A DANCE TO THE MUSIC OF TIME Second Movement

In the second movement of Powell's epic, Nick Jenkins sheds his youthful naïveté and begins to assess his friends and former schoolmates from a more objective viewpoint. As England faces the inevitability of a second world war, the men of Nick's generation juggle their responsibilities to their wives and children, their worries of losing their jobs to a struggling economy, and their desire to play an active part in the fighting. Simon Vance is a master of differentiating characters and conveying a complexity of emotions while allowing listeners room to experience their own reactions. Vance skillfully guides us through Nick's London of artists, musicians, and writers; the several faces of marriage; and the odd mix of hope and fear as the world slips once again into a nightmare. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2011]