The music of Deborah Drattell is saturated in vivid colour and neo-Romantic vitality, and this selection reflects both its warmth and also its dynamism. In Sorrow is not Melancholy gentleness co-exists with pervasive melancholy and tenser sonorities, whereas the Clarinet Concerto is a very different work, embracing dance patterns that pulsate with excitement. Both Lilith and The Fire Within share Middle Eastern influences. The first is a sensual, sinuous evocation of ‘the female demon’ whilst the latter is imbued with drones, drums and tambourine, all exotically spiced. Syzygy brilliantly explores nature in all its elemental power.
"Sorrow is Not Melancholy ...is an eloquent threnody for strings, packing a great deal of mournful emotion into its 11 minutes before its final sigh. A piquant contrast is Fire Dances ...full of haunting Eastern colors ... Drattell wrote this one-movement work ... for David Shifrin, who plays it here with uninhibited passion. The orchestra has a great deal to say as well, and the Seattle Symphony under Gerard Schwarz ...comes through splendidly ... A more sinister note is struck in both Lilith, a two-movement portrait of the mythical vampire seductress, and The Fire Within, a concertante piece for flute and orchestra played with intensity by Scott Goff ... the lyrical sections have an Eastern sensuousness ... This is raw, compelling music ..." Jack Sullivan - American Record Guide - September 2012
