Press quotes
A selection of praise for Jeff Reilly’s work:
“Jeff Reilly is an undisputed master of the Bass Clarinet who
has gone to the end to explore its sonic universe.”Halifax Chronicle Herald
“ The virtuoso clarinetist Jeff Reilly extends his cadenzas across the history of sound, from monotony to modernism, in a performance that is dominant and often hypnotic. There is something epiphanic about this music; resist it, if you can.”
Norman Lebrecht, the Lebrecht Report – La Scena Musicale
“Bass clarinetist Jeff Reilly was more than remarkable in his encompassing both the written and improvised parts of the score, his range of imagination and technical accomplishment in extended clarinet techniques a wonderful stretch to one’s musical mind”.
Kenneth Delong, Calgary Herald
“Under Jeff Reilly’s virtuosic control, the bass clarinet possesses an aloof, almost mystical timbre comparable to the duduk flute used in Middle Eastern music, aptly representing the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah’s lamentations in this piece by Peter-Anthony Togni.”
– The Independent UK
“Togni’s Lamentations share aesthetic and spiritual ground with such composers as Osvaldo Golijov, Arvo Part and John Taverner, but it is the solo bass clarinet’s plangent, gritty and sometimes shrill personification of the prophet – which sounds “with the sadness of centuries” against the close, modal harmonies of the choir – that gives this setting its potency.”
– Toronto Globe and Mail
“This setting from Jeremiah’s Book of Lamentations is an unusual concept. Canadian composer Peter-Anthony Togni has written a five-movement concerto for bass clarinettist Jeff Reilly in which the clarinet is surrounded by atmospheric choral sounds. The clarinet becomes the voice of Jeremiah while the choir provides the crowd scenes. … The improvisatory, virtuosic performance of Jeff Reilly is outstanding – he makes the instrument speak – which in no way diminishes the vital contribution of this fine group of singers and soloist.”
– Shirley Ratcliffe, Choir & Organ
