More reviews of 'The Hazel Wood'

There was a nice review in the St Andrews Citizen of the recent JAM concerts and my piece The Hazel Wood. Here they stated 'A striking response to a dramatic and poignant text, the composer found a wonderfully rich palette of choral and instrumental sounds, particularly in his imaginative use of the brass quintet.' That was nice. In a review for the university, Alan Cooper stated 'Choir, organ and the Red Note Brass Quintet were the forces used in The Hazel Wood. A throbbing heartbeat on organ pedals was later echoed by the brass. Once again a soprano soloist was featured most beautifully above, at one point, a floating cloud of female voices and as in Cooke’s previous work, trumpets featured strongly. What impressed me most though was the way in which tonal textures of choir, organ and brass were managed in such a way that they could be merged perfectly together when required. The sounds of choir, organ and brass are a classic combination and Phillip Cooke’s work defined the blend as special.' That was also nice. PAC