Record companies, artists and publicists are invited to submit CDs to be considered for review. Send to: Jerry Bowles, Editor, Sequenza 21, 340 W. 57th Street, 12B, New York, NY 10019

Latest Posts

Ernst Pepping and Allan Pettersson: Moral Dilemmas in Symphonic Music
"The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and... "
Tell the Birds
Soundtrack to an Apocalypse
Feast Your Ears: New Music for Piano
Gone For Foreign
Fred Lerdahl: Time After Time
Nothing Sacred
Two From Wayne Horvitz
Two Fresh Cantaloupes

Record companies, artists and publicists are invited to submit CDs to be considered for our Editor's Pick's of the month. Send to: Jerry Bowles, Editor, Sequenza 21, 340 W. 57th Street, 12B, New York, NY 10019


Archives
Saturday, December 18, 2004 Saturday, December 25, 2004 Friday, December 31, 2004 Wednesday, January 05, 2005 Monday, January 10, 2005 Thursday, January 13, 2005 Thursday, January 20, 2005 Sunday, January 23, 2005 Monday, January 24, 2005 Saturday, January 29, 2005 Wednesday, February 02, 2005 Thursday, February 03, 2005 Monday, February 07, 2005 Tuesday, February 08, 2005 Friday, February 11, 2005 Monday, February 14, 2005 Wednesday, February 16, 2005 Tuesday, February 22, 2005 Monday, February 28, 2005 Sunday, March 06, 2005 Monday, March 07, 2005 Wednesday, March 09, 2005 Sunday, March 13, 2005 Friday, March 18, 2005 Monday, March 28, 2005 Saturday, April 02, 2005 Monday, April 11, 2005 Sunday, April 17, 2005 Tuesday, April 19, 2005 Monday, April 25, 2005 Monday, May 02, 2005 Monday, May 09, 2005 Tuesday, May 17, 2005 Tuesday, May 31, 2005 Monday, June 06, 2005 Thursday, June 16, 2005 Sunday, June 19, 2005 Sunday, July 10, 2005 Wednesday, July 13, 2005 Sunday, July 24, 2005 Friday, July 29, 2005 Monday, August 08, 2005 Monday, August 22, 2005 Wednesday, August 24, 2005 Friday, September 16, 2005 Sunday, September 25, 2005 Tuesday, October 04, 2005 Tuesday, October 18, 2005 Monday, October 24, 2005 Tuesday, November 01, 2005 Monday, November 07, 2005 Saturday, November 12, 2005 Wednesday, November 16, 2005 Tuesday, November 29, 2005 Friday, December 16, 2005 Monday, January 09, 2006 Thursday, January 12, 2006 Thursday, January 19, 2006 Tuesday, January 24, 2006 Thursday, February 02, 2006 Monday, February 13, 2006 Wednesday, February 15, 2006 Wednesday, March 01, 2006 Sunday, March 19, 2006 Sunday, March 26, 2006 Friday, March 31, 2006 Sunday, April 09, 2006 Monday, April 10, 2006 Thursday, April 20, 2006 Friday, April 21, 2006 Thursday, May 11, 2006 Thursday, May 18, 2006 Saturday, May 20, 2006 Friday, June 02, 2006 Tuesday, June 06, 2006 Friday, June 16, 2006 Monday, June 19, 2006 Sunday, June 25, 2006 Monday, June 26, 2006 Monday, July 10, 2006 Thursday, July 13, 2006 Thursday, July 20, 2006 Friday, July 21, 2006 Sunday, July 23, 2006 Thursday, August 03, 2006 Wednesday, August 09, 2006


Powered by Blogger

Sunday, June 25, 2006
Two From Wayne Horvitz
Whispers, Hymns and a Murmur
Wayne Horvitz
Koehne Quartet; Eyvind Kang, viola; Wayne Horvitz, electronic processing.
Tzadik TZA-CD 8021




Way Out East
Wayne Horvitz
Wayne Horvitz
Gravitas Quartet
Songlines Recordings SGL SA1558-2




A fixture of New York’s “downtown scene,” pianist Wayne Horvitz has many years of experience as bandleader under his belt; two new recordings of chamber pieces have given him the opportunity to flaunt his compositional prowess.

Whispers, Hymns and a Murmur finds the Koehne Quartet, led by Joanna Lewis, providing exemplary readings of Horvitz’s hauntingly romantic string works. The titular composition is bookended by selections from Mountain Language, an expanded version of Horvitz’s score for a Harold Pinter play. The five-movement title piece, comprising two “whispers,” two “hymns” and one “murmur,” is alternately lush and ominous. What little improvisation appears is principally the input of guest Eyvind Kang on solo viola; Kang brings subtle dissonance to the work, adding a hint of menace to the proceedings while at times generating an Eastern tone. Horvitz himself contributes some very sparse electronic processing, most noticeably on the second Hymn. The portions of Mountain Language, like Harold Pinter’s work, are enigmatic and circular; their rhythmic repetition creates an underlying sense of unease. In all, the CD evokes early twentieth century American music, a surprisingly formalistic outcome for a composer usually associated with the experimental scene.

Far more immediate than the Tzadik disc is Way Out East. Horvitz takes a meatier role here, leading the Gravitas Quartet through a set list that aims more explicitly to obscure the boundary between composition and improvisation. Horvitz doubles on acoustic piano and electronics, and is joined by Peggy Lee on cello, Ron Miles on trumpet, and Sara Schoenbeck on bassoon. Each player proves more adept at spontaneous creation than the typical classically trained musician. The unassuming opener, “LB”, may lead one to conjecture that Way Out East will parallel the previous disc in understatement, but the tuneful title track that follows refutes that notion. When the electronics emerge, they blend seamlessly with the ensemble; on “World Peace and Quiet”, the synth creates warmth, but it is an artificial, electric “glow” that is soon taken over by the natural warmth of the acoustic instruments.

From the standpoint of accessibility, Way Out East has a slight edge over Whispers, Hymns and a Murmur, but collectively the discs bear plentiful evidence of Wayne Horvitz’s estimable capacity for innovative contemporary music.

 



Search WWWSearch www.sequenza21.com