Mark O’Connor – Midnight On The Water
Grant Alden
Posted On August 1, 1998
Prodigies rarely prove out, mostly burn out, the bright, fast flame of youth replaced by smoldering charcoal and endless dates before the Paducah Ladies’ Performance Society. Mark O’Connor started winning fiddle contests before he could drive, toured and recorded with the best Nashville has to offer, and gives not the slightest hint of receding into the dusk.
Quite the contrary. O’Connor gives every evidence of developing into a significant composer of serious music. Hence his (somewhat uneasy) affiliation with Sony Classical, and this most recent collection of solo virtuosity. Don’t misunderstand: O’Connor hasn’t abandoned the vernacular of fiddle music for the coat and tails of the classical stage; he wears both well, and with increasing comfort.
Much like the late composer Aaron Copland (“Appalachian Spring”, “Hoedown”, etc.) — though coming from quite the opposite side — O’Connor has, for the last few years, begun exploring ways to integrate the language and distinct technique of the fiddle into more classical forms.
In the scheme of things, Midnight On The Water isn’t meant as a major work. Six of his Caprices are sprinkled among short compositions for mandolin and guitar, concluding with “Amazing Grace”. The opening “The Cricket Dance” could easily be a Copland overture. Many, like Paganini’s Caprices, will stand as taunting examples of virtuosity to tempt future generations. And occasionally, as with “Caprice No. 1 In A Major”, they become more about speed and technique than music.
For the most part, though, Midnight On The Water is an engaging assortment of short songs. “Follow The Scout” is a sweet, pensive mandolin piece; several of the guitar compositions remind me of David Qualey, an early Windham Hill artist. Others, such as “Improvisation No. 2” and “Improvisation No. 3”, are lyric, joyous, swinging violin studies.
Therein lies the tension, and the potential. O’Connor is still finding his compositional voice. Ten years hence, with luck, we will look back on these short pieces and wonder just how the prodigy continues to grow.
