Wednesday 10 May 2023

Hamburger Concerto - Focus


Hamburger Concerto
(20:19) takes up the whole of the second side of the fourth studio album by the Dutch band Focus. The album came out in 1974 and was the penultimate album to feature guitrist Jan Akkerman. The "concerto" in six parts is arranged round a catchy riff by Akkerman but begins with a starter arranged by van Leer, a version of Variations on Haydn by Brahms, which ultimately relies on the St Anthony Chorale. Then comes "Rare" written by Akkerman and two lots of Medium, mostly by Akkerman and a "Well done" that includes the Dutch Christmas carol O Kerstnacht, schoner dan de dagen. The whole things is rounded off in grand prog rock style with "One for the road" where all the stops are pulled out for a wonderful finish that leaves you breathless. The piece and its parts have rarely been performed.

Ommadawn - Mike Oldfield

Ommadawn (36:41), like his previous efforts, covers two sides of Mike Oldfield's third album. It came out in 1975. In 2017 an album call...