilling journey.

Give Fire and Fancy a try, and the music may wow you (the sonics are guaranteed to). This is for sure going in the ‘demo disc’ pile! 

–Michael Johnson, Analog Planet

Michael Johnson is a Phoenix, AZ based musician and audio writer. He plays oboe and English Horn

Please read the whole article and check out other Analog Planet reviews.

Mr. Johnson reviewed this album from the new 180 Gram 45 RPM pressing, and the music is also available on CD, DSD and high res PCM downloads. 

Many thanks to Raulee Marcus, Stephen A. Block and Leslie Lassiter for underwriting Nene, and Randy & Linda Bellous, Jess Morton, Leon & Ikee Hasserjian, Stratton-Petit Foundation, Linda Attiyeh, Rinchen Lhamo and Alex Shapiro for underwriting Ruminations.