for Lou Harrison John Luther Adams New World Records 80669-2 In addition to the wonderful body of work he contributed, Lou Harrison left behind an important aesthetic legacy which has emboldened countless contemporary American composers. In the wake of polemical wars about compositional style, Harrison advocated individuality over orthodoxy. He suggested it was once again permissible, even fashionable, to revel in the sensuousness and beauty of sound. But Harrison’s music was in no way fluffy or easy-going; his compositions are well-crafted and thoughtfully considered as well as beautiful. Thirty years of close association with Harrison left Alaskan composer John Luther Adams eminently qualified to provide him with a suitable musical valediction. Rather than making an overt homage to Harrison’s considerable contributions to Western gamelan orchestras, Adams decided to score for Lou Harrison for string quartet, chamber string orchestra, and pianos. With this ensemble, Luther Adams subtly pays tribute with gong-like piano chords, a lush, often modal pitch field, and slowly evolving patterns that indeed revel in the sensuousness of the resultant sounds. An hour-long piece that drifts by in timeless fashion, for Lou Harrison is not only an affectionate tribute: it’s a glorious-sounding work. Stephen Drury and the New England Conservatory’s Calithumpian Consort deserve high praise for their exquisitely paced, well-delivered performance.
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