David Lee Myers’ Ether Music: A Nearly Lost Thread of Electronic Music


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There is a certain nostalgia here both in the sound of this album and its provenance.  David Lee Myers (1949- ) is perhaps best known for his work under the rubric of Arcane Device from 1987-1993.  Under that name one finds 23 albums on the discogs web site.

Myers has collaborated with people like Asmus Tietchens (1947- ), a German electronic composer (with a hefty discography), Kim Cascone  (1955- ), an American electronic composer and producer, Marco Oppedisano (1971- ), an American guitarist and composer, Ellen Band, an American electronic composer, and Tod Dockstader (1932-2015), among others.  His output has been in the electronic music genre, i.e. no live components and he works in a style which he calls, “feedback music”.  Like Dockstader, Myers has worked outside of the academy and has relied upon home made electronics and techniques he has developed over the years to produce a rather unique musical style.

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Tod Dockstader with tapes and score notes.

More so than the other mentioned collaborators Myers’ work with Dockstader is the “thread” to which the title of this review refers.  The release of the long out of print early work of Tod Dockstader was effectively the genesis of Starkland Records.  With the release of Quatermass (1992) and Apocalypse (1993) Dockstader was forced out of obscurity and motivated to begin composing and releasing recordings again.  Those Starkland releases were of some long out of print LPs from the early 1960s and Dockstader, who had been working in the music industry but no longer releasing his compositions was inspired to bring that aspect of his work again to the public.  Two of those efforts included the collaboration of David Lee Myers, Pond (2004) and Bijou (2005).  (After Dockstader’s death Starkland surprised the musical world by releasing heretofore unknown gems from the composer’s archive in From the Archives (2016).)

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David Lee Myers with some of his electronics.

It is both beyond the scope of this review and beyond this reviewer’s expertise to comment meaningfully about the compositional processes by which Myers achieves his ends but, thankfully, the liner notes by Dan Visconti provide significant insight in this area.  One can assume that his innovations in electronics as well as the devices themselves will become a treasured part of the history of electronic music along with the recordings themselves.

There are ten tracks here all written in 2015, and all utilizing Myers’ “feedback music” techniques.  The CD booklet includes both some of Myers’ beautiful circuit sketches as well as photos of some of his self made electronic processing equipment.  (This actually seems to echo the similar production of the booklet from that “From the Archives” disc of Dockstader’s work.)  Also worth noting is that the mastering is done by Silas Brown whose expertise contributed so significantly to the success of that last Dockstader disc.

The listener is free to dwell on the technical notes and ponder how these sounds and processings come together to produce the final product or simply let the experience flow over you.  There are doubtless many riches to be found in the pursuit of the technical and the analytic.   But the most important thing is that you listen, just listen.  This reviewer’s first hearing of this disc was on a long, leisurely late night drive which allowed an uninterrupted experience of the entire disc.  It was only later that I chose to take in the liner notes and booklet.  And while these enhanced the experience the tracks are sufficiently substantive in themselves to carry the listener into Myers’ unique technological vision which is unlike any other save perhaps for that of the aforementioned thread to Dockstader.

Though related by this thread, Myers’ vision is truly like none other in the field of electronic classical music.  If anything this seems to be a nearly lost thread, one of the self-sufficient tinkerer and explorer who shares his discoveries with anyone who dares to listen.  So, listen, I dare you.  You won’t be disappointed.

Release date scheduled for November 10, 2017.

 

 

Jason Vieaux and  Julien Labro, Chamber Music with Afro-Cuban Roots


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This album seems to have been characterized as fusion/crossover perhaps for marketing purposes but it is in fact a fine compilation of too little heard works by Afro-Cuban/Latin American/South American composers of the mid to late 20th century.  Start with the rapidly rising star of guitarist Jason Vieaux whose earlier recording of the stunning Ginastera guitar sonata seems to place him in the position as a specialist in Latin American music.  Then add Julien Labro, a specialist in the bandoneón, an instrument best known for its ubiquity in tango music. Combine them with good audio engineering and an intelligent production and you have this album.

If there is a sense of “fusion” here it is due to the creative efforts of the composers involved.  In fact this is pretty much in the same tradition of Bartok, Kodaly, Copland, Thomson and others who mined folk and ethnic musics very successfully to infuse their “classical” compositions with new life.

Leo Brouwer (1939- ), Radamés Gnattali (1906-1988), and Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) are all composers deserving of serious attention but are little known in North America and the reasons are clearly not musical talent.  All three composers are featured here in works arranged by Julien Labro who plays bandoneón, accordion and accordina on this recording.  He is joined by Jason Vieaux on guitar, and Jamey Haddad on percussion.

In addition we are treated to a composition by Pat Metheny and a curious arrangement of “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley, and Chris Hughes to round out a diverse and engaging program.

One hopes that this will kindle further interest in these too little known composers but, until then, we have a marvelously entertaining recording that will likely please Latinists, guitar lovers, bandoneón lovers, and the like.

This is a fine and crisply recorded CD with some truly fine musicians.  Call it fusion if that helps you want to listen but please listen when you get a chance.  You won’t regret it.

 

 

Dark Queen Mantra, Celebrating Terry Riley at 80


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Terry Riley (1935- ) turned 80 on June 24, 2015 and happily we are still celebrating this treasure of American music.  His iconic work “In C” (1964) is one of the defining works of the minimalist movement and Riley’s trippy album, “Rainbow in Curved Air” (1969) has also endured well.  But these works typify his early style and his work has evolved though his primary influences continue to be jazz and Hindustani music for the most part to a very personal style.

His discography boasts at least 30 albums and his compositions range from various chamber music pieces, solo and duo piano music, orchestral music, concertos and even music drama.  His influence on musicians is wide ranging and even includes that familiar intro to Baba O’Riley by the The Who (the title is actually an homage to Meher Baba and Terry Riley and that intro derives from Riley’s first Keyboard Study).  In recent years he has achieved much deserved success in collaboration with his son Gyan Riley who is a composer in his own right and an extraordinary guitarist.  Their collaborations have been a true highlight in both musicians’ careers.

This disc is a production from the truly wonderful Sono Luminus label whose recordings continue to set a high bar for production and excellence in sound as well as in intelligent programming.

Three works are presented here.  The first is Dark Queen Mantra (2015) for electric guitar and string quartet.  It is obviously the centerpiece and it is a fine work commissioned in honor of Riley’s 80th and written for the forces who perform it here. The amazing and versatile Del Sol Quartet and Gyan Riley seem a natural pairing.  These California based musicians seem to pour the whole of their artistic hearts and souls into this performance and Gyan Riley, a fine musician in his own right, always seems to be at his very best in his collaborations with his dad.  (Indeed anyone who had the pleasure of seeing their live sets can testify as to their beautiful musical intimacy.)

So it is we have a definitive recording of yet another fine piece from this beloved composer.  The choice to follow it with Mas Lugares (2003) by the late Stefano Scodanibbio (1956-2012) is an inspired and very appropriate choice (Riley was fond of this composer and helped promote his work).  Scodanibbio collaborated with Riley and recorded two albums with him (Lazy Afternoon Among the Crocodiles, 1997 and Diamond Fiddle Language, 2005).  This work for string quartet is dedicated to Luciano Berio and is a sort of deconstruction via the lens of the composer’s vision of madrigals by the early baroque master Claudio Monteverdi.  It is truly a joy to hear more of this composer’s music and this serves as a loving homage by the Del Sol and, by association, with Riley.

The concluding music is again by Terry Riley and it comes from the rich period of his collaboration with another set of fine California based musicians, the Kronos Quartet. They Wheel and the Mythic Birds Waltz (1983) first appeared on a Gramavision disc and this is a welcome reprise.  It is via his writing for the Kronos that Riley produced most of his string quartet writing and it is a fine repository for his compositional talents.

For its sound and its compositional and performance content this is one of the finest discs to come across this reviewer’s desk and it is a beautiful homage to Riley (father and son), the Del Sol Quartet, the Kronos Quartet and to the late Stefano Scodanibbio.  This is a gorgeous and deeply satisfying album.  Kudos to all.

Kenji Bunch’s Snow Queen


 

Kenji Bunch (1973- ) is a musician whose name has made it to my personal orbit many times but this is my first encounter with his music and what an encounter it is!  This two disc set comprises a full length ballet commissioned and performed by the Eugene (Oregon) Ballet.

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Kenj Bunch

Bunch is an American composer who hails from Portland, Oregon the child of a Japanese mother and a Scottish father.  He studied at Julliard and this is approximately the 18th CD release to contain his music (if I counted correctly).  A prolific composer, one can find a decent listing of his compositions on his website.  And he was a violist performing with the esteemed Portland Youth Philharmonic from 1986-1991/

There are at least two symphonies, numerous soloists and orchestra pieces as well as solo instrumental music.  Though I’ve heard just snippets of his music aside from the disc under review here I think I can safely say that his style can be described as essentially tonal, even perhaps somewhat conservative, but the accessible qualities of his music do not translate into mediocrity. Quite the contrary, he is a very exciting composer and his style seems very well suited to an undertaking such as this ballet.  Bunch appears to be a master of orchestral color and he uses it to great effect here.

The two discs comprise 23 tracks much like one would expect of most classical ballets. The individual movements are 3-10 minutes approximately and they correspond to specific scenes that tell the classic story of the classic Hans Christian Andersen story.  No doubt cost is the barrier which precluded a DVD release which looks like it was a gorgeous production.

It is at least this writer’s impression that much of classical ballet music does not do well without the visuals of the dance.  I am referring to 19th century models such as Coppelia whose music might be best performed in excerpted suites if dancers are not a part of the performance.  Bunch’s ballet is more in the spirit of perhaps Prokofiev or Stravinsky wherein the music stands quite well on its own and even does a great job of evoking the images of the given scenes.  Basically the music stands on its own as a narrative.

Orchestra NEXT  is a training orchestra and resident ensemble with the Eugene Ballet Company.  They handle this complex and musically challenging score with seeming ease under music director Brian McWhorter.

There is little doubt that those who were fortunate enough to see this fully staged production will appreciate the opportunity to relive their memories by hearing again the recorded score.  But this will likely appeal to most fans of new music as well.  It is a major work by a composer who deserves serious attention.  This writer will certainly be listening.

Shared Meanings in the Film Music of Philip Glass by Tristian Evans


This book took me a while to absorb.  It is the first book length treatment that this writer has seen on the subject of Philip Glass’ film music.  Some have suggested that his film music may wind up constituting his most enduring legacy and one need only listen casually to any number of film scores to hear his influence.

This is basically an academic treatise which is what one can reasonably expect from the Routledge imprint.  However the author seems to have taken care to transcend the adequate but sometimes dull prose which suffices for publication reasons but whose weight challenges the attention of all but the most stalwart of academic readers.  This book is quite readable and deserves to be read.

Admittedly it is risky to tread on the “meaning” of music but Evans here makes a case that places him in the company of Leonard B. Meyer’s book, Emotion and Meaning in Music.  Though it is clearly not an attempt to extend Meyer’s work, Evans is in good company as he seeks to examine the emotional content of Glass’ work that underlies his success as a film composer.  Film music, after all, tends to underscore the emotional content of cinematic images to some degree and those mechanisms can and should be examined.  The alternative would be to simply dismiss it as “magic” I suppose.

The cover which  depicts one of those wonderful live performances of Koyaanisqatsi triggers memories of this writer’s first viewing of this intimate and effective scoring of Godfrey Reggio’s non-narrative, no dialogue sequence of images.  Never had I seen/heard a more mesmerizing collaboration since the (stylistically very different) Carl Stallings cartoon scores which exist forever in the near subconscious recall of anyone who was exposed to his work in their childhood.

For many film music means the classic Erich Korngold, Alex North, Alfred Newman, etc. and their more recent successors like Elmer Bernstein, John Williams, etc.  But film music continues to evolve and, though this evolution will not likely supplant these classic styles, there is room for innovation and change.

Glass’ work in Koyaanisqatsi relied on the hypnotic minimalist patterns which amplified the character of the images.  Who knew then that his style could translate to more mainstream films?  But that is exactly what he has done and it is exactly why such a book needed to be written and Evans has accomplished a great deal here.

This is an intriguing and insightful book which opens potential for research in Glass’ music as well as film music in general.  While not the easiest of reads this book covers a lot of territory and is generously referenced.  Clearly there is much work to be done here and Evans has given a wonderful and pretty comprehensive start.  Highly recommended.

 

 

Femenine, a Lost Julius Eastman Recording, a Major Treasure


This is an epic minimalist masterpiece that has the same sort of almost full orchestral impact that one hears in works like Reich’s ‘Music for 18 Musicians’, Riley’s ‘InC’, and perhaps Glass’ ‘Music with Changing Parts’ or ‘Music in 12 Parts’.  The point is that it is entrancing and engaging music that deserves to be heard.

Julius Eastman (1940-1990) was an American singer, performer and composer whose work was little known until after his untimely death.  It was the efforts of composer Mary Jane Leach who performed a labor of love essentially saving Eastman’s work from obscurity when she called upon her fellow musicians and artists to help her gather all the extant recordings and scores many of which were lost after Eastman was evicted from his apartment not long before he died.  Her Julius Eastman page is a valuable reference and her work has inspired further research and performances of Eastman’s music.

Leach’s substantive initial efforts resulted in the release of the 3 CD set, Unjust Malaise which made available all of the then known serviceable recordings of this composer’s music.  Since then this recording became available and it may be the finest that Eastman did.

This is a live recording of a performance from 1974 which is quite lucid and listenable.  It starts slowly but quickly finds its rhythm and pace and provides an uninterrupted 70 minutes of consonant, even romantic sounds.  It’s relation to femininity or any gender issues is not clear, perhaps not even the point.  This piece also seems to have had a companion (called masculine) which is sadly now lost.

Anyone interested and entertained by the minimalist works already cited will find this work very inviting.  Hopefully the release of this recording will encourage a revival of this work and it will be performed again soon.  We as consumers are blessed to have this major work by this major composer available for listening and study.  Eastman deserves recognition as a composer and this disc certainly is a strong support for that.

Nadudim: Ethnic Memories from the Fifth House Ensemble


This is a really pretty album.  It is apparently one of the passions of Cedille to release folk musics from middle eastern and Mediterranean sources.  What distinguishes this release is its thoughtful, tasteful arrangements.  This writer is tempted to compare it to Berio’s Folksongs or Copland’s Old American Songs to capture the ideas behind the creative arrangements done by the four composers involved.  I don’t think this is quite the same undertaking as those works but this album is a serious musical effort by some marvelously talented musicians and is recorded with the lucidity one comes to expect from this unique Chicago based label.

Nedudim is the Hebrew word for wanderings and this is a great title for this album which takes the listener on a journey through the middle east and its musical riches. This is the second album that the Fifth House Ensemble, here joined by Baladino, has released on Cedille and it will leave the listener wanting more.

Various traditional instruments are mixed with classical instruments and gorgeous vocals in this song cycle.  It is a journey which reveals the diverse energies to be found in these local song traditions.  They are entertaining and even infectious in their joy.

 

 

 

Recurrence: New Icelandic Orchestral Music


“Well I’ve never been to Iceland, but I really like the music.”  Please excuse the Hoyt Axton paraphrase but this music brings joy to this listener’s heart.

Wow!  Even as a writer with an avowed fondness for music from the Nordic regions I am pleased to say that I am just stunned at this recording.  This is all new music written in the last few years by Icelandic composers and performed by the Iceland Symphony which seems well prepared to handle these large works.

These seven tracks document five works by living composers and, I dare say, rising stars in the classical orchestral realm as well.  Only one of these composers is likely to ring a bell in all but a few listeners and that is Anna Thorvaldsdottir, probably the best known musician from Iceland since Björk.  And it is worth noting that three of the five works are by female composers.

There is a consistency in the large orchestral sounds from these composers that provide a unity for the listener and a challenge for the recording engineers.  In fact this is ideal to show off the sonic facility of the Sono Luminus label and the skills of producer Dan Merceruio and recording engineer Daniel Shores.  This is the sort of album that stereo salons use to show off the range of their amps and speakers.  It is indeed thrilling to hear and the better your sound system, the more exciting this will be.  Those blessed with Blue Ray Audio capability will doubtless get the best sound of all.  Both standard CD and Blue Ray Audio discs are included in this package.

In order of appearance the composers are: Thurídur Jónsdóttir (1967- ), Hlynur Vilmarsson, María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir (1980- ), Daniel Bjarnason (1979- ), and Anna Thorvaldsdottir (1977- ).  Bjarnason is also the very capable conductor of the Iceland Symphony in this recording.

The music, Flow and Fusion, bd, Aequora, Emergence (three movements), and Dreaming are not given composition dates but are presumably recent compositions by these young artists.  There are liner notes which are useful to the listener but the main point here seems to be the glorious sound.  One hears influence and/or homage to some of the great sonic experimenters of the late 1950s and 60s like Penderecki, Xenakis, Lutoslawski and probably some Icelandic composers whose works have yet to be heard outside of Iceland.

The album has the notation below the title of “ISO Project 1” so here’s hoping that there will be at least a second volume and that we be given the opportunity to hear more from the rich musical landscape of Iceland.  Bravo!  Brava!  Keep it coming.

 

Oceanus Procellarum: Gareth Davis and Elliot Sharp


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I recall excitedly taking a class in college in the late 70s which dealt with post 1950 composition.  The professor emphasized that the reigning characteristic of this music is “pluralism”, that is to say that anything goes and one gets less useful information from labels like, “classical”, “baroque”, “romantic”, “post-romantic”, “post-modern”, etc.  There is no question that this maxim remains very true and we now are seeing composers well-versed in virtually every technique known to the world of composition.

This album is a fine example of such pluralism.  Seeing names such as Elliott Sharp and Gareth Davis one might expect something of the “free jazz” genre and that would not necessarily be an inaccurate description.  But it would fail to capture the wonderful writing for Ensemble Resonanz by the eclectic (yes, pluralistic too) Elliott Sharp.  As a composer Sharp draws on late twentieth century modern/post-modern compositional techniques along with a fair amount of his own creative innovations gleaned from his own experimentation and, no doubt, from his exposure to the wildly creative milieu of the Downtown New York scene of the 80s and 90s.

The result is like listening to shades of Penderecki and Xenakis as they wrote in the late 1950s though the 70s.  This is far more homage than derivation however and the achievement here is how well the soloists on guitar and bass clarinet fit into the work as a whole.  They fit remarkably well.

This could easily be called “Symphony for Ensemble with Obligatto Guitar and Bass Clarinet” or even Concerto if you like.  The point is that Sharp is an engaging composer whose works are very substantial.  From his beginnings on the New York Downtown scene with its mix of jazz, experimental and classical he has continued to explore and grow as a composer and that is what ultimately makes this release so compelling.

The musicianship here from Ensemble Resonanz, Sharp and Davis is of the first order and there is a certain sense of a tight fit such that, whatever may be improvised here sounds as though it were carefully written into this large orchestral fabric.  This is a powerful piece of music and repeated listenings will doubtless reveal more and more depth.  This is a very engaging piece.

Sharp is clearly evolving and growing as a composer and still hasn’t lost his marvelous collaborative and improvisatorial abilities.  This is a major work and a lovely recording.

 

 

 

Nordic Affect: Raindamage, Wonderful Music from Iceland


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Definitely an unusual beginning to this sonorous album of chamber music from the happy, creative place called Iceland.  Some of these tracks are electroacoustic combining some sort of electronic sound producing and/or manipulating components along with the live musical performance.

Nothing familiar here but a lot worth listening to.  This is a collection of recent chamber music from what is apparently some of the finest composers working in Iceland today. And as a Sono Luminus product it is a sound object of the highest order.  It is a beautifully recorded set of pieces that goes a long way to demonstrate the high quality and creativity of both the compositional and performance to be found in this distant corner of the world.

There are six works represented here.  Three are exclusively electronic, one for acoustic instruments with electronics and two are for acoustic instruments alone.  All seem to share the eclecticism of modern composers and, to this writer’s ear, a rather distinct style which seems to come out of the Nordic regions these days.

Iceland has a long and proud musical history and has amassed a large creative classical repertoire in (at least) the 20th and 21st centuries.  Perhaps one can hear the “sounds of the north” in these works or perhaps that is simply the analogous associations of this listener’s mind but there does seem to be some affinity between the lovely cover photograph of melting ice and some of the sounds herein.

At any rate this is fascinating music beautifully performed by Nordic Affect, a more or less fixed ensemble of violin, viola, cello, and harpsichord with occasional electronic supplementation.  Performers include Halla Steinun Stefásdóttir, Violin; Guòrún Hrund Haróardóttir, Viola; Hanna Loftsdóttir, Cello; Guòrún Óskarsdóttir, Harpsichord with Nava Dunkelman on drum in the last track.

The composers Úlfur Hansson, Valgeir Sigurðsson, and Hlynur Aðils Vilmarsson are completely unknown to this writer though it is noted that Hansson studied at Mills College in California, itself quite a hotbed of new music innovation.  No matter, though, these are some amazing composers doing cutting edge work and deserve your attention.

All in all this is one fine disc of chamber music.

 

 

 

A Brassy 75th Birthday Celebration for John Corigliano


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John Corigliano (1938- ) is one of America’s finest composers.  He is to classical music in New York what Woody Allen is to the movies.  Corigliano is musical royalty.  His father was concertmaster under Leonard Bernstein among others (in fact he apparently worked as assistant to the producer on several of the Young Peoples’ Concerts).  His own accomplishments musically are many including a the very first Grawemeyer Award for his first symphony and a Pulitzer Prize for his second.  One could hardly find another musician as deserving of being honored.

From the very New Yorker style cover art this album affirms this composer’s iconic status.  But the artists here are good Chicago Brass players.  As a native born Chicagoan I have become accustomed to assuming that one can find some of the world’s finest brass players there and this album lays testament to that.  Gaudete Brass is an ensemble that definitely deserves your attention.

This is a fine tribute album featuring mostly world premieres but also some nice transcriptions.  This is effective though not overwhelmingly modern music for brass.  It is intended as and functions very well as entertainment and, from the sound of it, is also fun to play.

The original works are welcome as are the transcriptions of Corigliano’s Gazebo Dances. by the long time Chicago musician/conductor Cliff Colnot.  (One transcription is by the composer).  There are a total of three Corigliano pieces here and 13 by others.  One can only imagine the joy the composer will feel on hearing these tributes and the joy that any number of brass players will experience hearing this fine album.  As usual the Cedille recording is lucid giving a clear sound image of some truly fine musicianship.

The pieces here are good middle of the road compositions which pose challenges on the players but manage to be entertaining and nothing here sounds like an academic exercise.  Rather this disc is about celebration exactly as it purports.  Very enjoyable disc.

Dane Rousay’s Blip


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Dane Rousay is a San Antonio based percussionist and this is the first of several planned releases.  This is a solo effort largely with drum kit and perhaps a couple of enhancements or additional percussive hardware.  There are 8 rather brief tracks on this album, all of an experimental nature and all very well recorded.

One small disclaimer:  I generally don’t review download only releases but Mr. Rousay was persistent and kind in his requests for a review.  Another aspect is that there appears to be an increase in this purely digital release format and to ignore that in favor of a demand for a physical product would likely be missing an opportunity to hear some good work.

Despite the brevity there is much for the ear.  The percussion seems to be closely miked and that is apparently the point here.  Each track is like a mini-etude or experiment which will presumably be used as material for other work.  Whether this is jazz, free jazz, new music, classical, etc. is actually beside the point.  The point appears to be the sound itself.

There are no liner notes and little in the way of explanation to be found even on the composer’s web site.  (That’s not necessarily a negative thing either.)  It is not clear if this music is improvised or composed or if there is any predetermined structure and there appears to be no intended connection between each of the tracks.  Most of the work is mallets or sticks of some sort hitting the targeted percussive surface though he does make use of extended techniques such as rubbing the mallets across the surface creating rich harmonics in the manner of the spectralists.

After multiple listens this reviewer is left with the impression of having visited the artist’s studio for a rather personal tour of some of his working ideas.  If you are a percussionist or a fan of percussion music this album will doubtless interest you.  It is not easy listening but it does appear to be a very personal exploration of this artist’s techniques and ideas.

I am looking forward to more from this interesting and seemingly uncompromising artist.

 

Eclipse of the Son: Mischa Zupko


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Mischa Zupko (1971- ) is a composer, a pianist, and a professor of music at Chicago’s De Paul University.  He is the son of avant garde composer Ramon Zupko (1932- ).  Mischa’s work featured on this Cedille release suggests that the proverbial apple has fallen quite a distance from the family musical tree.  That is neither bad nor good but it is striking.

The elder Zupko’s work, despite its significance, is too little known.  A few recordings exist on the old CRI recordings label and this writer recalls being impressed by them. According to the Chicago Reader article he really didn’t want his son to go into the music business but apparently what is in the blood is in the blood.  A curious note too is that one can find articles on both these composers on Wikipedia but not the English/American one, rather curiously both are to be found on the Dutch Wikipedia site.

The present disc is apparently the first dedicated entirely to this emerging composer’s work (now numbering some 50 pieces).  It is a disc of chamber music and from the first the listener is immediately aware that the younger Zupko is possessed of a sort of retro romantic bent.  Think of the great virtuoso composer/pianists of the 19th century like Franz Liszt and Anton Rubinstein.  He does gratefully acknowledge his father as inspiration but clearly follows a different path.

This music is about passion and virtuosity.  The composer defines this clearly in his liner notes.  The performers Mischa Zupko on piano, Wendy Warner on cello, and Sang Mee Lee on violin demonstrate both passion and virtuosity on this lucid recording.  They play very well together and they all have ample opportunities to show off their respective skills.

There are seven works on ten tracks dating from 2005 to 2015.  The first five tracks consist of “Rising” (violin and piano, 2009), “Fallen” (cello and piano, 2010), “From Twilight” (solo violin, 2015), “Eclipse” (violin and cello, 2014), and, “Nebula” (solo cello, 2015).

There then follows the four movement”Shades of Grey” (2005) for violin and piano.  This is the earliest work on the disc but stylistically it is consistent with the rest of the disc. Zupko certainly develops as a composer but his style seems pretty firmly established.

The last track seems to be the big feature here.  “Love Obsession” (cello, piano, 6 pre-recorded cello tracks; 2013) is perhaps the most adventurous and grand of the works on this recording.  As with the other works on the disc the composer cites various literary influences and inspirations consistent with the apparently romantic ethic which seems to drive his creativity.  And as with the other tracks we hear a tonal romantic idiom filled with passion.

My title for this review is not intended to suggest that the younger Zupko has surpassed his father in any way except perhaps in that his work has, whether by accident, timing, design, or whatever, gotten more attention.  This is not a case of Johann Strauss Jr. and Sr. in jealous competition, this is simply another generation responding to it’s muse and that is worth celebrating.

 

 

New Orchestral Music from Rain Worthington


Rain Worthington herself kindly sent this CD to me for review.  There seems to be very little biographical information online about this very interesting composer.  Her current  credentials available on her website are impressive but there is little to be found on her training and influences. (Time to talk to the webmaster I suppose)  This appears to be the first disc dedicated solely to her music and it is an great one.

There are seven tracks representing seven orchestral pieces dating from 2001 to 2012. Like the album title, all are given poetic titles which make no reference to musical structure.  No doubt there are stories behind each of these but there is no information  in the liner notes as to the inspirations or intended meanings of this music.

This reviewer is fond of detailed liner notes but their absence is hardly a hindrance to the appreciation of these little tone poems for various sized orchestras.  There is a remarkable consistency of style here suggesting that this composer has a clearly established voice.  Clearly Worthington is a master of orchestration as she wields complex orchestral pallets where dissonance as well as orchestration contribute to the color in a basically tonal framework.

The music here is about motive and gesture rather than melody per se.  Perhaps that is a “minimalist” method but the impression to this listener suggests influences as diverse as Claude Debussy, Jacob Druckman, Daniel Asia, Toru Takemitsu, and Anton Bruckner. This is beautiful though not “pretty” music with complex emotional content that leans in somber, wistful, sometimes haunting, and even nostalgic directions much as an impressionist painting.

The lovely cover photograph, a time exposure of a night scene with a blurring of stars over a lake, works as a metaphor for the album’s content.

Three orchestras (none of them American) under three different conductors are employed in this very satisfying release.  Multiple listenings will definitely contribute new layers of understanding for the listener.  This listener found that initial impressions of seemingly simple, pretty romantic/impressionistic leanings give way to things deeper and perhaps even disturbing.

One of the conductors, Robert Ian Winstin (1959-2010) was an American composer and conductor (whose compositional efforts deserve some serious review) is at the helm of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra on two tracks.  Petr Vronsky leads the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra on four tracks and Ovidiu Marinescu leads the Russian Philharmonic on one track.  It is amazing how well these orchestras handle the challenges here.  These are some excellent musicians.

Kudos to producer Bob Lord for his bold choice in releasing this disc.  Hopefully we will soon be seeing more of this composer’s work in the near future.  My thanks to Ms. Worthington for sending this my way.

 

 

Duo Stephanie and Saar: Bach Art of Fugue


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New Focus Recordings FCR 181

One of Bach’s last works (It is dated 1748) was thought for many years to have been a sort of academic thesis which was not meant for performance.  Even though it has received performances it is problematic in many ways for performers and listeners. it has spawned many different approaches to this score which specifies no instrumentation, no ordering to the separate movements, and leaves it’s last fugue tantalizingly incomplete.

There have been many orchestrations for ensembles ranging from various chamber groupings to full orchestra.  It has been done on harpsichord, organ and piano, organ, string quartet, brass ensemble, saxophone quartet to name a few.  In fact all of these approaches would seem perfectly appropriate and authentic within the context of baroque performance practice.  Undoubtedly we can expect more of this pluralistic approach to come to terms with Bach’s final utterance.

Sometimes the most salient characteristic of a recording of this work is about a new orchestration or some new scholarship, including yet another effort to complete the fugue which Bach left incomplete in the manuscript.  In this two disc recording the motivation seems to be simple clarity.  Duo Stephanie and Saar (pianists Stephanie Ho and Saar Ahuvia) perform the pieces on piano 4 hands, two pianos and solo piano as befits their artistic vision.  They order the pieces by playing the first 12 fugues (or contrapuncti, as Bach refers to them) followed by alternately performing the four canons in between the remaining fugues and ending with the Canon in Augmentation to create a sense of an arch of unity with increasing complexity followed by the comparatively simple postlude of the final canon.  As with many of the recordings Stephanie and Saar choose to leave the last fugue incomplete as Bach left it which is slightly jarring, leaving the sensation of having missed a step in the descent of a staircase but the final canon then does serve to bring the listener down gently.

Not until the minimalist movement would we see such a long focus on a single key (D minor), a potential deal breaker for a lesser composer.  However the lucidity of these performances and recordings allows the listener to focus on the beautiful intricacy of counterpoint that represents one of the pinnacles of western musical art.  Actually I have found that this recording works as well with focused listening as it does as background music where its energy sneaks in to your consciousness in a different but no less exhilarating way.  This is doubtless due to the quality of interpretation.

Nothing flashy here, no overblown musicological perspectives, just strong playing by artists who clearly know and love this music.  The Art of Fugue is not the easiest of Bach’s works to appreciate.  Indeed it took this listener many years and multiple different recordings to finally grasp the depth of the work.  And while it may not have been intended for performance per se this recording does a good job of finding the unity in these contrapuntal etudes which are effectively a summing up of the techniques of the high baroque era.  Stephanie and Saar take us on a wonderful journey, one you will want to take many times.

Michala Petri Goes Brazilian


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Since her debut in 1969 at the tender age of 11 Danish born recorder virtuoso Michala Petri has been one of the finest masters of the recorder.  This ancient instrument, a forerunner of the flute, has existed since the Middle Ages and has amassed a huge repertoire and Petri seems to have demonstrated mastery over all of it and has been an advocate and promoter of new music for her instrument as well.  She has inspired composers to write new works for her and she continues to entertain audiences and has assembled an ever growing discography of startling range and diversity.  Nearly single handed she has managed to honor past repertoire and firmly ensconce this instrument in the 21st century.

In this release, produced by Lars Hannibal (himself a fine guitarist and frequent Petri collaborator) Petri takes on the music of Brazil and, despite the fact that recorders have seldom found their way into the music of this geographic region, she delivers a convincing and hugely entertaining program on this disc.  Along with Marilyn Mazur on percussion and Daniel Murray on guitar the listener is given an entertaining cross section of Brazilian music ranging from the more classically oriented work of Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) and Ernesto Nazareth (1863-1934) to the smooth jazz/pop sounds of Antonio Carlos Jobim (1925-1994) and Egberto Gismonti (1947- ).  In between are included works by the album’s guitarist Daniel Murray (1981- ) and a few names unfamiliar to this reviewer including Paulo Porto Alegre (1953- ), Paulo Bellinati (1950- ), Hermeto Pascoal (1936- ), and Antonio Ribero (1971- ).

There is a remarkable unity in this Danish production which stems from a meeting between producer Lars Hannibal and Daniel Murray in Vienna in 2014.  Hannibal’s ear found a kindred spirit whose musicality is a good match for that of Petri.  And like a good chef he added the delicate and necessary spice of the tastefully understated (but extraordinary) percussionist Marilyn Mazur to create a unique trio that sounds as though they’ve played together for years.  Here’s hoping that they’ve secretly recorded enough material for a second album.

All the tracks appear to be transcriptions though the transcriber is not named (I’m guessing they’re collaborative).  What’s nice is that there is nothing artificial or uncomfortable about these arrangements.  The overall impression left is that of a skilled ensemble and listeners encountering the original forms of these works might well assume those to be the transcriptions.  So convincing are these performances.

One last thing.  The sound.  This super audio CD release was engineered by Mikkel Nymand and Preben Iwan and the sound is fabulous.  I don’t have a machine that can read the super audio tracks on this hybrid disc but what I can hear is a lucid recording which embraces the subtleties of this unique ensemble.  Enjoy!

Exploding Debussy, Kathleen Supové


New Focus FCR 170

Increasingly it seems that new music performers take on a persona which includes a unique selection of repertoire and frequently a distinctive physical presence.  Kathleen Supové is a fine example.  Her distinctive physical appearance and attire becomes a metaphor for her very personal and intelligent choice of repertoire which sets her apart from her peers.  In addition to unquestioned virtuosity and beautiful interpretive skills her persona takes on an adjectival quality which prompts this reviewer to ponder the “Supovian” experience.


I may live to regret that neologism but the present album is offered as exhibit one (of about 20 albums) attesting to the distinctive choices of music that characterize her work.  This two disc album, The Debussy Effect, is a very modern homage (even sometimes with apologies) to the impressionist master.  Twelve tracks on the two discs feature seven contemporary composers.  Only three tracks are for solo piano.  The rest involve electronic enhancements and or “soundtracks”.

Initially I had hoped to be able to say something useful (if not particularly insightful) to prospective listeners/buyers of this album about each of the pieces here but after several listens I can only reliably say that the material makes for a great and entertaining listening experience.  It harbors complexities that cannot be fairly recounted in such a brief review.  (And this reviewer has a limited knowledge of Debussy as well.)

Here are works by some of the finest of the New York “downtown” music traditions that reflect some amazing and very deep appreciations that will likely change the way you hear Debussy.

Here is the track list:

Disc One

1.  Storefront Diva: a dreamscape by Joan La Barbara

2.  Dr. Gradus vs. Rev. Powell by Matt Marks

3.  Layerings 3 by Eric Kenneth Malcolm Clark

4.  What Remains of a Rembrandt by Randall Woolf

Disc Two

1-4.  Shattered Apparitions of the Western Wind by Annie Gosfield

5-7.  Cakewalking (Sorry Claude) by Daniel Felsenfeld

8. La plus que plus que lente by Jacob Cooper

All are engineered by the wonderful Sheldon Steiger for the New Focus recordings label.

So the take away here is as follows:  If you are a Debussy fan you will want to hear this album.  If you are a Kathleen Supové fan you will want to hear this album.  It is the second reason the seems the most salient here.  I expect to be listening to this many more times.  Enjoy.

 

Both Homage and Nostalgia for Sergeant Pepper at the UC Theater


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Creative, practical staging and lighting was a unifying factor in this triumph from Undercover Presents.

There was a full house at the UC Theater on this Saturday, June 3rd in Berkeley.  It was the only performance of this homage to the Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper album which was released 50 years ago (actually June 2, 1967).  Most of the performers were not even a twinkle in their parents’ eyes when this landmark of music came on the scene.  The “Summer of Love” was happening in the Bay Area and this album was unquestionably an influence then.  Tonight’s show demonstrated how that influence continues.

The audience was a mix of aging hippies (and non-hippies) and younger hipsters (is it OK to use that term and have no negative connotation?).  Some, no doubt, came for a bit of nostalgia remembering where they were when they first heard the original.  Some came to hear the creativity of local artists meeting such a challenge.

It would have been easy to simply do average covers of the songs and cater only to the nostalgia but Lyz Luke’s Undercover Presents, as usual, aimed higher than that (and hit their mark).  They, under the direction of guest producer Joe Bagale, curated a show of creative interpretations of each of the 13 tracks utilizing some of the finest of the massive talents that call the Bay Area home.  The end result was a true homage from another generation of marvelously diverse artists who put their stamp on the iconic songs without losing any respect for the power of the originals.

Simple but effective stage design by Bridget Stagnitto was reminiscent of the iconic album cover with creative lighting and functional information integrated into the tableau.  Ryan John and Brendan Dreaper were lead sound engineers.

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As is customary for these shows the bands played the tracks in their original order beginning with the Electric Squeezebox Orchestra’s instrumental cover of the opening track.  Principal trombone Rob Ewing’s arrangement captured the essence of that opening and effectively set the stage for what was to follow.

(Correction:  Per Joe Bagale the opening number was arranged by soprano saxophone player Michael Zilber.)

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Vocalist Dublin sang a bluesy solo version of “With a Little Help From My Friends”, those friends being the Jazz Mafia Accomplices

Guitarist Jon Monahan takes responsibility for this arrangement which veered just a bit off of nostalgia to deliver a very effective solo vocal version (the original you may recall had that call and answer thing going on) of this, one of the best known tracks on the album.  Though it was not obvious, perhaps there was some homage intended to the late Joe Cocker who first saw the bluesy potential here when he presented his justly famed version at Woodstock in 1969.

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Raz Kennedy made effective use of backup singers in his soulful take on “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”.  He shared arranging credit with Nick Milo.  The spirit of the Supremes, Gladys Knight (and of course the Pips), and maybe a touch of James Brown seemed to be present in the house and this arrangement got a great review from the audience.  What a voice!

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Eyes on the Shore shared arranging credits in their digital synth inflected take on Getting Better.  They went further afield with the material than some and may have briefly lost the pure nostalgia seekers but the arrangement clearly succeeded in pleasing the crowd. One would expect that psychedelia be transformed by the digital world, right?  And so it was.

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The Avant Jazz Funk duo of Scott Amendola on percussion and Will Blades on Hammond Organ (how’s that for nostalgia?) and Clavinet turned in a very intense and rich improvisational battle in their purely instrumental version of “Fixing a Hole”.  Sometimes the melody was there and sometimes it was transformed in a musically psychedelic way that went quite a distance from the original.  But the use of the Hammond Organ and Clavinet themselves provided reassurance that they wouldn’t go too far.  The performances were blazingly intense and the whole house felt it.

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We again were treated to soul with backup singers as Nino Moschella transformed the innocent ballad of adolescent alienation, “She’s Leaving Home”, into a more darkly hued version that seemed to reflect an understanding of the loss of that innocence that we all must face eventually.  Nothing somber here but clearly a different understanding consistent with the overall mission of having another generation’s way of remembering this material.

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South Asian music and philosophy are inextricably linked to the psychedelic sounds of the mid to late 1960s and nowhere is this more obvious than with the Beatles whose study of Transcendental Meditation with their guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born Mahesh Prasad Varma 1918-2008) while George Harrison studied sitar with Pandit Ravi Shankar (1920-2012).

Rohan Krishnamurthy (Mridangam, Hadjira frame drum), Prasant Radakrishnan (saxophone), and Colin Hogan (keyboard) share credits for their creative instrumental arrangement of “For Mr. Kite”.  Eschewing lyrics (which are etched in most of the audience’s minds anyway) they performed a stunningly unique rendition of this familiar song. Interestingly these musicians trace their influences to the southern Indian Carnatic tradition (somewhat different from the Hindustani traditions which influenced the Beatles) adding yet another layer of richness to the evening’s goings on.

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Colin Hogan indicts himself yet again in his arrangement of “Within You Without You”, that spacey Hindustani inflected song.  The Hogan Brothers (Steve Hogan, bass; Colin Hogan, accordion; Julian Hogan, drums; Moorea Dickason, vocals; Charlie Gurke, baritone sax) turned in a marvelous world fusion rendition of the tune (lyrics and all) to a hugely appreciative response.

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Iranian born Sahba Minikia, steeped in both Iranian and western classical traditions provided a touching arrangement of the classic, “When I’m Sixty Four”.  Featuring Mina Momeni on guitar and vocals (on video) accompanied by the Awesöme Orchestra in a song whose premise looks to the future as far as this evening looked into the past to ponder the endurance of romance.

In retrospect it is almost surprising that the marvelous diversity didn’t generate a presidential tweet of dissatisfaction.  Indeed a woman singing would produce more than a tweet of dissatisfaction in Tehran, birthplace of photographer and singer Momemi who also teaches visual arts in Canada.

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Vocalist Kendra McKinley practically turned “Lovely Rita” into a feminist anthem with some retro pop group choreography and background vocals to boot.  The visuals and the energy of the performance practically had the whole house dancing.

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Soltrón added Latin percussion and energetic dance to the already electrified atmosphere with their arrangement of the raucous “Good Morning”.  Kendra McKinley could be seen and heard tying in her energy from the previous performance as backup singer here.

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Lyz Luke stepped in to introduce the penultimate Sgt Pepper Reprise.

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The dancing energy was carried on by the colorful and energetic dancers of Non-Stop Bhangra.  They accompanied Rohan Krishnamurthy and Otis McDonald in Joe Bagale’s rocking arrangement (replete with lyrics) of the reprise of the opening.  It was like a live action version of the studio executed original performance with a stage filled with ecstatic musicians and dancers.

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Joe Bagale in his Sgt Pepper duds sings the lyrics hoping we’d enjoyed the show.

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The apocalyptic, “A Day in the Life” concluded the mission of homage and nostalgia in a bigger than life tableau of talent and diversity that connected the “there and then” to the “here and now”.  The famous extended last chord crashed in a peak of energetic music making to bring the performances to a close.

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The visuals were strongly reminiscent of the iconic album cover.

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There was no need to encourage the audience to sing along to the encore of “All You Need is Love”.  Fifty years hence we still need it and if we still don’t have it everywhere at least we had it here this night.

 

Other Minds 22, Resounding Sacred Tributes from Music to Wheaties


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Nicole Paiement led a touching performance of Lou Harrison’s La Koro Sutro

Nominally this was a celebration of the life and music of Lou Silver Harrison (1917-2003) but this last concert of Other Minds 22nd year celebrated so much more.

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Curator and Other Minds Executive and artistic director introduces the night’s festivities with these artistic icons titled St. Lou and St. Bill (Lou Harrison and his partner, instrument builder Bill Colvig). The portraits were sold by silent auction.

One can’t celebrate the life and music of Lou Harrison without acknowledging his life partner of 30 years, Bill Colvig (1917-2000).  Colvig was the man who designed and built the American Gamelan percussion instruments used in tonight’s performance.  These repurposed industrial materials were inspired by the Indonesian Gamelan which Lou Harrison encountered at the 1939 world’s fair which took place on Treasure Island just a few miles away.  Amirkhanian added another fascinating historical footnote when he informed the audience that Harrison had come to this very church to learn to sing Gregorian Chant some time in the 1930s.

A further and very intimate context was revealed when Amirkhanian took an informal poll of the audience asking who had met and/or worked with Lou Harrison.  By his count he estimated that about 40% of the audience had encountered “St. Lou” (this writer met the magnanimous gentleman in Chicago in the early 1990s).  Indeed many of the musicians had encountered and/or studied with Harrison and the passion reflected in their performances and the audiences response clearly shows why he (and Bill) were elevated tonight to secular sainthood.

The wonderful acoustics of the Basilica easily accommodated Harrison’s dislike of electrical amplification.  Even the solo and small ensemble music was heard as it was intended.

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The organ console at the Basilica.

The well attended concert began with an early rather uncharacteristic piece called Praises for Michael the Archangel (1946-7).  It reflected the influence of Arnold Schoenberg, one of Harrison’s teachers (Henry Cowell and K.T.H. Notoprojo were also among his teachers).  Harrison also famously worked with Charles Ives whose Third Symphony he premiered.  He also worked with John Cage and collaborated on at least one composition with him (Double Music).  The angular and dissonant sounds were lovingly interpreted by Jerome Lenk, organist and chorus master at the Basilica.

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Organist Jerome Lenk acknowledges the audience applause and allows himself just a touch of a satisfied smile for a well wrought performance.

Next was a solo harp piece Threnody for Oliver Daniel (1990).  (Oliver Daniel (1911-1990) was a composer, musicologist, and founder of Composer’s Recording Incorporated.  He was a friend of Harrison’s and a great promoter of new music).

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The Threnody was performed on this smaller troubador harp in Ptolemy’s soft diatonic tuning.

Meredith Clark played with focused concentration and gave a very moving performance of this brief and beautiful composition.  Harrison was fond of paying homage to his friends through music.

Clark was then joined by cellist Emil Miland for a performance of Suite for Cello and Harp (1948).  Composed just a year after the angular organ piece which opened the program this gentle suite is entirely tonal and very lyrical in its five movements using music repurposed from earlier works.  Clark here used a full sized concert harp.

The artistic connection between these performers clearly added to the intensity of the performance.  Despite the varied sources of the music the suite has a certain unity that, like Bach and indeed many composers, justifies the re-use of material in the creation of a new piece.

This was followed by another organ piece from Mr. Lenk.  This Pedal Sonata (1989) is played solely by the musician’s very busy feet on the pedals alone (no hands on the keyboard).  Listening to the piece it was easy to believe that more than just two agile feet were involved in this challenging and virtuosic composition.  It appeared to be quite a workout but one accomplished with great ease by the performer.

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Emil Miland and Meredith Clark smiling in response the the applause following their performance.

Following an extended intermission (owing to a dearth of restroom facilities) there was an awards ceremony.  Charles Amirkhanian was awarded the 2017 Champion of New Music Award (tonight’s conductor Nicole Paiement was also a previous awardee).  Presentation of the award was done by American Composer’s Forum President and CEO John Neuchterlein and Forum member, composer Vivian Fung.

Amirkhanian took the time to pay tribute to his mother (who also would have been 100 this year) his father (who passed away in December at the age of 101) and his charming wife of 49 years, Carol Law, who continues her work as a photographer and her participation in Other Minds and related projects.  He also gave thanks to the staff of Other Minds and his former associates at KPFA where Charles served as music director for over 20 years.

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American Composer’s Forum President John Neuchterlein looks on as composer Vivian Fung presents the prestigious 2017 Champion of New Music Award to a very pleased Charles Amirkhanian.

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In a touching and humorous move Mr. Neuchterlein advised the audience that Mr. Amirkhanian would be given yet another award tied to Minnesota which is the home of General Mills (yes, the cereal people).  Amirkhanian (who himself has quite a gentle sense of humor) was surprised and charmed to receive a box of Wheaties emblazoned with his image from whence he can now reign in the rarefied group of breakfast champions in addition to his other roles.

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The breakfast of new music champions.

The second half of the concert began with the co-composed Suite for Violin and American Gamelan (1974).  Co-composer Richard Dee was in the audience for the performance of this work written two years after La Koro Sutro (1972) and incorporating the same gamelan instrument created for that piece.  The substantial violin solo was handled with assurance and expressivity by Shalini Vijayan, herself a major new music advocate.

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Composer Richard Dee waving thanks for the performance of Suite for Violin and American Gamelan.

At about 30 minutes in performance the multiple movements all but comprised a concerto with challenging roles for both the percussion orchestra led by the amazing William Winant and his percussion ensemble and the soloist.  All were masterfully coordinated by conductor Nicole Paiement.

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Shalini Vijayan smiles from behind her bouquet acknowledging the thunderous applause following her performance.

In a previous promo blog I had noted that the location of this concert is a designated pilgrimage site, one where the faithful journey as part of a spiritual quest.  Well, having been sidelined by a foot injury for the last 3 1/2 months this amounted to a musico-spiritual pilgrimage for this writer who has not been able to be out to hear music for some time.  The last piece on the concert in particular was a powerful motivation for this personal pilgrimage and I was not disappointed.

The American Gamelan was played by the William Winant percussion group consisting of master percussionist Winant along with Ed Garcia, Jon Meyers, Sean Josey, Henry Wilson, and Sarong Kim.

They were joined by the Resound Choir (Luçik Aprahämian, Music Director), Sacred and Profane (Rebecca Seeman, Music Director), and the Mission Dolores Choir (Jerome Lenk, Music Director).

Meredith Clark joined on concert harp and Mr. Lenk on the small ensemble organ.  All were conducted with both discipline and panache by Nicole Paiement.

This multiple movement work is a setting of the Buddhist Heart Sutra and is done in an Esperanto translation by fellow Esperantist Bruce Kennedy and, though written for the world Esperanto Convention in Portland, Oregon, it was premiered at the University of San Francisco in 1972.  This was the fourth performance in the Bay Area, a fact that reveals the love that this area has had and still has for its beloved citizen Lou Harrison.

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Warm smiles proliferated as the bouquets were distributed amid a standing ovation from a very appreciative audience.

In fact this concert can be seen as a affirmation of so many things.  Harrison was a composer, teacher, dancer, calligrapher, Esperantist, conductor, musician, musicologist and early gay rights advocate.  It is a testament to Lou that he has been given a most spectacular birthday celebration which gave credence and appreciation to all aspects of this west coast genius and all his extended family.  It happened 50 years after the fabled Summer of Love and apparently the love continues in its way.

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A clearly very happy conductor Nicole Paiement’s smile echoes both her feeling and that of the attendees, a wonderful night.

Edgy Saxophone, Ryan Muncy’s “ism”


Tundra

This one wins the prize for the most charming and unusual presentation of a review copy that this writer has ever seen.  I received this rather plain looking slip case and contained therein was a little data card glued to a saxophone reed.  Fortunately I have just enough tech skills to find the little data card slot on my laptop and was able to then burn a CDr.

It was well worth the effort.  Ryan Muncy is a saxophone player with the increasingly venerable ICE.  (That is the International Contemporary Ensemble and not the less venerable immigration and customs enforcement by the way.)  He here takes the opportunity to demonstrate his considerable fluency on his instrument.  The deceptively simple cover belies some serious complexity in this release.

Beginning with James Tenney’s too seldom heard Saxony (1978) Muncy decisively lets the listener know that this is a hard core saxophone album with music that demands a level of skills and interpretive ability within the reach of only the finest musicians. Tenney’s piece is a multitracked composition concerned with acoustic phenomena produced by different tunings as do many of his works.  This piece is a species of minimalism, drone, even meditative music.  It’s slow unfolding demands and then rewards patience as it envelops the listener in lovely, trippy sound masses.  At over 20 minutes it is the biggest piece here and alone justifies purchasing this album.

What follows are 5 more tracks of similarly extreme experimental music with various extended techniques albeit on a much smaller scale.  Each is like a little study focusing on one or more extended techniques.  All but one are recent compositions by composers yet unknown to this reviewer.  The last piece is by the late great Lee Hyla (1952-2014) and is from 1979, making it contemporary with the opening Tenney piece.  Muncy demonstrates his facility with tuning, multiphonics and other creative techniques demanded by these composers.

Here is the track list:

James Tenney-Saxony (1978)

Erin Gee-Mouthpiece XXIV (2015)

David Reminick- Gray Faces (2011)

Morgan Krauss- masked by likeness (2014)

Evan Johnson- Largo caligrafico (2012)

Lee Hyla- Pre-Amnesia (1979)

Each of these pieces is seemingly a self contained universe and repeated listenings reveal more than simple experimentalism.

This is a disc for serious saxophone aficianados with an appreciation for free jazz and cutting edge instrumental techniques.  Truly a wonderful release.

Zhang Zhao’s Myths of China 


Rhymoi RMCD- 1067

The strikingly beautiful look of the physical CD and the packaging are practically an indictment of streaming and digital music formats.  Producer Ye Yunchuan is the founder of Rhymoi, an audiophile label dedicated to contemporary Chinese music.  If this release is any indication it would be wise to pay attention his work.  Besides the excellence of the physical product the quality of the recording will please the ears of the staunchest audiophile.

Zhang Zhao is apparently one of China’s best known living composers (at least in China) and said producer favors us with a truly grand release.  Some of Zhang’s piano works are standard test pieces for conservatory students and this recording reveals his unquestionable mastery of orchestral technique and a mastery of a variety of traditional Chinese instruments as well.  Though biographical specifics are sparse this composer has a growing discography and the present disc demonstrates a highly skilled compositional voice.

This ambitious project is essentially a tone poem or series of tone poems (think Smetana’s Ma Vlast) on stories from a collection of Chinese myths called the Shan Hai Jing (The Classic of Mountains and Seas) a large collection of stories dating from the 4th Century B.C.  I don’t know how well these stories are known in contemporary China but this is a vast and rich culture that has deservedly survived its own sociopolitical dynamics and continues to inspire new artistic endeavors from its rich legacies.  It is no wonder that the composer found inspiration here.

The composer has chosen 11 stories from the big 18 chapter work.  The setting is for large orchestra, chorus, children’s chorus, and at least 21 solo instruments which include both western classical and traditional Chinese instruments.  Such a large and diverse set of instruments poses a challenge by itself but the composer succeeds well due in part to having some of the country’s finest musicians whose mastery of these (to most western ears) obscure instruments is clear.  The orchestral musicians and choruses also demonstrate a high level of skill and commitment.  And the composer succeeds very well in integrating such diverse instruments quite comfortably into the larger mostly western classical fabric.  It is reminiscent of Tan Dun’s large Symphony which incorporated a set of ancient Chinese bells into its texture and similarly pays homage to great traditions.

The 11 sections are beautifully illustrated both by calligraphy and line drawings by Dong Xiaqingqing.   Thankfully there are lucid texts in English by Joshua Cheek and Nicholas Angiers describing the myths and giving some clues to some of the interpretive intentions of the composer’s musical choices.  These greatly enhance the enjoyment for those unfamiliar with this lovely mythology.

The sections are:

1. Pangu Separates Heaven and Earth

2. Yao and Shun Discuss Morality

3. Yu the Great Controls the Floods

4. Chang’ e Flies to the Moon

5. The War on Chiyou

6. The Tears of Xianfei

7. Nuwa Repairs the Sky

8. The Peach Banquet

9. Kuafu Chases the Sun

10. The Goddess of the Luo River

11. Fuxi-Ultumate Harmony

Soloists include:

Qin: Zhao Jiazhen

Erhu: Wang Ying

Guzheng: Chang Jing/Ding Xueer

Pipa: Yu Yuanchun/Dong Xiaolin/Sun Jing

Chinese Harp: Wu Lin

Di/Xiao/Xun: Ding Xiaokui/Li Yue

Ruan: Di Lin/Zhao Yue

Suona: Wang Rongfei/Yao Di/Shang Shuai

Liuquin: Di Yang/Pan Yuechen

Yangquin: Wang YuJue

Hansheng: Shan Chunshen

Lusheng: Yang Shengwen

Khoomei: Li Wenbin

Morin Khuur: Hasibagen

Violin: Zhao Kunyu

Cello: Yang Changying

Brass: Qin Guochen/Zhao Xiu/Jia Hui/Mi Qi

Woodwinds: Cao Lei/Yang Yilin/Xie Hongliang/Ren Biao

Harp: Zhang Xiaoyin

Percussion: Zhang Yangsheng/Tian Wei

Piano: Zhang Zhao

Music Assistant: Li Yongmin

This writer has but a passing familiarity with a few of these traditional instruments but the sonic colors are used to great and sometimes subtle effect.  It is a huge sonic tapestry and the  lush and full sound are the result of the skills of sound engineer Zhang Xiao’an.

It is important to note that this disc does not have an experimental feel but rather utilizes a range of compositional devices whose end result leans toward an easily digestible experience which successfully avoids bland populism while creating a lucid musical experience.  It is music that would doubtless be welcomed in most orchestral programs and contains great depths of invention and descriptive power.  It is grand and perhaps cinematic in scope as are the best works in the tone poem genre.

American Muse, American Master: Steven Stucky on BMOP


BMOP 1050

Steven Stucky (1949-2016) was sadly taken from the world too soon.  But we can rejoice in this wonderful new disc of (mostly) first recordings of some of his wonderful orchestral music and songs.  Boston Modern Orchestra Project adds another entry to their growing discography of must hear American music with this beautiful recording.

Three works are featured, Rhapsodies (2008), American Muse (1999), and Concerto for Orchestra (No. 1, 1987).  Only one, American Muse has been recorded (on Albany Records) before and all are worthy selections from the composer’s ample catalog.

Rhapsodies, the most recent work, is also the shortest at just over 8 minutes.  It was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony and is for large orchestra and sounds as though it could serve as a movement in another Concerto for Orchestra.  Stucky, who was an expert on the music of Witold Lutosławski (1913-1994), was a master orchestrator as was Lutosławski though Stucky’s style is distinctly different reflecting a sort of friendly romantic modernism with serious virtuosity.  This little gem gives the orchestra and, no doubt, the conductor, a run for their money in this virtuosic and highly entertaining little sonic gem.  It was premiered in 2008 under Lorin Maazel.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic commission, American Muse was written with the fine baritone Sanford Sylvan in mind.  It is a four song cycle setting poems by John Berryman, e.e. cummings, A.R. Ammons, and Walt Whitman and was premiered in 1999 under Esa-Pekka Salonen.  Sylvan is a very fine interpreter of American music and first won this reviewer’s heart with his rendition of John Adams’ The Wound Dresser (also a Whitman setting).  One should never miss an opportunity to hear Sylvan’s work.

Again we are treated to Stucky’s acute and subtle sense of orchestration which works with the poetry unobtrusively paralleling the words with the musical accompaniment and seemingly creating its own poetry in sound. Sylvan is in fine voice and seems to be enjoying his performance, a very satisfying experience.

The inclusion of Stucky’s first Concerto for Orchestra which was commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra and premiered in 1988 (under Ricardo Muti) will satisfy fans of this composer’s work as it provides an opportunity to hear “the one that got away” so to speak.  It was the runner up for the Pulitzer Prize which he would later win for his Second Concerto for Orchestra (2003) in 2005.

In it’s three movements Stucky is clearly the master of his realm and creates a wonderful listening experience.  His sense of drama and emotion are stunning and serve to underscore the dimension of what the world has lost in his passing.  But it is time to leave sorrow aside and let the music speak and thus provide the composer with a dimension of immortality.

As usual the performance and recording are impeccable and Gil Rose continues to record wonderful music that deserves more frequent hearings and does honor to the memory of a cherished artist.  Now can a recording of Stucky’s 2012 Symphony be far behind?  Let’s hope so.

Grand Celebrations of Finnish Culture


BIS- 9048 SACD

The choice of repertoire, performers, and the quality of their recordings make any BIS records release worthy of attention.  This two disc set is a fine example.  Three major choral/orchestral works which celebrate the justly proud Finnish culture are given very fine performances in this live recording from 2016.

The earliest work, Jean Sibelius’ Kullervo Op. 7 (1892) is one of the less recognized masterpieces by Finland’s best known composer.  Based on the Finnish national epic, The Kalevala, this massive symphony has acquired a bit of its own mythology.  Though several recordings of this work now exist the world world premiere recording by the late Paavo Berglund (1929-2012) from the early 1970s brought this neglected masterpiece to a larger listening audience.  The intelligent liner notes by Andrew Barnett (and Olli Kortekangas) document and dispel the myths that Sibelius suppressed all or portions of this work which was premiered in 1892 yet had to wait until after the composer’s death in 1957 to receive its first twentieth century performance.  

In fact it seems more likely that the large forces required along with programmers’ preference for the composer’s later masterpieces were responsible for the unfortunate neglect of the present work.  It was the more romantically inclined myth of mysterious oppression that greeted Berglund’s triumphant premiere recording and this reviewer recalls being both charmed and intrigued by it.  Whatever the story the music is now a recognized early triumph by its creator and it is given a gorgeous reading by Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä, (principal conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra which plays powerfully and definitively.

So why a second disc?  Well, Maestro Vänskä saw fit to commission a new work by contemporary Finnish composer Olli Kortekangas to serve as a companion piece to Kullervo and, then include a version with chorus of Sibelius’ best known work, Finlandia.  Together these three works would very satisfyingly fill an entire concert program.

Olli Kortekangas (1955- ) chose poetry by Finnish-American poet Sheila Packa and composed a 7 movement work (three are interludes for orchestra alone) in celebration of the 150th anniversary of modern Finnish migration to the United States.  The work, Migration (2014), is similar in orchestration with its use of male chorus and two soloists backed by a large orchestra.  The composer’s style is a sort of 21st century romantic style with tasteful modern touches.  

The focus of this fine new work is an affirmation of Finnish culture and its impact on the United States.  It seems both fitting and satisfying then that this program conclude with the landmark work of Finnish pride and nationalism, Sibelius’ best known work, Finlandia (1899).  But rather than just another reading of this classic of the concert hall  Vänskä chooses to do a version with chorus.  This was not the composer’s original intent but this version fits remarkably well in the context of this album.  

This is a very enjoyable album, well conceived and executed in every way.  Soloists Lilli Paasikivi and Tommi Hakala sing their roles with skill and passion as does the YL Male Voice Choir.  The applause track at the end of the Finlandia performance echoed the emotional experience of this reviewer and will likely do so for anyone who chooses to avail themselves of this fine example of recording art.

Words Fail and Music Succeeds: Violinist Yevgeny Kutik


Marquis 774718147721

Politics requires words and indeed fails at times but music very much succeeds in this fine recording.  This charming collection organized loosely around songs without words is the third album by this emerging artist.

The music is largely 20th to 21st century (if you count the date of the transcriptions) but the sound and mood of the album ranges from the romanticism of Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky, the post-romantic Mahler, to the neo-classicism of Prokofiev and a dash of modernism from Messiaen, Gandolfi, Andres, and Auerbach.  No words, no politics, just some really beautiful music.

There are 14 tracks of which the Mendelssohn and the Mahler will be the most familiar to listeners.  What is interesting here is a certain unity in these seemingly disparate works which range over nearly 200 years of compositional invention.  In fact this recital program strongly resembles in spirit the justly popular programs of Jascha Heifetz and his acolytes.  That is to say that this is at heart a romantic recital program sure to please any aficionado of the violin and piano genre.

Two of the tracks, those by Michael Gandolfi and Lera Auerbach are for solo violin.  The unaccompanied violin repertoire best represented by J.S. Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas is a relatively small one and one fraught with difficulties for composers as well as performers.  Fear not though, these pieces are well wrought and represent significant contributions to the solo violin literature.

The Gandolfi (1956- ) Arioso doloroso/Ecstatico (2016) was commissioned by Mr. Kutik and this is the world premiere recording.  The composer utilizes a basically romantic sounding style with clear references to Bach at moments to create a very satisfying piece imbued with depth but eminently listenable.  Gandolfi’s eclectic oeuvre is by itself worthy of further exploration.

Lera Auerbach’s (1973- ) T’Filah (2015) is a reverent (though not excessively somber) prayer written in memory of the victims of the Nazi holocaust.  Auerbach shares some Russian roots with the soloist and this brief composition will leave most listeners wanting to hear more from this fine and prolific composer.

Timo Andrés (1985- ) plays the piano on the eponymous track Words fail (2015), the second of the two works commissioned by Kutik and premiered on this disc.  He is a skilled composer using a wide variety of compositional and instrumental techniques (which he mentions in his liner notes) to create a sort of modern song without words that fits so well in this program.  Andrés is certainly among the rising stars both as composer and performer.

One should definitely pay attention to the fine work of Kutik’s accompanist John Novacek whose precision and interpretive skill so well compliment the soloist.  The art of the accompanist shines very clearly here.

Overall a great recital disc from a soloist from whom we will doubtless continue to hear great things.

Captain Kirk and the Buddha Speak Esperanto: Other Minds 22 Commemmorates Lou Silver Harrison at 100


Esperanto is a constructed language brought into being in an 1887 book by a Polish-Jewish doctor by the name of L. L. Zamenhof (1861-1917).  This constructed language was intended in part as an intellectual exercise which might contribute to greater international discourse and perhaps understanding.  He outlined his intentions as follows:

  1. “To render the study of the language so easy as to make its acquisition mere play to the learner.”
  2. “To enable the learner to make direct use of his knowledge with persons of any nationality, whether the language be universally accepted or not; in other words, the language is to be directly a means of international communication.”
  3. “To find some means of overcoming the natural indifference of mankind, and disposing them, in the quickest manner possible, and en masse, to learn and use the proposed language as a living one, and not only in last extremities, and with the key at hand.

Esperanto did gain a great deal of popularity and there are still adherents today (an estimated 2 million people worldwide).  Lou Harrison was one of the users of this language (users are known as “Esperantists”).

L. L. Zamenhof (1859-1917)

In 1966 a horror film, “Incubus”, written and directed by Leslie Stevens (of Outer Limits fame) was released starring the just pre-Star Trek William Shatner.  Once thought lost, this film was restored from a copy found in a French film library.  It was only the second (and apparently last) feature film done entirely in Esperanto (the first being the 1964 French production, “Angoroj” or Agonies).  It was thought that the use of Esperanto would add a mysterious dimension to the production though detractors challenged the actors’ ability to properly pronounce the dialogue.  A link to a Shatner scene is here.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=accFmyaOj7o

And if you want to sit through the entire film (definitely a cult film experience) you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHUfHj2lTaM

Curiously 1917, the year of Dr. Zamenhof’s death, is also the birth year of Lou Harrison, the principal subject of this essay.  This patriarch of 20th century modernism was a composer, conductor, musicologist, performer, teacher, dancer, calligrapher, and Esperantist.  He used Esperanto to title many of his works and set some Esperanto texts to music.

Lou Silver Harrison

And the Buddha Becomes an Esperantist

In his masterful big composition, La Koro Sutro (1972) translated portions of the text of the Buddhist Heart Sutra (into Esperanto) are set for mixed chorus and American Gamelan.  Gamelan is an Indonesian mostly percussion orchestra which Harrison studied extensively following the example of pioneering Canadian ethnomusicologist and composer Colin McPhee (1900-1964).

Gamelan was first introduced to western audiences at the 1889 Paris World’s Fair where composers such as Claude Debussy and Erik Satie heard the instruments and later incorporated some of those sounds in their music.  (That Gamelan now resides in Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History.) Harrison’s life partner Bill Colvig, an instrument maker, constructed a percussion ensemble which they called the American Gamelan to differentiate it from the traditional Indonesian ensemble.  The American Gamelan, consisting of five percussion instruments (augmented with organ, harp, and chorus) was first used in the cantata La Koro Sutro.

Harriso (left) with Bill Colvig

This composition is very much a synthesis of the composer’s musical and philosophical ideas.  Harrison was an avowed pacifist and the Heart Sutra is a key Buddhist scripture which supports introspection and non-violence.  Here he uses his expertise as an esperantist, his knowledge of Indonesian as well as western classical music to create one of his largest and finest works.

Lou Harrison with Charles Amirkhanian (curator of this concert series) in 1966

It is a testament to Harrison’s influence that this is the fourth performance of La Koro Sutro in the Bay Area.  It was written for an Esperanto conference in Seattle in 1972 with a translation by fellow esperantist Bruce Kennedy and was premiered that same year at Lone Mountain College  in San Francisco (now part of the University of San Francisco).  Additional performances (available on You Tube) were staged in Berkeley in 1973 and again in 2012.  This is truly an American masterpiece as well as a prayer for our times.

The performances will take place in the Mission San Francisco de Asís Basilica, better known as Mission Dolores.  The mission was founded in 1776 and the still active small adobe church next to the Basilica, built in 1791, is the oldest surviving building in San Francisco.  The much larger Basilica next to the adobe church (and the actual location of said concert) was dedicated in 1918.

Interior of the historic Mission Dolores Basilica

For the record, a Basilica is a reference to both architectural and spiritual aspects of any church so designated.  In the Catholic Church a Basilica is a pilgrimage site, a place to which the faithful travel in a spiritual quest.  I don’t believe it is too much of a stretch to view this event as a musico-spiritual pilgrimage open to all ears and minds, and hearts.  You won’t come out speaking Esperanto but you will never forget what you’ve heard.
The program will include:


Threnody for Oliver Daniel for harp (1990) 

Suite for Cello & Harp (1948)

Meredith Clark, harp

Emil Miland, cello

Pedal Sonata for Organ (1987/1989) Praises for Michael the Archangel (1946-47)

Jerome Lenk, organ

Suite for Violin & American Gamelan (1974, composed with Richard Dee) 

Shalini Vijayan, violin

William Winant Percussion Group

La Koro Sutro (The Heart Sutra, 1972)

For large mixed chorus, organ, harp, and American Gamelan

The Mission Dolores Choir, Resound, Jerome Lenk, organ, Meredith Clark, harp, and the William Winant Percussion Group conducted by Nicole Paiement.
Saturday, May 20, 2017- 7:30 p.m. 

Mission Dolores Basilica

3321 16th St.

San Francisco, CA
The very affordable tickets ($12-$20) are available at:

http://om22concerttwo.brownpapertickets.com/

Revido tie. (See you there.)