British musician, composer, and educator Joanna Borrett is breathing a new life into her classical album experience “Clan”, this time with the performance being revitalized with the free-form group “Her Ensemble” which is set to debut “Clan” at Birmingham’s The Elgar Concert Hall this February 24th with a follow-up performance during their sets at the Leeds International Festival in April.
“Her Ensemble” continues the group’s mission to highlight music written by women, much of which has been overlooked for centuries…giving a new depth and dimension to Joanna’s “Clan”.
Joanna’s career covers a huge musical spectrum that covers her time studying at the Moscow Conservatoire, forming her professional string orchestra and being published by Kevin Mayhew, U.M.P, and S.J. Music…later on becoming an educator, ushering in a new generation of classical musicians…her educating efforts also extend to writing and publishing both piano and cello books.
“Clan” is best described as it says on the album cover art…” A Narrative Piece For Cello and Piano”.
It’s about time we start experiencing Joanna’s classical album masterpiece “Clan”…
The album contains 9 pieces, for narrative reasons, each track’s name starts with the word “Clan”, then the number, then a title for the experience…this is something that adds a ton of personality while sticking to a creative narrative for storytelling…
…and the album starts with “Clan 1: One Morning”, an excellent intro to this wonderful, classical, with hints of the folkloric experience, an emotionally soothing and moving track that hits all the right notes and all the brilliant performance marks, from the dynamics of the cello playing to the piano harmonies to the actual melodies that give focus and serenity to the listeners.
Joanna manages to keep things exciting and diverse throughout the whole album, like going from the serene vibes of “Clan 1: One Morning” to the epic emotions and upbeat movement of “Clan 2: Reel”…which captures the mood of an exciting adventure movement and maybe some action…like a group of sailors going out to the sea…and whatever they meet with out there…
“Clan 5:Highlands” proves once more that Joanna is keeping things fresh, with a piece that could easily be a theme for a movie…easily.
This piece shines in both emotion and storytelling…and the arrangement between piano and cello is mind-blowing.
This creative diversity that Joanna presents in her album doesn’t stop… another excellent example is “Clan 9:Chant”, where the cello starts playing in the background with a different style than the melodic one we’re used to…and the addition of a female vocal for the actual chant is out of this world.
With “Clan”, Joanna creates a masterpiece of musical composition, playing style, and emotional storytelling with some glaring creative moments and elements that add so much to the experience and elevate the album to the status of iconic.
We wish all the best to Joanna with all of her creative and educational endeavors, she’s giving life to classical music on all levels, and we also wish the best to “Her Ensemble”.
Cheers!