Volume 30 Issue 2 | October & November 2024

piano repeating one note

piano repeating one note over and over. He eventually switched to an Ondioline, an early electronic keyboard. It allowed him to explore the infinity of sounds contained in a single pitch through alterations like microtones, vibrato, glissandi and ostinato. The searing Trio from 1958 initiates his new language, a year before his acknowledged breakthrough work, Quattro Pezzi su una nota solo. The more expansive Second Quartet followed two years later. There’s an especially thrilling passage which reveals the Molinari’s mastery of Scelsi’s strange and wonderful style when the heightened drama of the fourth movement resolves into the dreamy incantations of the last movement. He gave each of the five movements of the Third Quartet titles describing conflict, liberation and catharsis, though there’s more catharsis than conflict. In the more fraught Fourth Quartet the Molinari unfurls an enthralling sweep of colours and textures in a single movement. The Fifth Quartet was Scelsi’s last major work. Distilled into seven transcendent minutes, it serves as a fitting memorial to this remarkable composer. Pamela Margles Gabriel Dharmoo – Vestiges d’une fable Members of NACO; Gary Kulesha Centrediscs CMCCD 34324 (cmccanada. org/shop/cmccd-34324) ! Gabriel Dharmoo makes you laugh and then wonder if that was the right response, and then laugh again. So yes, it is fine to hear and feel the mirth behind the title track of his recent release: Vestiges d’une Fable (2014, current arrangement 2023) for voice (originally for soprano but here the composer’s own) with flute cello and piano. The musicians on the disc are select members of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, conducted by Gary Kulesha. The players are excellent, and Kulesha very capably marshals their forces. Dharmoo produces theatrical, evocative, even surreal music. Vestiges references his mocumentary performance piece Anthropolgies imaginaires, and the fog in our poise (2016) “evokes the ceremonial music of an imaginary culture” per the liner notes. Like the writer Jorge Luis Borges, Dharmoo posits alternate worlds from which to explore our own. His voice in Vestiges seems drawn from an alien cabaret, or one where the creatures we know sing text we can almost understand. The final track, sur les rives de (2011), gives us his impressions of the opposite and contrasting banks of the Ganges river. Moondaal Moondru (2010) at 18:10 is the substantial centre-weight of the disc, the piece comes in taut sections, with virtuosic outbursts sometimes punctuating a droning whine. Dharmoo lacks nothing in orchestrational skill, and his moods are clearly if unsettlingly depicted. There’s a roll and a rhythm to the music, and I suggest you move with the underlying pulse to best experience it. Max Christie Amy Brandon – Lysis Various Artists New Focus Recordings FCR414 (newfocusrecordings.com/catalogue/ amy-brandon-lysis) ! Canadian guitarist/composer Amy Brandon has created a fantastical series of journeys with her latest album Lysis (defined by dictionary. com as “…refer(ring) to the breakdown of a cell caused by damage to its plasma (outer) membrane).” Brandon nails the deconstruction aspect in an almost delicious spectacle of all things human and otherworldly. Cells break down on one level and are reconstructed on another. Brandon deftly manages to create parallel voices that beautifully ignore, while simultaneously hearing, each other, almost as two separate cultures managing to co-exist. Opening with the brilliant Microchimersisms for solo flute, we enter a world of roaring lions, whispers and outbursts of exhalations, masterfully delivered by flutist Sara Constant. Threads for string trio follows, a tightly wound exploration of a submarine-like journey. Alternate tunings are featured in Intermountainous where the guitar delivers almost pastoral material, underscored by dark and aerie ambience that intertwines and comes apart. Caduceus for two cellos and electronics is strangely combative while expertly weaving microtones in and out of one voice. The track Tsyir is an almost trance-like swim in partial harmonics, while Affine travels between breathy phrasing of repeated notes and upper pitches of winds and low piano. Now we arrive at Simulacra, the album’s JUNO-nominated show-stopper for cello solo and orchestra. This full orchestral score, with its dynamic and driving rhythms, sets up a virtuosic and melodic cello line that soars into stratospheric heights and returns to the depths. Cellist Jeffrey Zeigler pulls out all the stops with a stunning, heroic performance. The album closes with the work Lysis for string quartet; a complex exploration of the upper partials of the harmonic series, this piece also mines the symbiotic relationship between the nuances of pitch and colour realised by different bow pressures, while also exploding apart from it. As with the entire album, it’s not necessary to contemplate the mathematics of the writing, just enjoy the results. Cheryl Ockrant Paolo Griffin – Supports & Surfaces David Zucchi; Duo Holz; David Hackston; electronics Sawyer Editions SE028 (sawyereditions. bandcamp.com/album/paolo-griffinsupports-surfaces) ! Imagine the challenge of having to approach music of Supports & Surfaces being told that all of the sonic quivering, undulating and often hypnotic ellipses of sounds were just “a series of pitch classes, whole numbers of octaves apart.” Try realigning that part of your brain that hears sound and redirecting your inner ear to tune into the pitch class of the frequently caressed, the note(s) C (or D, E, F or G). Lost in stultifying academia yet? Fear not. There is much more to this meandering, hypnotically repetitious music. Its evocative gamelan-like sound is redolent of Zen-inflected gongs, whooshing woodwinds, yammering drums and hissing cymbals, the dazzling arco wail of the violin, all heated by the soaring countertenor voice. Suddenly you will find yourself free of a proverbial desk in academia, despite perhaps encountering complicated pitch integers in the sonically charming music by Paolo Griffin. Bending notes in the light and shadow of Griffin directs David Zucchi to employ alto saxophone and the ululations of atmospheric electronics to explore The Purpose of an Empty Room. You will emerge from the dizzying geometry of this musical space with a sense of enrichment and delight. Next, violinist Aysel Taghi-Zada and percussion colourist Michael Murphy describe the stasis of being Alone, Together. Finally on Madrigal, countertenor David Hackston melds voice and electronics to spellbinding effect. Raul da Gama Gilles Silvestrini – Oboe in Hues Nermis Mieses Navona Records nv6638 (navonarecords. com/catalog/nv6638) ! Nermis Mieses’ new album, Oboe in Hues, offers a fascinating and bold exploration of the oboe’s capabilities through five challenging solo works by French oboistcomposer Gilles Silvestrini. With its focus on rarely-heard compositions, this album stands 76 | October & November 2024 thewholenote.com

out as a celebration of both the instrument and its performer. Silvestrini’s compositions push the oboe to its limits, incorporating techniques that evoke harp and piano sounds, mimic bird calls and explore extreme registers. These elements, coupled with note bends, flutter tonguing and multiphonics, provide a rich and varied sonic palette. Mieses, a Puerto Rican-American oboist known for her artistry and virtuosity, rises to the challenge with a performance that is both technically impressive and emotionally resonant. The album opens with Les Lusiades, a piece inspired by Luís de Camões’ 1572 poem and intended as an opera for solo oboe. Mieses adeptly contrasts different characters and paints vivid imagery with her clear articulations and warm, mellow tone. Her ability to shift seamlessly between expressive passages and advanced techniques brings the work’s dramatic intent to life. In Horae Volubiles Silvestrini draws inspiration from Stefano da Verona’s painting La Vierge à la rosaire. Mieses brings this experimental work to vivid life through modern techniques and mournful legato lines. Cinq Études Russes offers a unique homage to five iconic Russian composers: Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Scriabin and Stravinsky. Each étude weaves melodies from these composers into its fabric, providing a rich and varied listening experience. Mieses’ interpretation brings out the distinct character of each piece, showcasing her ability to navigate complex and evocative musical landscapes. Six Études Pittoresques contrasts historical and literary figures and settings, from Genghis Khan’s cruelty against the pastoral Mongolian countryside to Hans Christian Andersen’s tales, and the compositional rivalry between Elgar and Britten. The breadth of these études pushes both the instrument and performer to their limits, and Mieses’ performance is nothing short of masterful. Finally, Six Études pour hautbois, inspired by Claude Monet’s paintings, is Silvestrini’s most celebrated work among oboists. The impressionistic nature of these études, with their whole tone scales and evocative portrayal of waves, is brought to life with Mieses’ vibrant and technically assured playing. Melissa Scott Ellen Taaffe Zwilich – Symphony No.5 Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Gil Rose BMOP Sound 1098 (bmop.org/audiorecordings/ellen-taaffe-zwilich-symphonyno-5) ! Thank the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, an institution of similar scope to Toronto’s Esprit Orchestra, for the release of this collection of pieces by the accomplished and celebrated American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. As an overture, Upbeat (1998) jumps in with both feet dancing along to Bach’s E Major solo violin partita, turned into a fiddle tune that then disappears under boisterous percussion, raising itself again and again through the work’s brief but rowdy four minutes. This leaves one unprepared for the deeply melancholic mood of the next piece. In her notes, Zwilich describes having to rouse herself from mourning the loss of her second husband (having married and been widowed once before) while trying to fulfill a commission for a work for solo flute and orchestra. What finally arose was this Concerto Elegia (2015), beautifully performed here by flutist Sarah Brady. At times I hear a similarity to Shostakovich’s haunting slow movement of his second piano concerto. Zwilich writes “I remember sitting at the dress rehearsal and just crying… I still have a hard time listening to it.” Far different is Commedia dell’Arte written for Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg in 2012. Set for string orchestra and percussion (sometimes played by the string players themselves), it depicts three of the stock characters in each of the first three movements, notably the third: Capitano is a blustering blowhard, a phony who might evoke a certain character in the presidential race. Performed here by concertmaster Gabriela Diaz, it’s a delightful romp. The final four tracks are a showpiece originally written for the Juilliard orchestra. Naming the work Symphony No.5 (2008) speaks to Zwilich’s philosophy, in which she cherishes the western art music tradition. She also seems to enjoy sheer American band-itry and bombast. Great disc. Max Christie The Petrified Forest Project Rhonda Rider Ravello Records RR8103 (ravellorecords. com/catalog/rr8103) ! Cellist Rhonda Rider is no stranger to playing in interesting locations, having been Artistin-Residence previously at the Grand Canyon in 2011, and later at the Petrified Forest National Park in 2015. As cello professor at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, she brings her vast experiences with classical and contemporary performance, enabling her to explore these newly commissioned compositions with skill and ease. The connection to the beautiful surroundings is clearly evident throughout the album, as Rider pairs the compositions with each setting that inspired them, in this 200-million-year-old ecosystem. The album opens with Raven Chacon’s Invisible Arc, inspired by a traditional Navajo hunting song, and Laurie San Martin’s Vast steppe, based on Gregorian Chant, which includes changing the cello’s tuning and some improvisations juxtaposing old and new, as does the park itself. Kurt Rohde’s credo petrified for amplified cello is a beautiful lamenting conversation that considers “the unadorned ritual of forgotten deaths… dying its own gradual death at a glacial pace becoming sonic dust.” Pari is a four-movement suite by Mischa Salkind-Pearl that takes its movement titles from flora native to the park; a delicate composition sketching the thriving nature of these seeds in such a dry area. The theme of old and new continues with Verklärtes Holz (Transfigured Wood). Beginning with the title, a reference to Arnold Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht, it illustrates the parallels between natural and artificial processes of transformation: the petrified wood beginning as living redwoods, swept away by floods, buried and mineralized; vs wood over time becoming a cello, a picturesque description in three movements and a fitting addition to an album both based on wood and performed on wood. The album ends with Ian Gottleib’s Meditation on Impatience, and Rider passionately portrays the colourful, cinematic exploration of layers of sediment in the forest’s Badlands of this truly ancient ecological wonder. Cheryl Ockrant Wings – Chamber Music by Rami Levin Various Artists Acis APL53875 (acisproductions.com/ wings-chamber-music-by-rami-levin) ! Rami Levin (b.Brooklyn 1954) composed five of this CD’s works while living in Brazil (2010-2017). The two sprightly movements of Asar (Wings) for clarinet, violin and piano utilize bird calls “heard constantly outside my window.” The soulful Saudade (Longing) for guitar follows. Reflections of Reflections (11.11.11) for wind quintet matches the numerical uniqueness of November 11, 2011 with drily mathematical music – 11 sections, each 11 measures. Caprichosa (Capricious) for flute and harp is more engaging, songful and rhythmically “capricious.” Três Cançöes (Three Songs), commissioned by Brazilian soprano Veruschka Mainhard, set poems by Mainhard’s then-sevenyear-old daughter Laura. The texts of Os Macacos Brincalhöes (The Playful Monkeys), O Pequeno Barco (The Little Boat) and Porco (Pigs) are delightfully imaginative and charming, as is the music, charmingly performed by bright-voiced soprano Alisa Jordheim and pianist Kuang-Hao Huang. Jordheim, accompanied by flute, harp and guitar, also sings Four English Songs (1997), thewholenote.com October & November 2024 | 77