The Leap from composer Richard Carr is a bold collection of works for violin, piano, electronics, and orchestra. Carr’s career as a musician has led him to perform a broad range of genres on stage - from rock and folk to classical and jazz. Carr invites us to imagine each of this work’s six sections as portraying a step in the act of creation, from the forming of initial ideas ('Gathering Light'), to giving those ideas their form and shape ('Confluence'), and finally to the breakthrough of 'Frontier'. The Leap is an undaunted exercise in creative risk-taking, fusing traditional orchestration technique and modern digital sound design enhanced by multiple improvisations on both violin and piano...

The Leap opens with 'Gathering Light' which pretty much sets the tone for what is to come. The album contains six movements (35 min, 59 sec) performed by composer Richard Carr (violin, piano, and electronics) alongside the Czech National Symphony Orchestra.

While the background to each track on the album isn't important to truly enjoy each piece, it's interesting to get a feel for what the composer used as his inspiration. What matters is the intricacy and emotive powers of not only each track, but of the work as a whole.

Carr delivers a beautiful, multilayered album here, with timeless movements which really hit home. It's emotionally fulfilling and richly rewarding on so many levels. I have to admit that 'Gathering Light' was far and away the piece which I gained the most from on a spiritual level. It's one track that's most seeped in traditional compositional styles, before Carr delves a little into more experimental stages - always with a foot planted firmly in recognisable classical tropes.

9

Darren Rea