Fanfare Magazine critic Colin Clarke gives Watercolors a Five Star Review!
“In an interview with Merlin Patterson in Fanfare 39:3, conductor Franz Anton Krager referred to composer Robert Nelson in the following terms: ‘Bob Nelson and his expeditious creative powers are as close to a modern-day Mozart as one can be. His ability to compose, arrange, and orchestrate … is uncanny.’ Once can appreciate this viewpoint fully from the present offering from Delos.Sapphire (to a poem by Randolph Lacy) is post-tonal in idiom, but decidedly approachable due to an underlying, almost Schubertian feel for melody.… Nelson’s writing, with its lush textures yet sinewy lines, seems perfectly judged. Mezzo Sonja Bruzauskas is expressive and has a beautiful voice.…Bowls…[is] an extremely beautiful meditation on life and death, the violin’s soaring lines contrasting with the lower instrument’s dramatic gestures. Nelson’s scoring is perfectly drawn, following the ebbs and flows of the voice and text. … Taken from original stories/fables by Kate Pogue, Zoo Stories is a set of three songs, each one of which ends with a moral. … All three performers get to have a shot at the spoken parts. It is all terrific fun, so much so one can forget to listen to just how well put together it is. Brian Thomas is a superb horn player, particularly impressive in his high-register, his lyricism impeccable ( with faultless slurs). … The booklet notes are detailed and ever fascinating; all texts are included. A most beautiful, and on occasion amusing, offering; first-rate sound throughout.” —Colin Clarke, Fanfare Magazine
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