Catalogue Connection: 25225

You’re always on safe ground with Helen Habershon, who writes music for people to enjoy, and not expend any energy “getting into”. This new album is lovely, the title perhaps giving a clue as to the gentle nature of the music.

Her approachable sound is obviously onto something: this is her fourth album, with one receiving album of the month and two being albums of the week on Classic FM and album of the weekend by Scala Radio.

Track 17 is the famous Largo from Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, familiar to everyone in the UK as the Hovis music. That gives you an idea of the general rustic peacefulness or the album, though the track that follows  is Sonatina for Clarinet and Piano: Con Brio by Joseph Horowitz, a lively and jazzy track (as con brio might suggest).

It’s not all other people’s music: while the CD opens with Après un Rêve (Gabriel Fauré, arr. Lenehan), a rendition of the tale of a romantic flight with a lover, it is followed by Yesterday’s Dreams (Habershon) and Dreaming of Summer (Lenehan), neither of which stand out as not by a more famous composer (Schumann, Debussy, Elgar, Johannes Brahms and Finzi also feature).

It’s a great early morning or late might programme and Habershon writes on the sleeve: “I hope this album will enable the listener to take time off from the constant goings-on of their lives and dream with the music.”

This unique selection of music for clarinet and piano is made up of short original pieces, arrangements and transcriptions of a wide variety of music, almost all of it melodic and lyrical. The general music lover, however, may query why only one movement of Brahms’ first Clarinet Sonata, or only the finale of Joseph Horovitz’s Sonata, or merely two of Finzi’s Five Bagatelles are included – ‘bleeding chunks’ as used to be said – and not the complete works from which these individual movements have been excerpted.

{note: this is an unfair comment – as was well explained the entire Brahms and Finzi works  appear on Helen’s sequel album (DDA 25226) for which this is in part an ‘appetiser’ – also aimed very directly at the light-classics market…}

The result is good playing from both artists but the selection is unlikely to appeal to the serious music lover – the market for such a repertoire selection is clearly clarinet-fanciers and players of the instrument. The recording quality is excellent, as is the playing, but one cannot help feeling that the appeal of this disc is likely to be strictly limited.{again, a little unfair – the appeal of the disc to Classic FM listeners (disc of the week) is far greater than to ‘core classical’ followers}

When I read a record company referring to a performer/composer and using the words “easy listening” and “in the light music tradition”, I soon have their latest CD plopping through my letterbox. So it was with clarinettist Helen Habershon, who I must admit I had not heard of before. Evidently, this is her fourth album, with one receiving ‘Album of the Month’ and two ‘Album of the Week’ accolades on Classic fM.

She is accompanied by a name I did know, pianist John Lenehan, which is not surprising as he has over 70 albums to his credit. The Guardian newspaper describes him as “peerless”.

The disc is a delightful discovery. It has 19 tracks, with six composed by Habershon: Yesterday’s Dreams, Whisperings of Love, Contentment at Dusk, I’ll Love You Forever, Love Never Ends and Found in a Dream, that are tuneful, and largely contemplative. There are also two pieces written by Lenehan: Dreaming of Summer and Deep Reflections, together with three lovely arrangements.

Some of the tracks will be familiar to readers, such as Fauré’s Après un Rêve, Robert Schumann’s Träumerie (‘Dreaming’), the traditional Deep River and Dvorák’s Goin’ Home. Short pieces from the repertoire written for clarinet by Debussy, Elgar, Finzi and Brahms are also included. The tempo is upped for my favourite track: Sonatina for Clarinet and Piano – Con Brio written by Joseph Horovitz*, best known for Noah and His Floating Zoo. There is quality playing all the way.

The disc’s merits include being ideal restorative late night listening; and Habershon writes in the booklet notes, “I hope this album will enable the listener to take time off from the constant goings on of their lives and dream with the music”. Dream on!

In case you are wondering, the booklet cover is a sketch by Helen’s grandson George at age 5.