A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

Upon learning the name of this suite, I originally suspected that this was going to be a new-age symphonic guitar version of F. Mendelssohn's famous orchestral suite of the same name, in turn based off of the W. Shakespeare play of the same name. I, however, was very wrong. A Midsummer Night's Dream is a fantastic suite for orchestra and classical guitar that is not at all in the style of Mendelssohn. The style here is like most of Hackett's classical inspired works in that it is strongly rooted in the classical style but also with strong contemporary touches.

The music present is absolutely beautiful, and the most stand out element is the absence of the new-age synthetic orchestral sound, this time opting for an actual orchestra with real instruments; it does wonders for the music. This suite does have a strong Italian feel, which definitely isn't a bad thing considering that some of the most memorable classical works of the past few centuries are from Italian origin. Hackett plays fluidly and flawless, as does the orchestra though the touches of orchestral elements are soft for the most part.

Absolutely no problems here. A definite masterpiece.