Contemporary Classical

James Primosch in memoriam

James Primosch, a dear friend and colleague of mine and one of the finest composers of his generation, passed away on April 26, 2021 at age 64, from complications of pancreatic cancer.

Jim was born in 1956 in Cleveland, OH. He studied at Cleveland State University, the University of Pennsylvania (where he joined the composition faculty in 1988), and Columbia University. His principal teachers included Mario Davidovsky, George Crumb, and Richard Wernick. Among the many awards and honors Jim garnered over the years are prizes from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Stoeger Prize of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and a fellowship to the Tanglewood Music Center, where he studied with John Harbison. Most recently he was the recipient of yet another prestigious honor from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the 2020 Virgil Thomson Award in Vocal Music.

I first met Jim in 1982, when I arrived at Columbia University to begin my doctoral studies. He was one of the first people I met in New York City. He was working in the office of the Dean of the School of the Arts, under the auspices of which the DMA program in composition operated. Jim was very welcoming and helpful as I strove to get my bearings in my new surroundings. I remember us going to many concerts and listening to a lot of music together, along with our other colleagues, and discussing what we were writing and hearing. Jim’s music already was extremely impressive and very technically assured, as well as colorful, vivid, and dramatic. At that time, like many of us at Columbia in those days, he was absorbing the best of the modernist tradition, including the works of Martino, Carter, and Berio, as well as the innovations in electronic music of our teacher Davidovsky, and he already was producing mature works such as Icons, for clarinet, piano, and electronic sounds, that demonstrated how well he was assimilating these influences and yet bringing the strength of his own personality to bear. The music of Mahler was an important early influence for Jim, as it had been for his previous mentor, George Crumb, and like Crumb, Jim was beginning to find his way toward a synthesis of seemingly disparate musical elements. Two things were crucial to this stage of his growth: first, and I believe most importantly, was his grounding in his Catholic faith, described by his friend, colleague and one-time teacher John Harbison, as “very strong and yet questioning.” Many of Jim’s earliest musical experiences were in the church, where he played for masses as a young teenager, and later wrote congregational music for worship communities of which he was a part for the rest of his life.

This led to the second crucial thing: through his love of (and excellent taste in) poetry, particularly that of a devotional nature — George Herbert, John Donne, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Denise Levertov, Annie Dillard — he fully developed the lyrical side of his art. Though he did not initially think of himself as a composer of vocal music, he became a consummate writer of songs and choral works, as he set the poetry that meant so much to him — indeed, that fed him as an artist. He wrote very sophisticated music for some of the best professional singers and instrumentalists, but never lost touch with the simpler yet no less profound experiences he had with congregational singing and corporate worship.

And that lyricism remained even when he was composing purely instrumental works with no obvious extramusical elements. One of my favorite examples is his Piano Quintet from 1996, which he performed and recorded with the Cavani String Quartet. To me this illustrates perfectly how all the influences that shaped his musical language not only coexist but cohere: the spikiness of his early explorations of modernism in the first movement; the light and limpid scherzo, with its rhythmic suppleness and a harmonic language that subtly and seamlessly ­begins to move towards a more tonal orientation; and the rhapsodic variations of “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child,” which make explicit another element I have not yet mentioned: Jim’s love of playing and listening to jazz. Even in the more angular idioms of the first two movements, there are hints of jazz already latent in the harmony. The “Allegro Shuffle” finale makes this even more overt in the most delightful manner: it captures Jim’s often sly (but just as often gentle) sense of humor.

Two of his finest recent works for chorus, Mass for the Day of St. Thomas Didymus, essentially a troped mass setting that interweaves Denise Levertov’s poetry with the traditional Greek and Latin texts of the Ordinary, and Carthage, with words by Marilynne Robinson, were written for and premiered by The Crossing, an amazing Philadelphia-based professional choral ensemble conducted by Donald Nally. The music and the ensemble seem truly made for each other. Jim achieved in these two works a degree of freedom of movement as a composer that can only be had by dint of years of preparation and honing of technique. The virtuosity of the compositions and that of the performances are perfectly matched, and Jim’s harmonic and melodic invention take flight as they were meant to.

Jim was an extraordinary composer, teacher, and pianist, a keen and articulate observer and writer, and an extraordinarily generous colleague. He was one of the finest composers I’ve ever known or ever hope to know, and a wonderful friend. Some of the best times I had with him were at dinners in Manhattan, usually before a concert. The last of those was in January of 2020, at Il Violino, a favorite restaurant of his. He was about to go to the Metropolitan Opera to see the latest production of Wozzeck. I’m so grateful we got to have that dinner (and all the ones that preceded it). On the day that he died (though I didn’t know he was gone until the day after), it was my honor to present some of his music in my Undergraduate Form and Analysis course at Manhattan School of Music (something I’d planned to do for a while), including the Piano Quintet and Carthage. It made me happy to introduce his work to a group of younger composers who were not familiar with it, and as I thought and hoped they might, they responded to the honesty, commitment to excellence, and integrity his music exemplifies.

He truly believed in and embodied the words of his teacher George Crumb: “Music might be defined as a system of proportions in the service of a spiritual impulse.” Rest well, Jim.

by Hayes Biggs
CD Review, Chamber Music, Contemporary Classical

Kenneth Kirschner, Joseph Branciforte – From the Machine Vol. 1

The {greyfade} recording label has recently released From the Machine Vol. 1, a new digital and vinyl album of contemporary music composed entirely by software employing “…algorithmic processes, generative systems and indetermancy.” A collaboration between Kenneth Kirschner and Joseph Branciforte, the two tracks of this album were composed by computer but performed by conventional acoustic ensembles. This combination of digital composition and traditional performance brings the human touch to music that would otherwise be realized by strictly electronic means. From the Machine Vol. 1 attempts to join the creative efforts of computer-based composition with expressive performance by skilled musicians.

Kenneth Kirschner’s April 20, 2015 is the first track on the album and this was originally intended as a purely electronic piece. Starting with acoustic piano and string audio files, the end result was created by applying digital processing techniques such as time stretching, looping and recombination. Joseph Branciforte then tediously worked out a conventionally notated score for Kirschner’s composition so that it could be performed and recorded by an acoustic ensemble. Pianist Jade Conlee along with cellists Mariel Roberts and Meaghan Burke accepted the challenge of playing this piece characterized by independent lines and no formal rhythmic structure. The result is far more successful than might be expected.

April 20, 2015 opens with a series of light, solitary notes in the piano joined by legato notes in the cellos. The contrast between the warm cello tones and sharper piano notes makes for a lovely mix of sounds. There is no phrasing present, but the sequences of two or three notes from each instrument provide a surprisingly coherent sensibility. This piece could easily sound cold or mechanical, but the eloquent intonation and careful articulation by the players adds a level of warmth and expression that is very effective. The piece proceeds in sections of about three minutes each separated by short silences. The form is consistent but the colors vary – sometimes darker and sometimes lighter – depending on the tempo and the register of the moment. Despite the lack of a structural framework, April 20, 2015 always engages and never becomes bland or boring.

The playing throughout is exceptional, given the independent lines and absence of any common rhythmic structure. Listening to this is like looking at a painting comprised of a number of unrelated squiggles that are clearly abstract, yet perceived by the brain as a cohesive image. April 20, 2015 has managed to fuse digital precision and possibility with the eloquence of artful human performance.

The second track on the album is 0123, by Joseph Branciforte and this piece takes an entirely different approach. Based on a four note pitch set, 0123 consists of sequence of tone clusters that form a series of chromatic tutti chords. Each chord sounds for a second or two, and the different combinations of notes in various registers propel the piece forward with a kind of elementary voice leading. According to the liner notes, all of this was created using the Max/MSP programming environment such that “…the underlying algorithm derives the complete harmonic vocabulary of (0123) playable by a given set of instruments…” The idea here is similar to Tom Johnson’s The Chord Catalogue (1986), a piece in which all 8178 chords in a single octave are sounded on a piano. Another recent CD along these lines is Involution, by Dave Sidel, that methodically explores the harmonic possibilities of alternate tuning scales.

This performance of 0123 by a string ensemble allows for more nuance in the playing, even as the rhythm, tempo and dynamics are all included in the compositional algorithm. 0123 was performed by violinist Tom Chiu of the Flux Quartet, violist Wendy Richman, International Contemporary Ensemble, cellist Christopher Gross, Talea Ensemble and double bassist Greg Chudzik, also of the Talea Ensemble. The artful playing by this extraordinary quartet adds an expressive dimension that would otherwise be absent in a purely electronic realization.

0123 opens with low, rumbling chords and the bottom-heavy registers of the quartet add a pleasing weight to the sound. The opening is a bit like hearing a train horn – impressive and dignified. As the chords proceed, some dissonance adds a bit of tension and uncertainty, although never intimidating or menacing. Even the higher strings are playing in their lowest registers, adding to an overall dark and mysterious feel. The ensemble is so tightly cohesive that the sound sometimes resembles that of a pipe organ. There is no melody or rhythmic structure – as each chord is presented it is allowed to express its own personality. Great emotion can be heard in these chords, with no trace of their algorithmic origins.

As the piece continues, the dynamics increase in all voices and a certain amount of tension builds. The chords become shorter, then longer and there is a stronger dissonance in the higher tones. The warm sounds of the cello and double bass are never dominated by the higher strings, and this provides a solid, welcoming foundation against the encroaching tension. The predominance of the lower strings in the scoring is so distinctive and effective that one wonders why it is only rarely heard. A gradual crescendo of sustained chords completes this 19 minute piece. 0123 is a fine example of simplicity, digital rigor and masterful string playing that combine to uncover the deep emotional implications present in clean, uncluttered chords.

From the Machine Vol. 1 is a step forward in the ongoing project of joining computer-based composition to the virtuosity of human performance. Hopefully there will be more to come.

From the Machine Vol. 1 is available directly from {greyfade} in vinyl or as a digital download.

by Paul Muller
CD Review, Contemporary Classical, File Under?

Moonbow (CD Review)

Gunnar Andreas Kristinsson

Moonbow

Sono Luminus CD

Caput Ensemble

 

Icelandic composer Gunnar Andreas Kristinsson’s second CD, Moonbow, presents a  selection of pieces written during the past decade for sinfonietta and chamber forces. Clarinetist Ingólfur Vilhjálmsson joins Caput Ensemble, conducted by Guðni Franzson, in Sisyphos. Written in 2014, this is the composer’s most acclaimed piece, and one can readily hear why. Based on the mythological tale of the title character ceaselessly rolling a boulder up a hill as punishment in Hades, the concerto features eruptive outbursts, virtuoso solo turns, a middle section of minimal repetitions, and a closing danse macabre.

 

Patterns IIb, for violin, bass clarinet, and percussion (mostly mallets) is a set of variations on the Icelandic folksong “Fagurt er í Fjörðum” providing a further exploration of ostinato. Kristinsson adopts the patterning of minimalism, but uses a collection of semitones to construct a chromatic pitch structure that prioritizes semitones. Passacaglia B is a trio for bass clarinet, harp, and percussion, the bass melody traded between all the instruments – the percussion once again featuring mallets – and overlaid with differently paced repeating melodic patterns in the alto and treble registers. The passacaglia itself infiltrates the upper register at times, leaving the bass clarinet to take up a scurrying low register melody.

 

The Siggi String Quartet have been stalwart advocates of Icelandic composers, and their performance of the CD’s title work is no exception. Moonbow refers to a lunar or “white” rainbow. Sustained cello melodies ground syncopated upward directed repeating phrases. Again, there is a confluence of chromaticism and minimalism distinctive in its deployment. A poignant slow section arrives near the end of the piece, with yearning melodies offset by pizzicatos. This proves to be an interlude rather than a coda, as the patterned passages return, now juxtaposed against the plucked strings. The dynamic and intensity build to a double-time, but harmonically unresolved, finish.

 

Roots is a three movement ensemble work based on spectralism. The “roots” in question are fundamentals of the overtone series. The first movement uses only one series, the second movement uses multiple series that shift into and out of focus. In the final movement, melodies are crafted from the upper partials of the series, with microtonal shadings used to better replicate their tunings. This is a well trod, but durable, version of microtonality, and it provides a contrasting approach to the other pieces on the CD, one that Kristinsson might profitably further examine. Moonbow demonstrates consummate craftsmanship in winning performances. Recommended.

  • Christian Carey

 

 

by Christian Carey
CD Review, Contemporary Classical, Microtonalism

Peter Thoegersen – Facebook: What’s On Your Mind?

Flea Records has released a new CD of vocal music by Peter Thoegersen titled Facebook: What’s On Your Mind? The album is a microtonal song cycle consisting of twelve short cantos sung by mezzo-soprano Lore Lixenberg, accompanied by synthesized piano. Peter Thoegersen is a pioneering composer known for the use of multiple tempi and alternate tuning simultaneously in his works. Ms. Lixenberg is an accomplished vocalist who has performed music by composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, Pauline Oliveros and Phil Niblock, among others. The texts for the song cycle are drawn from Facebook postings by the composer between 2016 and 2020. Facebook: What’s On Your Mind? is an unflinching look at social media in an age of anxiety, powerfully expressed in contemporary microtonal music. To forget your pain you can taste music but not the alcohol as it can lead to alcohol addiction. Even if music cannot heal your anxiety, then visit rehabilitation centers near you to get rid off anxiety and stress.

We all have that Facebook friend who is perfectly polite and sociable in person, but suddenly loses all restraint when posting online. Full disclosure – Peter Thoegersen lived for a time in my town and we would occasionally meet for coffee or attend concerts together in Los Angeles. Peter was always good company in person, but online – and especially during the last four culturally difficult years – his frustrations and inner demons would sometimes get loose and overwhelm any sense of digital decorum. You generally had to be unfriended by Peter at least twice to know that he cared about you and he often disappeared from Facebook for a time, only to reappear in a new, sanitized profile. Facebook: What’s On Your Mind? is an attempt to express this experience through music while, as Thoegersen has written in the liner notes, “…demonstrating the whimsical nature of instant world communications and unbridled bad taste.”

The twelve Cantos of the song cycle each have their own tuning scheme starting with Canto I with 13 tet. Each successive canto increases the divisions of the octave by 1: Canto II is in 14 tet, Canto III 15 tet, etc. The notes at the beginning of the score give a detailed pitch list for each tuning and the deviation of each note, in cents, from the conventional 12 tone equal tempered scale with A at 440 Hz. The rhythmic meter of the cantos varies, from conventional 4/4 to the more exotic 11/4, 24/16, 7/32 and others. The phrasing in the piano is often rapid and generally independent of the vocal line. The piano accompaniment on this CD is synthesized, but the tuning schemes are intended to be programmed into a suitable keyboard to enable live performance.

The vocal parts are even more challenging, given the multiple tuning, exotic meters and performance instructions on the score such as ‘throat overtone singing’, ‘nasal multiphonics’, ‘near scream but maintain pitch’, ‘Severe Ululation–machine gun’ and the like. The score is presented to the singer in conventional notation with the pitch variances for the tuning given in cents above the note. The dynamics also vary widely from a near whisper to actual shouting and the vocal styles can change quickly from a sweet bel canto to frantic screaming. The recording and mixing by Ian Hansen is exceptional given the challenges. Ms. Lixenberg’s performance of Facebook: What’s On Your Mind? can only be described as heroic.

The general form of each canto is similar – the piano sometimes provides a quiet introduction but more typically accompanies with a flurry of fast passages that surround the vocals with a surging wave of notes. The piano accompaniment is typically active and reminiscent of a baroque harpsichord. Often the voice strains expressively while the piano quietly adds to the anxiety with a dark undercurrent. Thoegersen tends to organize the piano phrasing rhythmically, and this provides some structure. The vocal and piano lines are independent, but they are always complimentary.

The subject matter of several of the cantos varies from whimsy to frustration. Canto II – I Am Cat God, is actively playful with a spectacular piano line, and ends with a quiet ‘meow’ from the voice. Canto IV – WheN I saY i HatE you is a cry for understanding in the Facebook world. The soprano screams, shrieks and shouts: “When I say I hate you, it doesn’t mean that I hate you…” This is accompanied by a marvelously anxious piano line that delivers great sheets of sound in support. Canto X – The More Likes You Get… is a commentary on the definition of Facebook popularity, only turned upside down. The soprano sings with a robust lyricism that “Acceptance is the focal point of mediocrity”, accompanied by a halting and questioning piano line. Almost in answer, Canto XI replies with the soprano yelling: “How many of you hate everything I say!” The singing here is strident – part music and part howl – with a repeating piano line that adds to the sense of vexation. It finishes with a vigorously shouted political comment: “Sending your sons to war for profit!”

All of the cantos are of consistently high musical quality, innovative and expertly performed. The texts of some of them, however, reflect a very deep sense of frustration and stray beyond the vulgar and into proper obscenity. The words are not always intelligible given the dramatic vocalizations, but the listener will be challenged at some point. This might be perceived as an editorial exclamation by some – or as an insult by others – and seems a needless risk taken by the composer. The music clearly conveys its many strong emotions, is carefully composed and in every way has been brilliantly performed. The Cantos need nothing further.

The first eleven tracks on the CD are short and punchy – less than 4 minutes each, with most only a minute or two in duration. The final track, Canto XII – Eleven Ad Libitum Live Facebook Cantos is just over 14 minutes and consists of eleven further pieces heard as a continuous sequence with short pauses between. This is fully scored for piano but the vocals are extemporaneous with the text drawn from various Facebook postings. This opens with a tentative piano intro followed by an unsteady entrance in the voice. The words here are political, specifically directed at Donald Trump at a time when his speeches caused much distress. There is the usual angry frustration in the words, with much yelling and shouting. As this proceeds, the singing becomes a mix of the operatic and the spoken, all with strong anti-authoritarian sentiments. The vocals often soar upward to a fine shriek, then suddenly switch down to a low, gravelly speech reminiscent of the witches in Macbeth. The piano supports this underneath with a Gothic lyricism, adding anxiety throughout. The music is similar in form to the other tracks on the CD, but text of this canto is focused and more overtly political. This reflects the heavy emotional turbulence of the Trump era and makes for a fitting finish to the album.

Artists and musicians everywhere are still processing the trauma of the last few years. Facebook: What’s On Your Mind? documents the deep emotional scars inflicted by the Trump era with this vigorous new recording of Thoegersen’s cutting-edge music.


Facebook: What’s On Your Mind? is available directly from Flea Records.

by Paul Muller
CD Review, Contemporary Classical, File Under?

Simple Music by Giya Kancheli

Giya Kancheli

Simple Music

Jenny Lin, piano; Guy Klucevsek, accordion

Steinway and Sons CD

 

Giya Kancheli died in 2019, leaving behind an imposing catalog that included a number of late large works for orchestra and chorus. The Georgian composer also wrote in a more intimate style, often for films and theater. These pursuits kept his work out of view of the censors of the Soviet era, so eager to hunt down modernist composers. Thirty-three of these pieces, ephemeral but attractive, are collected in Simple Music. Pianist Jenny Lin and accordionist Guy Klucevsek realize these works on a Steinway CD.

 

They are not the first to create a duo version of the pieces – another recording is for piano and cello. The accordion and piano create a cabaret ambience often heard in European cinema. Lin and Klucevsek are well matched musical partners. They allow gentle, jazzy, material like “Theme from ‘When Almonds Blossomed’” and “Theme from ‘Mimino’” to unfurl with lyricism, but without undue sentimentality. Jaunty selections like “Theme from Mother Courage and Her Children” and a “Rag-time from Richard III” are clever and instantly hummable. The pieces also reference a number of classical composers, Chopin, Johann Strauss, and Stravinsky among them. Kancheli had a distinctive voice of his own, but it is fascinating to hear him working in a milieu that encourages pastiche. Lin and Klucevsek explore Simple Music’s considerable charms with a sense of wonder and adventure.

 

-Christian Carey

 

by Christian Carey
CD Review, Contemporary Classical, File Under?, Minimalism, Orchestras

Louis Andriessen on Nonesuch (CD Review)

Louis Andriessen

The Only One

Nora Fischer, soprano

Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor

Nonesuch Records

 

Louis Andriessen is in poor health. The eighty-one year old composer finished his last work, May, in 2019. It received a belated premiere (sans audience due to the pandemic) in December 2020 by Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century and Cappella Amsterdam, conducted by Daniel Reuss (the linked broadcast of the piece starts forty-eight minutes in).

 

The Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, has released another of Andriessen’s final works, The Only One (2018), on a Nonesuch recording. It is a set of five orchestral songs, with an introduction and two interludes, for soprano soloist Nora Fischer. The texts are by Flemish poet Delphine Lecompte, who translated the ones used into English.

 

Fischer is a classically trained vocalist who is also adept in popular and cabaret styles. Her singing is abundantly expressive, ranging from Kurt Weill style recitation through honeyed lyricism to raspy screams. This is particularly well-suited both to the texts, which encompass a range of emotions, from rage to resignation, and to the abundantly varied resources Andriessen brings to bear. In The Only One, his inspiration remains undimmed; it is a finely wrought score. Much of it explores pathways through minimalism equally inspired by Stravinsky that have become his trademark. Andriessen is also well known for resisting composing for the classical orchestra for aesthetic reasons. Here he adds electric guitar and bass guitar and calls for a reduced string cohort, making the scoring like that used for a film orchestra. Harp and piano (doubling celesta) also play important roles. Esa-Pekka Salonen presents the correct approach to this hybrid instrumentation, foregrounding edgy attacks and adopting energetic tempos that banish any recourse to sentimentality.

 

“Early Bird” begins with birdsong, which morphs into a melody akin to cuckoo clock birds. Unlike Messiaen, the bird doesn’t indicate spiritual uplift, the song ends with the narrator abased by a humiliating situation. Memento mori are to be found frequently in both words and music, even a tongue in cheek rendition of the Dies Irae chant. Right alongside these are defiant retorts and much dance music. “Twist and Shame” is a (near) dodecaphonic dance. The bird call from “Early Bird” returns harmonically embellished in the final song, “Grown Up,” to signify a grotesque heron, part of a grim cast of characters that join in a waltz macabre. Afterwards, the piece closes simply with the words, “The grown-up that betrayed my inner child,” followed by eight quiet dissonant chords: the curtain falling irretrievably. As valedictions go, “The Only One” is an eloquent summary of a composer’s life and work.

 

-Christian Carey

 

by Christian Carey
Contemporary Classical, Los Angeles, Piano, Review

Video: Musical Interludes – The Vexations

The Pasadena Conservatory of Music has recently produced The Vexations, a new YouTube video that is an overview of the life of Erik Satie as based on the novel by Caitlin Horrocks. Part of the Conservatory’s Musical Interludes series, this video features narration by actress Jane Kaczmarek in the role of Satie’s sister Louise, along with Nic Gerpe and Kathryn Eames performing on the piano. Filmed in the warm acoustic of Monk Space with a credible staging of Belle Époque Paris, The Vexations is an appealing and accessible way to a greater understanding of the life of Satie and his music.

Although a product of the late 19th century, Satie is rightly esteemed by those who follow new music in the 21st century. His place in the Paris avant-garde along with Debussy, Georges Auric, Louis Durey, Arthur Honegger, Germaine Tailleferre, Francis Poulenc and Darius Milhaud put Satie in strong musical company and his influence prefigured the development of minimalism and ambient music decades later. His contacts extended into literary circles as well as visual artists such as Picasso, Georges Braque, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray and others. Financial success always seemed to elude Satie and he lived the iconic life of a poor artist, huddling in a rundown Paris flat. His centrality to the cultural currents in Paris at the turn of the 20th century and his colorful life make the story of Satie an excellent choice by the Pasadena Conservatory for a dramatic re-telling.

The Vexations opens in Satie’s darkened apartment after his death in 1925. Jane Kaczmarek as his sister Louise, quietly describes the clutter of the place: the composer’s collection of walking sticks, a stack of 86 handkerchiefs, six identical gray velvet suits, the battered piano and mountains of old newspapers. Ms. Kaczmarek sets the scene perfectly. The bare brick walls of Monk Space along and the dim lighting establishing at once the sense of eccentricity combined with poverty that marked Satie’s life. Louise describes how a copy of the score for Vexations is discovered inside a ruined grand piano that Satie had used as a sort of catch-all filing cabinet. The video cuts directly to what might be a cabaret after hours. A few minutes of Vexations is played by Nic Gerpe at the piano, marked by his customary sure touch. Louise then describes some of Satie’s early musical acquaintances and this is followed by Gnossiènne No. 1 (1893), and Debussy’s Estampes, “Pagodes”, both performed with great elegance by Kathryn Eames. This sets the pattern for the video: a narrative description of Satie’s life combined with appropriate musical interludes.

More history and music follow. Satie’s career as a long-time cabaret pianist is described by Louise and exemplified by Ragtime Parade, played by Kathryn Eames. His brief affair with artist’s model Suzanne Valadon is mentioned – Satie’s only love interest during a lifetime of confirmed bachelorhood. Nic Gerpe next plays Embryons desséchés, a trio of pieces about sea life, and dedicated to Ms. Valadon. An explanation of Satie’s idiosyncratic performance notes written on his scores is given by Louise, followed by the three movements of Sonatine bureaucratique, performed by Nic Gerpe at the piano. The sound quality in this video is excellent throughout, and the piano playing captures every nuance of the music.

An important historical perspective is given by Louise with a discussion of ‘Les Six’, a group of young composers who were attracted to Satie’s music later in his life. For Les Six, Satie’s music represented a return to practical simplicity and was a welcome counter to the heavy romanticism of the late 19th century. A generous series of musical examples from Les Six follows: Prélude by Georges Auric, Romance sans paroles by Louis Durey, Sarabande by Arthur Honegger, Mazurka by Darius Milhaud, Valse by Francis Poulenc and Pastorale by Germaine Tailleferre. All are expertly performed by Nic Gerpe and nicely illustrate how clearly Satie’s influence was felt.

The video concludes with Satie’s best known work Gymnopedie No. 1. Although written early in his career in 1888, Gymnopedie is the piece most associated with Erik Satie, and it perfectly captures the tranquil sensibility of late 19th century Europe before the horrors of the wars that were to come. The popularity of the piece has only increased with time, and fortunately did not spoil Satie’s independent outlook. Kathryn Eames plays Gymnopedie No. 1 with exactly the right languid restraint and careful articulation.

There is nothing more to add to the evaluation of Satie’s music – it belongs to the ages. The Vexations video is a carefully crafted vehicle that adds to the understanding of Satie’s life and increases the appreciation of his work. The combination of staging, narrative and music is perfectly proportioned to engage the listener so that the arc of Satie’s musical career is fully visible. With this excellent video, the Pasadena Conservatory has simultaneously enhanced its musical appreciation pedagogy and made Satie more accessible for the rest of us.

The Vexations may be freely viewed on YouTube.

by Paul Muller
CD Review, Contemporary Classical, File Under?

Marco Stroppa on Kairos (CD Review)

Marco Stroppa

Miniature Estrose – Primo Libro (1991-2003, revised 2009)

Erik Bertsch, piano

Kairos CD

 

Pianist Erik Bertsch’s debut recording for Kairos is of composer Marco Stroppa’s most highly regarded piano works, the first book of Miniature Estrose. Bertsch was the first pianist to perform it in its entirety in Italy. The overall arch of the complete cycle of piano pieces, including a second book, has been sketched but not yet released. Even its partial completion is an impressive hour long demonstration of the capabilities of the piano in the twenty-first century. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv7hy_QySsA

 

The first selection on the CD, Passacaglia canonica, in contrappunto policromatico, is dedicated to Pierre-Laurent Aimard, reminding one of the auspicious pianists who have undertaken Miniature Estrose. Bertsch more than holds his own, crafting a detailed and energetic rendition of the piece with clear counterpoint and clarion interjections. On Birichino, come un furetto, incisive repeated notes in all registers are wittily deployed to demonstrate the roguish ferret of the title. Moai features sustained chords against rapid repeating notes, trills, and dissonant dyad pairs. As the piece progresses, intricate arpeggiations unfurl amid an increasingly emphatic demeanor. 

 

Ninnananna is an exploration of repetition, but of a far more chromatic and embellished fashion than that of minimal music, concluding with enchanting bell-like timbres. Based on the Easter Island “bird-man” ritual, Tangata Manu is a varied creation, juxtaposing avian calls, ascending scales, insistently repeated notes, trills, inside-the-piano effects, and sustained bass sonorities. Innige Cavatina was written for Luciano Berio’s seventieth birthday. It is the piece most closely evoking the Romantic tradition, with bass octaves announcing dissonant verticals that are often echoed by enigmatically soft passages. The interplay of gestures in a wide dynamic range supplies the feeling of being aloft that is suggested by the composer’s description of the piece. 

 

The CD’s final work, Prologos: Anagnorisis I. Canones diversi ad consequendum, is also its most expansive. A prologue, five sets of cyclic canons, and an extended epilogue, Stroppa likens the piece both to the toccata genre and to the moment of climax, the recognition of truth, in a Greek tragedy. The composer is artful in his deployment of the venerable genre of canon amid a virtuosic, postmodern atmosphere. Bertsch’s strategic pacing of Anagnorisis reveals its intricate dramatic structure. This is also true on a larger level. The pianist does a masterful job of navigating the entirety of Book 1 with assured technique and clarity of expression. One presumes he will be one of the first to assay Book 2.

 

-Christian Carey

 

by Christian Carey
CD Review, Composers, Contemporary Classical, File Under?

Curtis K. Hughes – Video Premiere and CD Review

Tulpa

Curtis K. Hughes

New Focus Recordings

 

“Tulpa is a term appropriated by 20th century theosophists from Tibetan Buddhism to refer to a manifestation of a physical being generated purely by thought, sometimes also likened to an imaginary friend, a doppelgänger, or a shadow version of the self.”

 

  • Curtis K. Hughes

 

Curtis K. Hughes is Professor of Composition at Boston Conservatory. Tulpa is his second portrait CD and the programmed works span from 1995 to 2017. There is a consistency from the earliest to most recent works, with the principle change being an  ever more assured compositional voice and a major work in Tulpa, a 2017 piece for ensemble.

 

The program is designed with several miniatures between the larger works, serving as interludes. Flagrant (2008) is a snare drum solo. Despite the reduced means at his disposal, Hughes imaginatively deploys various techniques and an overall approach to strikes on the drum that bring out a number of colors in zesty gestures. This segues nicely into the percussion ensemble piece Antechamber (2015). Played by the Boston Percussion Group, the piece is both colorful and varied in gestural profile. Some parts adopt fulsome grooves, while others are pointillist, with seamless transitions between demeanors.

 

Lesson Plan (2007) is a piece for bass clarinet dedicated to Lee Hyla on his departure from Boston for Chicago. Since the composer’s untimely passing, it serves as an affectionate homage through various quotes and a buffo blues cast. Merger (2016), for two cellos, is one of the finest pieces here in terms of construction. Angular counterpoint and hockets between the instruments are offset by piquant harmonies.

 

Wingtones (2009) for clarinet and piano, is cast in two movements. The first is a loose rondo. After a potboiler introduction, there is a Hindemithian fugue opener that is gradually discarded for a swing section. A slower paced fantasy ensues that once again returns to the swing section followed by a coda with flutter tongue and unison melodies. The second movement is more reflective, a fantasy that part way through speeds up and  interpolates the swing from the previous movement. Despite occasional interjections of fast music, cascades of arpeggios and altissimo clarinet playing are reasserted. The piece closes with lush harmonies and tremolandos.

 

It Was Not Raining (1995) is the final interlude, a piece for solo marimba that features rhythmic canons and multi-mallet technique. This is followed by the title work, a piece for large ensemble cast in four movements. The first movement, “i. telophase,” features pitched percussion and piano creating a swath of disjunct melodies. The other instruments join in a contrasting lyrical section. Gradually the two strands merge in a propulsive stream now buoyed by ostinatos. A brash unison melody provides the first climactic passage of the piece. Things go sideways in “ii. (manufactured for a purpose),” with a section for low winds followed by a tantalizing brief violin solo interrupted by a cadenza for piano and percussion. Winds and percussion cohere into a fast-shifting section of glinting harmonies. The strings, led by two low cellos, are then added to the proceedings, providing a syncopated backdrop for a more straightforward ostinato by clarinet, percussion, and piano. Gradually, their disparate grids combine into a fulsome workout, which leads directly into “iii. ‘un amour inconnu…’,” an evocative setting of a short passage from Proust’s Swann’s Way, sung with impressive microtonal inflections by soprano Rose Hegele. The final movement, “iv. the number of completion,” begins with a bassoon solo that is quickly succeeded by vibrant percussion, into which it reinserts itself,both gradually taking up a unison theme before the entire ensemble takes up disjunct fast lines that are passed from instrument to instrument. The piece concludes with a ferocious pileup of thick chords in repeated eighth notes. Tulpa is engaging throughout, and seems to be a culmination of the other, smaller, compositions on the CD. Whether for soloists or writ large, Hughes writes compelling music that is artfully crafted and energetically appealing.

 

Sequenza 21 has the pleasure of premiering a live performance video of Merger.

Tulpa will be released on Friday April 16th.

 

by Christian Carey
CD Review, Contemporary Classical, Experimental Music, Microtonalism

Dave Seidel – Involution

XI Records has recently released a new dual CD set by Dave Seidel titled Involution. The album consists of two extended works, Involution and Hexany Permutations, that together comprise well over two hours of electronic music. Strongly influenced by La Monte Young and Alvin Lucier, Involution is an extensive exploration of the sonorities that are possible outside of the conventional well-tempered Western scale. Each track features a series of sustained tones presented in layered and changing combinations so as to systematically reveal the implicit harmonies possible in the selected scale. In this album, Seidel incorporates the Wilson-Grady Meta Slendro scale, the just-intonation Centaur tuning divided into the Scriabin-derived Prometheus scale, the Hindustani Marwa scale and two six note scales. According to Dean Rosenthal’s excellent liner notes: “Involution was made with modular synthesizer and Csound, everything played together in real time and each track recorded as a single take. The pitches are driven by a sequencer in the modular system, and are also sent as MIDI notes to Csound code running on a Raspberry Pi 4.”

The first three tracks of the album comprise the title piece, Involution. The sonorities of each track are fashioned from a separate tuning and each of the these tracks has a duration of 23 minutes. The tracks of Involution are built on three layers: a low foundational layer, a middle register of mixed sine tones and a final clustering of tones above. The layers consist of generally sustained, flowing tones that vary smoothly in sonority and dynamics. The structure of each track is based on changing the mix of the pitches in the chosen scale to slowly uncover the harmonic possibilities as the piece proceeds. Each layer is unfolds at a slightly different tempi, and this induces a pleasing variety that propels the piece along.

Involution 1 is based on the Meta Slendro scale, and begins with a low metallic hum that is like the inside some great whirring machine. This soon morphs to a less mechanical sound and, as the tones thin out, a distant, faint melody of beeping can be heard underneath. This, along with the generally warm sonority in the lower registers, gives a welcoming feel. The various tone clusters are sustained, but not static – there is always something happening to engage the ear. The sonic surfaces are constantly changing and shifting in subtle ways as new combinations of agreeable pitches continuously appear.

Involution 2, based on the just intonation Prometheus and Marwa in Centaur tuning, continues with the same forms and textures. All the layers now take on a slightly higher pitch with some dissonance that brings just a touch of tension. The upper tone clusters occasionally climb higher and sharper – sometimes resulting in a pulsating ringing – and this becomes a bit grating at times and less friendly to the ear. The deeper sustained tones still have a certain majesty that does not intimidate and the low beeping underneath remains a reassuring presence.

Involution 3 is based on a 12-note scale devised by the composer and begins with the familiar low metallic hum, warm but purposeful. Middle-register pitches are now in the mix and very soft beeps can be heard in the lowest registers. The higher tones seem to have a more aggressive feel and begin to dominate, adding a sense of urgency. At times, the lower tones reassert to reestablish the opening warmth, but the higher pitches often appear suddenly. Overall there is a greater mix of low and middle register tones – less warmth and more diversity – that brings a sense of slightly increased tension. Involution 3 is never intimidating or aggressive, but seems to have evolved away from the lush grandeur of the first track. The depth of the sonorities in the Invocation tracks is impressive, especially when the lower tones predominate.

Hexany Permutations, the second work of the album, has six discrete sections of 13 minutes each and rigorously examines the harmonic possibilities of a microtonal six note scale. The form of the piece is similar to Involution, with sustained tones uncoiling in smooth layers, but the process of selecting and sounding the pitches in their various combinations is more systematic. The two-note, three-note, four-note, five-note, six-note chords and the one seven-note chord were pre-selected by a simple algorithm and are not in any sequence driven by musical intent; the idea is to let the harmonies unfold naturally to the ear. As the liner notes explain: “… the full catalogue of combinations of the scale is varied by inversion, retrograde, and other strict yet rudimentary manipulations (‘permutations’) without alteration or interference, each variation becoming the discrete section.” The intent of Hexany Permutations is similar to Tom Johnson’s The Chord Catalogue (1986), a piece in which all 8178 chords in a single octave are sounded on a piano. Seidel has aimed at improving on The Chord Catalogue idea by giving the sustained tones of his Hexany chords the space to ring out in their full sonority.

So, what does all this sound like? Hexany Permutations 1, the first track of this piece, has a bright, almost sunny feeling – we are out of the shadows and into the sunlight There is a plateau of pitches here with no very low tones. Some dissonance eventually creeps in, underlying an arpeggio-like melody, and this darkens the mood somewhat – like a cloud passing overhead, on a sunny afternoon. As the piece proceeds, the constituent tones of the mix now seem to be more varied and less cohesive harmonically – a sense of unraveling.

Hexany Permutations 2 features middle and high register tones, sustained and slightly dissonant, sounding almost like a warning siren with slowly varying mixes of pitch. There is, simultaneously, a reassuring and slightly alarming quality to this. No lower tones are present, and the middle and high register tones mix in different ways. Hexany 3 returns to somewhat lower starting tones, but the middle registers predominate. This has a mostly comfortable feel but the higher registers in the mix are less consonant and add a bit of tension. The ebb and flow of the tones throughout constantly changes the character of the sound in this section as it oscillates between a high dissonance and the warm lower tones.

Hexany Permutations sections 4 through 6 continue in the same manner and begin with a broad middle register wash. The feeling is warm but purposeful. In Section 5 higher tones sound above the comfortable middle and this adds a bit of uncertainty. The swelling and receding pattern of the tones throughout accentuates this contrast very effectively. By Section 6 the upper registers begin in a brightly optimistic wash and morph into contrast with a buzz-saw harshness in their dissonance. There is a sense of the mechanical overtaking the organic across the final three Sections and this seems to be a sadly accurate metaphor for our 21st century modernity.

Despite the neutral presentation of its harmonic sequences, Hexany Permutations is surprisingly successful in communicating a wide variety of emotions and sensations to the listener – as does the entire Involution CD. The use of microtones and alternate tuning in new music has, broadly, been the search for meaningful harmonic syntax while contending with a thicket of mathematical formulations and the difficulties of making new pitches on instruments that have been shackled to an equal-tempered tradition for over two hundred years. Involution is a milestone in the process of getting directly at the core of problem: translating a new harmonic structure into the music of emotional expression.

Involution is available at Bandcamp (also download stream) and Forced Exposure.

Involution was:
Composed, realized, recorded, and produced by Dave Seidel.
Mixed and mastered by Eric Honour.
Graphics, design and layout by Scott Unrein.
Liner notes by Dean Rosenthal.

by Paul Muller