This week will be the first of a series of reviews of CDs provided to me by Parma Recordings, a New England-based music company that specializes in commercial recording and distribution of orchestral, choral, chamber and electronic/electroacoustic music. I will be reviewing a collection of CDs distributed by Parma with a special focus on recordings of music in a more experimental and avant-garde nature in both acoustic and electroacoustic media.
My first review is of the self-titled debut CD by the Tornado Project by Ravello Records and Parma Recordings. This CD is the result of an 8-year collaboration between flutist Elizabeth McNutt, clarinetist Esther Lamnek and composers Ricardo Climent, Paul Wilson, Robert Rowe, Andrew May, Eric Lyon and Russell Pinkston (more information about the Tornado Project can be found here). This CD contains one composition by each of the aforementioned composers, all of which showcase the talents of the performers, the unique vision of each composer and the possibilities of interaction between performers and computer-driven electroacoustic accompaniment. Check out the video below for a preview of what the CD has to offer.
I have to say I was really blown away by this CD. I've been a long-time fan of Elizabeth McNutt's playing and have also followed the music of Pinkston, May and Lyon on various other recordings. Being a composer of electroacoustic myself I was very excited for this to be my first review from Parma, and I strongly recommend that anyone who is even mildly interested in experimental electroacoustic music should run, don't walk, and get a copy. The CD is just under an hour of some of the most engaging interactive electroacoustic chamber music I've heard, and the performances by McNutt and Lamneck are nothing short of spectacular. The two perform together effortlessly with exemplary interaction whether the music is fully notated or highly improvised.
The CD opens with a piece by Ricardo Climent titled Russian Disco, which Climent refers to as a musical mosaic, both sonically and notationally. The piece is a highly improvisatory piece in which the computer reconstructs a “pre-notated musical framework” provided to the performers as a digital score with guided improvisation and computer accompaniment. Climent likens the concept to a carousel belt of sushi one might find in a Japanese restaurant. The concept alone had me hooked. The music is incredibly organic, especially for a piece that relies heavily on improvisation and a computer-reconstructed form. After a few listens, “mosaic” is really the most appropriate term to describe the constantly shifting pointillistic textures and melting pot of sonic ideas. With each listen I took away something entirely new I hadn't heard on previous listens – a new cause/effect compound gesture, subtle layers of activity just below the surface texture, etc. This piece wonderfully sets the tone for the rest of the album. My only gripe is that the end left me wanting more. However, with a piece like this (deconstructed musical mosaic that changes form with each performance) I guess that's to be expected.
Robert Rowe's Primary Colors is an exploration of three basic motivic ideas that go through a series of variations as the piece unfolds, both compositionally in the instrumental part and electronically through variation in the computer accompaniment. While it was not my favorite piece on the recording, I always found it engaging on repeat listenings. Rowe's piece is timbrally rich and harmonically stunning, even in sections some might consider abrasive or dissonant. Paul Wilson's Beneath the Surface was also interesting conceptually, in that the composer (as stated in the liner notes) limited the electronic component to manipulations of recordings of breath sounds and key clicks from the instruments, the music “never growing beyond a murmur.” I was unsure about how Wilson would be able to keep this type of delicate material interesting over the course of 10.5 minutes, but he was definitely successful in that endeavor, and Beneath the Surface ended up being one of my favorite pieces on the album. He also states in the notes that the piece should seem “unfinished” and I have to say I agree, but it never left me unsatisfied. The final product is like a sonic mobile that could continue turning forever; like a brief glimpse into a world that is always changing and evolving, with or without our knowledge of its existence.
Andrew May's Still Angry is a piece that I was initially unsure about after reading the program notes. May describes the piece as being a fusion of avant-garde improvisation from the performers against the computer which provides an accompaniment of processed quotations from 1970s rock, punk and post-punk bands Joy Division, Magazine and Buzzcocks. While I'm a fan of Joy Division and Buzzcocks, I'm always a little suspicious of “pop-crossover” music (not judging, it's just not my thing), but May's juxtaposition of these two genres is really captivating and entertaining. The dichotomy created between the two worlds, neither of which is fully willing to submit to the other, creates an interesting intersection between the aesthetic of late 20th century experimental classical music and the post-punk/pre-new wave movement of the 1970s – both genres abrasive in their own right. After listening to the album multiple times through I found myself coming back to this piece more than any other work on the album, and each time it brings a smile to my face. The way the two worlds work against each other, yet sometimes come together for brief groove sections, only to fall back into their own domains was always captivating on each listen. In the end, I would say Still Angry is, for me, the most entertaining work on the album. As much as May's Still Angry really grew on me, Trio for Flute, Clarinet and Computer by Eric Lyon was my favorite piece on the album. His program note is short and to-the-point, stating that the piece is centered around interaction of computer and performers through “compositional, rather than improvisational imperatives.” The electronics are derived from capturing live input from the performers and processing those fragments of the performers to generate an accompaniment that is organic, clearly derived from the performers and serves as both a unique voice and extension of the performers. The flute and clarinet lines are incredibly intricate, creating a web of counterpoint and endless variation of ideas presented early in the piece. On my first listen I was shocked when the piece was over, as it didn't seem to me that 14 minutes had already passed. I immediately started it over for a second helping. Still, every time I listen to Lyon's piece I find it mesmerizing and captivating from start to finish. Russell Pinkston's e++ is the final track on the album, and is really a perfect piece to end on. Pinkston's music, often marked by his use of capturing live input from a performer to create a rhythmic groove backdrop, always provides a kind of energy that can be easily lost in experimental and avant-garde electroacoustic music. However, e++ caught me a little off guard, as the pulse which I've grown to expect from Pinkston's pieces doesn't fully appear until just over halfway through the piece. Not that that was a bad thing, though. Because I'm familiar with Pinkston's music I was anticipating this section, and having it appear later than I expected really drew me into what was happening as I waited for that moment to happen. For someone less familiar with Russell Pinkston's music I think the form and pacing would be just as affective. Like the other pieces on this album, McNutt and Lamnek perform a web complex counterpoint, always playing off one another effortlessly. What really stood out to me in e++ was a section in the middle made up entirely of improvised extended techniques behind a granulated texture of captured live flute and clarinet – although not quite the granulated texture I was expecting. This section provided a really nice contrast to the more rhythmic pulsed sections that bookend the piece. Pinkston's e++ wonderfully showcases the impeccable talent of McNutt and Lamnek's playing, the many possibilities of interactive computer accompaniment, and Pinkston's incredible sophistication as a composer and programer. Well, there it is - The Tornado Project. Again, if you're at all into electroacoustic music of this aesthetic (composers and performers alike) I really do suggest you pick up a copy of this CD. It is available through Ravello Records' website (link below), and while you're there you can check some of the other wonderful recordings that Ravello has available. Also, check out Parma Recordings' website (link above) for more information about what they offer, and you can also follow their blog for other news and updates. Ravello Records: http://www.ravellorecords.com/ Parma Recordings: http://www.parmarecordings.com/ Tornado Project: http://www.ravellorecords.com/catalog/rr7908/ Join me next time for a review of Eric Honour's “Phantasm – Music for Saxophone and Computer,” also by Parma Recordings and Ravello Records.
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