CD Reviews

Moment

David Bennett Thomas

rarescale

rarescale records 003

If one takes the title of this disc to heart and interprets it as a series of moments, connected less by an adherence to orthodox structures and more by an intuitive compositional approach, one is impressed by how well it functions as a whole. This cohesiveness owes much to rarescale, the ensemble that performs the eight pieces included here. With some decidedly uncommon instrumentation grouped in combinations as rare as the moniker suggests, rarescale have a sound all their own, and David Bennett Thomas has composed some beautiful chamber works for them to perform.

There’s an undercurrent of unconventional soundmaking throughout the disc that reaches beyond rarescale’s commitment to promoting the alto and bass flutes. For example, Thomas asks the performers to blow into tuned wine bottles (Recalled to Life), play inside the piano (Elegy for Tu Fu), and imitate bird calls a la Messiaen (Short Suite). This is not obtrusive experimentation, but is worth mention given the approachability of the music. The presence of bass flute and bass clarinet gives some of the works a decidedly darker quality; the duo Moment sets the two instruments on paths that are closely aligned rhythmically and harmonically, making for a bewildering and fascinating listening experience. With Edifice for bass clarinet and piano, one is struck by both Thomas’s unique musical language and the expressiveness with which the work is performed.

A jazz pianist, Thomas brings both spontaneity and an awareness of jazz harmony to his concert music. The latter is especially apparent on Evocations, a work with particularly impressive piano writing. Sketches for Flute and Guitar finds another traditionally chordal instrument treated as one of two melodic voices on equal standing.

Donald Chittum’s impressive liner notes give the attention, thorough analysis, and sense of pure enjoyment that a recording like this one merits. The disc is a success both for Thomas and for rarescale flutist and founder Carla Rees, who is featured on the solo flute piece Steeples in My Soul. One could not make a stronger case for the alto and bass flutes than the one Rees makes on this disc.

David Bennett Thomas: Songs of Seasons
David Bennett Thomas
The Gregg Smith Singers
Thomas Schmidt, Piano
Capstone Records CPS-8791

The rewarding vocal works on Songs of Seasons provide yet more evidence  that David Bennett Thomas is a composer who is capable of virtuoso writing,  but  opts to keep  unnecessary flashiness reined  in for a deeper, more thoughtful approach. The Gregg Smith  Singers lend great feeling and technical precision to Thomas’s music,  while pianist Thomas Schmidt handles his role with warmth and dexterity.

Beginning with the  serenely beautiful  harmonies of O Magnum Mysterium for mixed chorus, the disc remains consistently engrossing. In Songs of Seasons for mixed chorus and piano, Thomas lets  Kim Rich’s  texts determine the path of the music,  and  the resulting work vividly captures the respective character of each month. Similarly,  in The Dawning for men’s chorus, the profound verses of seventeenth-century poet George Herbert guide Thomas’s musical choices: the alternation between homophony and polyphony  is dictated by the emotional content of Herbert’s words.

A setting of excerpts from three  of the Psalms for baritone and piano is  a  major highlight  of the disc. Jared Stamm offers soulful readings of Thomas’s strong melodies as Schmidt  traverses intriguing harmonic territory.
 
The disc closes with WARSONG, an emotionally complex piece for soprano (Eileen Clark), mezzo-soprano (Megan Friar), and piano. Given the current state of global affairs and the contemporary American artist’s typical stance on war, the emphatic title (capital letters and all) may lead listeners to expect an angry rant against bureaucracy. But Thomas has  chosen to render three poems by Walt Whitman that are not inherently opposed to war, but  convey  the  respectful mourning that follows in its wake. In an  era of urgent political invective,  such a sentiment is perhaps the one most conducive to peace.
 
Donald Chittum’s detailed liner notes offer theoretical insights into the music, as well as the composer’s own thoughts on some of the verses that inspired these works. As Chittum suggests, Thomas’s choice of texts, and his musical interpretations of them, are reflections of his spiritual depth and consummate sincerity.