Justin Connolly, Work: Night Thoughts, Sonatina No. 2: Ennead Op. 26, Performers: [CT], Label/Year: Metier, 2002. Grade: B
Connolly’s ‘Night Thoughts’, a sonic manifestation of a midnight oil-burning intellectual, does the hokey-pokey on the line between hypnotic and soporific. It’s like watching a PBS documentary on quantum physics—educational, sure, but you worry about dozing off and dreaming in equations. Yet, there’s a certain allure to this contemplative soundscape, as if Schrodinger’s cat decided to compose a nocturne.
The ‘Sonatina No. 2: Ennead Op. 26’ fares better, a kaleidoscope of notes that’s as unpredictable as Hitchcock’s plot twists. Its mathematical precision is like a Sudoku puzzle set to music, challenging but satisfying when the pieces fall into place. While not an earworm to hum in the shower, this Connolly composition is a heady cocktail, equal parts Gimlet and mind-bender, best served at a soiree of eccentric academics.
