A collection of short pieces composed for members of the music faculty at the University of Minnesota, Pure Colors, Judith Lang Zaimont's 2005 album on Albany, has the relaxed, comfortable feeling that comes through a composer's familiarity with a close circle of performers. Although these pieces were created largely in an academic milieu, they should have a much wider appeal, partly because Zaimont's mildly modernist gestures, lush harmonies, and gentle melodic inflections make her music accessible, but also because her ...
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A collection of short pieces composed for members of the music faculty at the University of Minnesota, Pure Colors, Judith Lang Zaimont's 2005 album on Albany, has the relaxed, comfortable feeling that comes through a composer's familiarity with a close circle of performers. Although these pieces were created largely in an academic milieu, they should have a much wider appeal, partly because Zaimont's mildly modernist gestures, lush harmonies, and gentle melodic inflections make her music accessible, but also because her colleagues' communicative performances make this album more pleasurable than a collection of ad hoc, one-time read-throughs. The wide range of dates suggests that this album might be intended as a retrospective, but the early Valse Romantique for flute (1974) falls well outside the main body of work and may be considered separately. Even though Immanuel Davis' graceful performance fits temperamentally with those of the other musicians here, this flute solo feels less substantial than...
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