Jeff Herriott - "at the whim of the current"

 Jeff Herriott - at the whim of the current

Herriott truly desired to create a wash of sound over the audience, which never completely dies.

at the whim of the current, as its namesake suggests, takes the audience on a hypnotic ride down the vast river of sound created by the amplified vibraphone. Herriott uses alternating timbres, two different mallets and a bow, and has the pedal held down for the entire duration of the work. These together with the electronics suggest that Herriott truly desired to create a wash of sound over the audience, which never completely dies. It takes a thoughtful performer to be able to musically interpret this slow-moving music. By the time Lacerda plays the final, incredibly tonal cadence which outlines a major triad, we feel a complete and utter serenity to the current (watch the performance here).

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© 2022 Brutal New Music Reviews
originally written and published 30 January 2022

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