"Chromaline
is a suberb piece. MacLean's ability to extract fine and appealing
music from the simple idea of a chromatic scale was masterful. The
piece has the character of a scherzo with rapid bursts and starts
of chromatic notes played against chromatic harmonies, and interrupted
by rhapsodic phrases."
- The Sunday Herald, Halifax, N.S.
March 30th, 2003
"Brueggergosman
premiered Alasdair MacLean’s Shadows Blue, a remarkable set of songs
by Debut Atlantic’s composer in residence in which lyricism and passionate
intensity are vividly expressed in a modern context that updates 19th
century repertoire while, at the same time, fully embracing it."
- The Chronicle Herald, Tuesday, March
12, 2002 Halifax, NS
"With
its sustained intensity it (One Becoming) was the highlight of the
program, a signal honour for a work by a Maritime composer to so lead
the way among so many distinguished works of musical art."
- The
Chronicle Herald, November 26, 2001, Halifax, NS
"...the
piece draws for the cello a lyrical voice through skilful temperance,
while the piano introduces various motifs that often interlace the
cello’s lead. ...without doubt, One Becoming was the surprise highlight
of Friday’s concert and will be, I surmise, for the remainder of the
tour. Its clever subtleties received more applause from the audience
than anything else in the program, and it was most certainly the finest
performed piece of the evening.”
- The
Argosy, November 29, 2001, Sackville, NB
"MacLean's
ability to integrate ornamental figures into the melodic structure
of ...[Moving On] demonstrated his mastery of the orchestral palette
with impressive assurance and expressive effect."
- September
2000, Stephen Pedersen; Music Critic, The Halifax Herald
