Album review: Amy Dickson, Dusk & Dawn (Sony Classical)

Amy Dickson, Dusk & Dawn (Sony Classical)

Her 2010 album of Glass, Tavener and Nyman pieces was a more effective showcase for Amy Dickson's soprano sax than this collection of popular classics and classic pop. Fauré's “Pavane” works fine – her sleek , pure timbre, closer to clarinet or even oboe at times, floats weight-lessly over the gentle pizzicato and swish of strings; but the sax lacks the emotional flexibility of the human voice when taking the vocal line to “Casta Diva”, from Bellini's Norma.

Things go more awry on the pop material: “Skylark” and “I Only Have Eyes for You” share a wistful warmth, but “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” needs a smokier tone, while her reading of Tom Waits' “In the Neighbourhood” is a serious mis- step, replacing the song's flinty dignity with suburban schlock.

Download: Pavane; La Strada; Nocturne No 2