Volume 29 Issue 2 | October & November 2023

half an hour of this

half an hour of this 70-minute program is taken up with Gunnar Berg’s Pour Clarinette Seul (1957) and Simon Steene-Andersen’s De Profundis, (2000/rev2019). Substantial works both. And the third excerpt? Tossed in is a rewrite of the cor anglais solo from Act III of Tristan und Isolde. Max Christie MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY Shadow & Light – Canadian Double Concertos Marc Djokic; Christiana Petrowska Quilico; Sinfonia Toronto; Nurhan Arman Centrediscs CMCCD 31823 (cmccanada. org/product-category/recordings/ centrediscs) ! Originating in the early 1700s, during the later portion of the Baroque era, the concerto presented composers of the time with an instrumental compositional structure (a formula if you will) perfectly suited to feature an instrumental soloist. A double concerto, therefore, shines the spotlight equally on two soloists, accompanied by different aggregations, providing composers with another voice of possibility to help realize their creative intentions. How nice then, in our time of near constant and rapid change, that this formula is still meaningful and relevant, particularly so in the capable compositional hands of Alice Ping Yee Ho, Christos Hatzis and Larysa Kuzmenko. Writing for the pairing of violin and piano (the dependably terrific Christina Petrowska Quilico and violinist Marc Djokic backed capably by Sinfonia Toronto under the direction of conductor Nurhan Arman), the aforementioned compositional triumvirate bring Shadow & Light to life with influences ranging from Felix Mendelssohn and Johannes Brahms, to Hitchcock foil Bernard Herrmann and the author Jules Verne. If the range of this description sounds expansive and beyond categorization, that’s because it is! The result, released on Centrediscs and supported by any number of Canadian artsbased granting agencies, is a truly postmodern affair that plays in the margins that lie between the binary of the traditional double-concerto form and a set of influences that escape categorization. Whatever the conceit, the result is a satisfying and extremely fine recording that expands the canon of both Canadian composition and the rare double-concerto pairing of violin and piano for future repertoire consideration. Andrew Scott Frank Horvat – A Village of Landscapes Sébastien Malette (bassoon); Allison Wiebe (piano) I Am Who I Am Records (frankhorvat.com) ! I’ve reviewed several albums by prolific Toronto composer and pianist Frank Horvat for The WholeNote. His often Romantically inclined, emotionally charged music often also employs a dizzying array of heartfelt, compelling extra-musical themes. These range from the personal (love, mental health), to the social (environment, social justice), and a combination of the two (dealing musically with pandemic isolation). A Village of Landscapes, perhaps his 21st album, features a suite of 13 compositions stylishly and convincingly performed by bassoonist Sébastien Malette, in five movements accompanied by Allison Wiebe on piano. The 13 pieces are furthermore divided into three mini-suites: for bassoon with piano, unaccompanied bassoon and bassoon with electronics. For example, the atmospheric movement Smoking Hills is scored for hazy basso profundo contrabassoon sounds and bassheavy piano, while Sharbot Lake features a continuous high bassoon melody over shifting, phasing synth chords. Top of FormTop of Form In this album Horvat’s thematic inspiration was supplied by photographs of places in the Canadian landscape by Michelle Valberg, representing each of the country’s ten provinces and three territories. Horvat writes, “Our present world is at a precipice when it comes to protecting our natural resources, so as an artist, I feel I have a duty to have my compositions reflect this. “The bassoon is a VERY versatile instrument. It has a wide range of notes, timbre contrasts and dynamics,” avers Horvat. In A Village of Landscapes he successfully explores many less-known characteristics of the instrument, working against stereotypes of buffoonery and jollity that too often plague the bassoon. Andrew Timar Graham Campbell; Palms Upward Various Artists Independent (grahamcampbell.ca) ! Graham Campbell is a good composer. His music is openhearted and enjoyable to listen to. There is no apparent need to shock or jar the listener, while there is every success in moving them or bringing them peace. Call me jaded or just old, but if someone writes well, stays within conservative conventions of metre and tonality, whose sincerity of expression is their primary calling card, I’m on their side. The music is pleasing, while not especially haunting or challenging. Pianist Angela Park provides beautiful colour on many of the tracks, most especially in the haunting Lost Souvenir, a movement from an unnamed larger work. Violinists Mark Fewer and Valerie Li, violist Caitlin Boyle and cellist Amahl Arulanandam join her for three brief pieces for piano quintet: Between Breaths, Snow Rider and Dive. Whether out of modesty or budget concerns, the digital release includes no accompanying booklet. Palms Upward, the title track, might have been commissioned by or written for Graham’s father, clarinetist James Campbell, but without liner notes one is left guessing. It’s an unusual grouping that works well: clarinet with violin, viola, double bass and guitars (Rob MacDonald and Tracy Anne Smith of ChromaDuo). The track titles are evocative enough to allow the imagination room to fill in the blanks. Still, I’m curious to know a little more, like what does Driftless Sea mean? This is the final track, featuring klezmer-coloured clarinet playing a folk-like melody alongside a string quartet, guitars (played by Campbell fils) and Jaash Singh on darbuka. Kettle Vapours (Park on solo piano) might suggest reflections on watching a pot boil, but it’s more eventful, more solid than vapid. Barely an intermezzo, it works. Double bass playing is ably supplied by Charles James on several tracks, while the composer supplies guitar and piano on tracks 7 and 8 respectively. Max Christie David Jaeger – Chamber Works for Viola Carol Gimbel; Marina Poplavskaya; Cullan Bryant Navona Records NV6528 (navonarecords.com/catalog/nv6528) ! Toronto composer and music producer David Jaeger (b.1947) has had a long, illustrious career. A founding member of the Canadian Electronic Ensemble, he enjoyed an influential four-decade career at CBC Radio commissioning hundreds of compositions and producing well over a thousand national broadcasts championing contemporary concert music from Canada and beyond. Jaeger’s early 1970s show Music of Today kindled my growing interest in new 66 | October & November 2023 thewholenote.com

developments in classical music. My interest was further stoked by his long-running, influential new music program Two New Hours (1978-2007) on which I occasionally appeared. When not in the studio or on international juries, Jaeger always found time to pursue his own composing. And the viola appears time and time again in his scores. For example, the early Favour (1980) for viola and live digital delay controlled by the performer was written for the outstanding Israeli violist Rivka Golani, followed by Sarabande (1993). The five works on Chamber Works for Viola continue Jaeger’s exploration of the expressive possibilities of the instrument, here played by New York/Toronto violist extraordinaire, Carol Gimbel. My recital favourite is the expressive viola solo White Moon Legend. Exploiting the instrument’s wide range of bowed cantabile and pizzicato effects, Jaeger’s melodies appear in contrasting tessituras, heightening the work’s dramatic narrative arc. Gimbel’s passionate advocacy of this music is amply supported by the warm and husky tones of her ex-Emmanuel Vardi 1725 viola. Also a great support is the attractive recording which details the viola within naturalsounding room sonics graced with a satisfying bloom of reverb. Andrew Timar Beatings Are In the Body Beatings Are In the Body For the Living and the Dead (beatingsareinthebody.bandcamp.com) ! The self-titled debut release Beatings Are in the Body is by the gifted experimental Canadian performer/ composer trio of Erika Angell (voice/electronics/bells), Róisín Adams (piano/Wurlitzer/voice/sticks) and Peggy Lee (cello/voice/sticks). Their name is drawn from a work by Canadian poet Meaghan McAneeley, who contributed the release’s artwork/design and texts for two tracks. The musicians explore and draw their compositional/performance inspiration from how the physical body carries and stores wide-ranging memories, pain and emotions throughout life, in acoustic and electroacoustic, atonal and tonal compositions, jazz, songs, poetry and free improvisations. The opening track, Blurry, features accessible tonal piano-chord rhythms, vocals and moving cello interludes between and during spoken/sung phrases. Time for experimental new music with electronics, spoken/sung at times noisy vocals and instrumentals in Triploop. Superimposed modern electronic sound effects with acoustic instruments are especially memorable. Like a Deepness/Let Go is a contemporary atonal tragic almostpop song with vocal solo with warbling, piano chords, melodious cello countermelody and emotional loud high vocal and cello unison held-notes at longer phrase beginnings. A subsequent faster section suddenly goes back to a slow dramatic grim song with the repeated lyric “Let go” to abrupt an ending. Intense, the too-short free improvisation, Rhiza, is like pain at its painful worst with sound effects like crashing dishes, improvisational vocal sounds and cello string bangs. The 12 diverse emotional tracks flow seamlessly when listened to in order. Random track listening offers a different sound scenario. The tight, respectful performances create inspiring, not depressing, music! Tiina Kiik LAND SEA SKY for Raj Sen Experimental Music Unit Independent (experimentalmusicunit. bandcamp.com) ! Experimental Music Unit is a trio based in Lekwungen Territory (located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island) consisting of Tina Pearson (flute, accordion, voice), George Tzanetakis (clarinets, saxophones) and Paul Walde (bass guitar, percussion). EMU specializes in exploratory music and sound practices grounded in ecological studies, focused improvisation and collaboration. Their latest audio project, LAND SEA SKY released as a 38-minute EP, reflects all those interests. The EP is the musical realization of a text score by Pearson, composed during the winter of 2020-2021. Like so many, EMU was frustratingly isolated during the COVID pandemic. While they could meet remotely through online platforms, most of all they longed to make music together again outdoors. LAND SEA SKY was their response. Recording their parts in the studio, EMU however imagined they were actually playing together at Finnerty Cove, a rocky outcropping on the east shore of Lekwungen territory on the Salish Sea. The lapping waves, gulls and other oceanic sounds captured on the field recording eloquently places the trios’ musicking in this site-specific sonic space. I found the most magical moments happened when the trio entered into a dialogue with the oceanscape, or when the latter emerged into the sonic foreground – a startling transformation. Starting softly, leisurely, the ever-shifting, subtly articulated interplay between the human trio and the NATURE-BLAZING NEW MUSIC A VILLAGE OF LANDSCAPES Sébastien Malette brings to life Frank Horvat’s captivating 13-piece bassoon suite, drawing inspiration from the mesmerizing photographs of Canada’s stirring natural landscapes captured by award-winning photographer, Michelle Valberg. FROM OBLIVION TO HOPE As performed by the Odin Quartet, a gorgeous collection of Horvat’s string quartet music...Here his message is clear: music is an important tool in raising the level of positivity and hope on this planet as well as in our individual lives. – Ivana Popovic IAM-RECORDS.COM thewholenote.com October & November 2023 | 67