Trios for Deep Voices
Christopher Roberts
Cold Blue Records
1. Hornbills
2. Around the Hearth
3. Kon Burunemo
4. Flying
5. Mesto
Christopher Roberts, Mark Morton, and James Bergman: double basses
The CD note provided by the composer tells you everything you need to know:
“In 1981, I ran off to the jungles of Papua New Guinea to study the natural prosody of music. I lived with the people of the Star Mountains and introduced them to my double bass, while they introduced me to their songs. I took part in drumbeat initiations and listened to the sound of hornbills in flight. I was overwhelmed. I had a dream in which I moved my bow across the strings of the bass in an entirely new way that recreated the drums, and the hornbills’ wings, and the voices of the people whose every song tells a story.”After that quote, and the obligatory produced/recorded/legalese stuff, the only other insights you get into these pieces (movements?) are the plentiful pictures of the aforementioned jungles. Some composers want the listener to know their set permutations. Christopher Roberts, on the other and more affective hand, gives us a dream and 14,000 words (in picture form) that explain every iota of this fabulous recording.It is never addressed if these five tracks are movements of one larger piece or separate trios as the CD title indicates. While each track works well on its own and has its own shape and life, I have a hard time imagining one separated from the others. Melodic fragments reappear throughout the five movements which lends a gratifying cyclic form to the whole disc. These fragments are convincing whenever they appear and never sound forced. The music, the culture, the performances, everything blends together into a single construct.
The music itself is quasi-minimalist, keen on repetition instead of development. The emotive ideas behind each movement is clearly communicated and fluidly performed. The three double basses never for a moment sound heavy and cumbersome. There is a lot of air, life, and breath to the music and the playing. Roberts is also adept at managing textures and energy flow. You can easily hear his success at creating his “entirely new way” of playing. The playing might not be new but he clearly achieves his intent and it is a joy to hear.
And yes, he really did lug his double bass through the jungles of Papua New Guinea. Can’t imagine doing that myself, but I found myself ruminating upon that notion a lot while listening. I think the end result was worth the effort!
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