Modern Ballet Studio Melodies, Volume 4 by the talented Christopher Hobson is a standout for its variety in style and its inspiring energy. The album contains thirty-six tracks of music with no repeats for the seventeen barre pieces. Hobson plays something for everyone, from Debussy and Prokofiev to the themes from “South Park,” ET and Indiana Jones.
All the music on the disc is dynamic, and the adagio tracks, seven in all, are especially sensitive and lyrical. The two grande allegro tracks are on the slow side, but the rest of the allegro music has a wide enough range of length and tempi to make this CD work for many different class levels. The same is true of the music for barre: most exercises have multiple choices of music. The versatility offered here comes as no surprise; in addition to composing and arranging music for the studio and the stage, Hobson has been commissioned to compose music for the International Dance Teachers Association’s entire ballet syllabus.
Overall Christopher Hobson delivers a delicious mix of brightness, weight, attitude, and spice on Modern Ballet Studio Melodies 4. It’s suitable and inspiring for many levels from intermediate student to professional.
