This excellent CD presents a triptych of contemporary elegies in performances that seem definitive. The Fantasia by Marjan Mozetich is the most accessible and arresting of the three. Beginning with an interesting and recurring motor-rhythm motif, the work, whose title translates “Fantasy . . . for the lost language”, visits earlier styles yet always remains arch Romantic. The lengthy, wandering Whale Spirit Rising by Roddy Ellias features a solo baritone saxophone doing a lot of improvisations that, in an uncanny resemblance, sound very much like real whale songs. Keith Jarrett’s Elegy for Violin and String Orchestra also features some improvisation in its two cadenzas for the violin soloist, and it’s a poignant, heartfelt reverie of exceptional beauty. The soloists and orchestra give their all, resulting in virtuoso performances, and the sound is quite good in detail, if just a trifle harsh. Most listeners will want to revisit the Mozetich often, the Jarrett once in a while, and will appreciate hearing the Ellias piece once.
