Album Review: Midsummer Night Magic

Robert Schumann once said compared a fugue to a flower, saying that ideally the roots are covered “so that we only perceive the blossom.”

In other words, we shouldn’t hear the effort or consider the craftsmanship - we should actually just enjoy the result.

There’s nothing wrong with feeling like we’re flowing along with the music, and that’s what the listener gets from the latest album by the Lee Trio. Midsummer Night Magic features two works by R. Schumann next to pieces by living composers Edmund Finnis and Uljas Pulkkis. They really do feel seasonal. That refreshing wash that you need in the heat of summer.

Schumann referred to his second trio as the friendlier of his trios. It certainly builds the romantic drama you’d expect from the era at the opening, but always with a hint of cheer that leaves the piece feeling a sense of sincerity and earnestness.

The Lee Trio connected their love of performing R. Schumann’s music to their love of storytelling - as musicians, mothers, and human beings. His Op. 88 Fantasy Pieces illustrate that perfectly. Where the second trio is earnest, this work is downright tender. And the trio constructs their performance to build up to the finale as the strings slowly take the “lead” away from the piano.

Edmund Finnis’s Five Trios is a set of vignettes that will grab your attention. Not by shouting, but instead by whispering. The instruments seem to move in opposite pacing throughout. One will be flowing while the other is floating.

The title of the album comes from the first movement of Fern Flowers by Uljas Pulkkis. It features all the rhythmic interest you might expect from a composer who began his university studies as a mathematician. A depiction of Finnish midsummer legends, the piece is certainly the most cheerful on the album.

In press materials the Lee Trio made a point to also highlight the album’s striking art work, by Aliza Morell. Morell describes her use of color as creating “optical vibrations” that she likens to music. It’s a beautiful match to the music - especially the Edmund Finnis, with its striking texture. The Lee Trio didn’t just put four pieces together. They curated an entire midsummer experience.

Listen to the whole album below.