 ABSOLUTELY
FRENCH - THE MAGIC OF BERNADETTEThe talented young player from Australia, Bernadette Conlon, again shows her talent for selecting a fine representation of what audiences enjoy hearing. . .this time with a French program or, at least, with music representing the music most of us think of as French. Most all of the pieces use MIDI accordion and she obviously endeavors to use it well. Some of the arrangements, while interesting, seem to have too many different styles put together in one selection. Perhaps fewer ones on some of the pieces would have been even more successful. Bernadette, who has wonderful technique in both hands, is only allowed to show off the right hand in these pieces. She has won many different competitions in Australia and elsewhere and has studied with several fine teachers throughout the world. It is difficult to put perfect performances on recordings. Something invariably goes wrong, particularly in live performances which these may be, but it is my hope Bernadette will insist on the luxury of recording pieces many times, thereby giving her the opportunity to choose the very best one for future CDs. However, these selections are truly French flavored; you will expect to speak the language after listening to them, even if you do not already! They most certainly provide a guide for all accordionists wishing to compile a French program for their own gigs. Reviewed by Prof. Joan C. Sommers. |
