This release, which made classical best-seller lists in early 2024, is of the orchestral crossover genre that makes up such a large strand of (especially) British musical life, and listener reactions to it will largely be determined by their general level of sympathy for diatonic music with rich string textures and ambient vocals. This said, composer
Julie Cooper
, known as a writer of television scores, offers unusual variety within the genre. One interesting feature is that the "
Oculus
" in the title of the album is different from that in the name of the group
Oculus Ensemble
, although related to it; the
was formed several years earlier by
Cooper
and has issued several other albums of her music. The
, this time, in a general sense, is the "eye" in Renaissance art, which is alluded to in several ways. There are colors in several of the titles (
Angel in Dark Green
), and these are synaesthetic representations of keys, helped along by the fact that
conductor
Jessica Cottis
is herself a synaesthete.
also casts a musical eye on Renaissance styles in
The Renaissance Suite
, a set of pieces that refer obliquely and quite subtly to Renaissance dancers.
Grace Davidson
, a soprano who lends her ethereal vocals to various albums in this genre, is present, as is rising pianist
Rebeca Omordia
.
Signum Classics
contributes well-attuned studio sound to the project, which is likely to satisfy the audience it is aimed at unusually well. ~ James Manheim