Jeffrey JacobThe title of Jeffrey Jacob’s latest collection has deep personal resonance for the composer. As a man whose two daughters were adopted from Paraguay many years ago, he can appreciate the daunting challenges facing children brought to America by undocumented parents. In fact, to help prepare for this project, he interviewed in 2016 several children of illegal immigrants to glean some insight into their feelings and was amazed to discover that while fear, anxiety, mistrust, and despair weren’t uncommon, anger was almost wholly absent. Drawing inspiration from them, Jacobs conceived his recording so that it would reflect the emotional trajectory experienced by the members of this ‘Dreamer’ generation. It’s no accident that much of the material has to do with issues of…

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…separation, sanctuary, and memory.

It’s a remarkably cohesive recording, despite the fact that it include pieces performed by a number of different orchestras and conductors, the Moscow Symphony Orchestra and Cleveland Chamber Symphony among them; the impression of unity is so strong it’s not even compromised by a non-orchestral closer featuring Jacob alone. Also aiding in that impression of unity is his participation as a pianist on four of the six works; so prominent is piano in the opening Symphony No. 5 (Dreamers), it could even be mistaken for a piano concerto. (It bears worth noting that while Jacob has composed a substantial body of work, he’s also a renowned pianist who’s appeared as a soloist with more than twenty-five orchestras and has recorded over 120 works for solo piano and piano with orchestra.)

The gamut of human experience is encompassed by the symphony, with each of its three movements titled to reflect extreme emotional states. Scored for piano, strings, and percussion and performed by Jacob and the Janácek Philharmonic Orchestra (Jirí Petrdlík conducting), the symphony begins with “Rain, Lagrimas (Tears),” Jacob replicating the title with intimations of gentle droplets in the percussion and piano and sadness in the strings. Solemn and grief-stricken in character, the material evokes the pain of separation and the angst felt by those confronting uncertain futures. Anxiety infuses the opening part of the “Fear; Grace” movement through the juxtaposition of piano and orchestral elements; the tone shifts midway through, however, with turbulence withdrawing and peacefulness settling in. The moment ends quickly, though, when dark tonalities reimpose themselves at the start of “Separation, Grief; Resolution, Triumph”; yet here, too, the clouds part, with intense brass fanfares giving way to sinuous melodic lines and tender, harmonic episodes suggesting resolution.

Scored for solo piccolo and strings, Sanctuary I is given a moving reading by the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra under Daniel Spalding’s direction. Featured as a lead instrument, the piccolo calls to mind the pan pipes of traditional Peruvian music, whereas Jacob’s sorrowful material conveys the distress felt by refugees seeking protection from immigration authorities. Jacob performs alongside the Moscow Symphony Orchestra (Joel Spiegleman, conductor) for Adagietto, a naturally introspective setting that follows a nostalgia-laden intro rich in woodwinds and strings with ruminative piano explorations and brooding strings. The elegiac Epitaph, performed by the composer and Hradec Králové Philharmonic Orchestra with Jon Mitchell conducting, is highlighted by Jacob’s central cadenza, which at times assumes such density it resembles four-hands playing. It’s more than just a piano showcase, however, as shown by a wondrous closing section where the piano’s music box-like tinkling is paired with fragile strings and shimmering percussion.

The Persistence of Memory, again featuring the composer on piano though this time accompanied by conductor Edwin London and the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, explores the impact of the past on the present by juxtaposing older and contemporary styles. During the first movement, for example, an episode occurs whose melodies for piano and solo cello suggest Brahms or Schumann; elsewhere, darker writing alternates with lyrical moments to mirror the contrast between the uncertain present and the fondly remembered past. Such fluctuations permeate both movements and in doing so amplify the irresolvable tensions between time periods. Final Sanctuary takes a bit of a left turn when an unaccompanied Jacob intersperses oboe with electronics to cap the album with a tranquil meditation, despair and anxiety replaced by a sense of inner peace.

Throughout this fine collection, the music is harmonically rich and primarily tonal, though discordance sometimes arises at appropriate moments to convey the emotional terrain in play. Jacob consistently demonstrates an exceptional capacity for translating inner states into musical form, with all the range that that implies; as noteworthy are the lustrous orchestrations, which reveal a remarkable sensitivity to timbre and tone colour by the composer. Perhaps most impressively, the recording achieves a seamless sense of unity despite the involvement of many different ensembles and configurations. — Textura

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