A Closer Listen
This year, artists surprised us by not only making memorable music, but experimenting with the form of presentation. One composer recorded an album in alternate versions, with different tunings; another released an album in separate parts; one completely revisited an earlier work, itself a reconstruction; one offered a related follow-up, along with an expensive series of sculptures; one read her liner notes into the album as the closing track. In an era when physical artifacts are diminishing, their creativity caught our notice. The music was amazing; whether playing their own pieces, calling new attention to classic composers or bringing the work of new artists to life, these artists never failed to fascinate and thrill. The albums below are the best of a happily crowded field.
Dana Lyn ~ A Point on a Slow Curve (In a Circle)
Lyn’s A Point on a Slow Curve is a notable entry in the storied history of compositions inspired by the work of visual artists. Across the work’s nine movements Lyn mirrors the creation story of Jay DeFeo’s monumental painting “The Rose” — an enormous work, DeFeo worked on “The Rose” for seven years, painstakingly adding layers of paint to a work which would eventually weigh nearly a ton. Featuring female choir, violin, clarinet, cello, bassoon, vibraphone, bass, and drums, A Point on a Slow Curve, like the work that inspired it, is meandering and epic, filled with moments of stillness as well as wild improvisation. Although difficult to summarize in a few sentences, each of the work’s nine movements captures an intensity derived from Lyn’s compositional structure that, like the layers of paint and time that comprise DeFeo’s Rose, gradually and gorgeously builds up layers of harmony and melody. (Jennifer Smart)
Original Review
Hannah Peel & Paraorchestra ~ The Unfolding (Real World)
“Unfolding” written with an infinity sign replacing the “o” – a neverending process, a story sung in stars and stones, through the collection of bodies of all sorts caught in perpetual movement. The collaboration between Peel and Paraorchestra feels like a making-in-common of musical performance, an effort that emphasizes the collective more than just in compositional terms. None of us just “are”; we might think of ourselves as finalized in some way, but the truth is that we are all unfolding, every second of every day, not individually, solely out of ourselves, but into others of many kinds. It could be another animal, it could be an other mineral, it could be an other plant. We will never end, because we are forever starting time and again, together. (David Murrieta Flores)
Original Review
Jean-Michel Blais ~ aubades (Arts & Crafts)
That this beguiling, exuberant album grew out of heartbreak only makes it more charming. Jean-Michel Blais is known to us as a composer for piano but here he writes skillfully for a twelve-person string and woodwind ensemble. When the piano plays it’s predictably wonderful but at its core this is a well-crafted and delightful suite for mini-orchestra. If you’re one of the many people who loved Yann Tiersen’s now classic soundtrack for Amelie, you’ll adore this. (Garreth Brooke)
Original Review
Madeleine Cocolas ~ Spectral (Room40)
Over the last several years Madeleine Cocolas has developed a sound that is as expansive as it is direct. At the core of the tracks on Spectral are a collection of sounds Cocolas recorded around her “in recent times,” but through lush arrangements of synthesizers, building drones, or (more often here) gentle, pensive piano melodies, her found sounds are transformed into dramatic, durational compositions. She calls the process a “recoloring.” Shifting as it does between tension and resolution, crescendo and decrescendo, drama and simplicity, Spectral offers listeners an experience of place filtered through its complex and inextricable entanglement with affect, feeling, and time. (Jennifer Smart)
Original Review
Mari Samuelsen ~ LYS (Deutsche Grammophon)
This vibrant collection from violinist Mari Samuelsen brings together luminescent works from female composers spanning centuries, ranging from the 12th century’s Hildegard von Bingen to familiar contemporary names like Hania Rani, Hannah Peel, and even Beyoncé. Lys, Norwegian for light, serves as a metaphorical thread that binds the collection together, tied even closer by the deft arrangements and production and Samuelsen’s consistently superlative playing. (Garreth Brooke)
Original Review
Max Richter ~ The New Four Seasons (Deutsche Grammophon)
The New Four Seasons is actually the newer Four Seasons, as Max Richter previously reworked Vivaldi’s ultra famous concertos. Reworkings, remixes, and covers are hit or miss, and this one is spot on. The original pieces lend themselves well to restoration, as their subject matter– the seasons– embodies the very essence of renewal and creation. Richter and the Chineke! Orchestra freshen up an all time favorite such that it lands upon present-day ears as thrillingly as Vivaldi’s original may have to 18th century audiences. (Maya Merberg)
Original Review
Sea Island & Ferry ~ As If (Self-Released)
A balanced ensemble of strings, piano, and clarinet makes up Sea Island & Ferry. Each instrumental tone complements the next perfectly, and harmony, as it were, is a central theme to As if, which is actually two EPs. A single image is used for the cover art of both, but with colors inverted such that one is mostly white and the other mostly black. Listening to these works feels like putting together a puzzle– the satisfaction of pieces coming together just right. (Maya Merberg)
Original Review
Superpoze ~ Nova Cardinale (Self-Released)
The third album from French electronic master Gabriel Legeleux explores new directions, both metaphorically and instrumentally. Here, acoustic instruments are king. Although there are several standout singles, this is an album that is best listened to as an album, as only then can one appreciate the maze of self-references. It’s a beautiful work, rich with melancholy, tender, and ultimately life-affirming. (Garreth Brooke)
Original Review
Vanessa Wagner ~ Study of the Invisible (InFine)
One of two surveys of contemporary piano released by Vanessa Wagner this year, this effortlessly graceful and beautifully played collection serves as a fantastic introduction to minimalism. Featuring well-known composers like Philip Glass and Brian & Roger Eno alongside more gems like Moondog and Susanne Ciani and younger composers like Caroline Shaw and Nico Muhly, it’ll appeal just as much to novice minimalism listeners as to long-time fans. Outstanding. (Garreth Brooke)
Original Review
Víkingur Ólafsson ~ From Afar (Deutsche Grammophon)
This remarkable album originates in Vikingur Olafsson’s love of the music of György Kurtág. From that simple starting point, Olafsson weaves a perfect tapestry of classical and contemporary music that is astonishingly cohesive considering the contrasting styles of the composers included (J.S. Bach, Robert Schumann, Béla Bartók, Thomas Adès, Snorri Sigfús Birgisson to name a few). The album features the same set of twenty-two pieces recorded twice, once on a grand piano, once on a felted upright, revealing fascinating differences and commonalities. (Garreth Brooke)
Original Review
Sun Dec 18 00:01:21 GMT 2022