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Showing posts from July, 2022

Korf ar son

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Korf ar son Korf ar son's releases combine intricate visual art, floating piano notes, imperfect sounds, and most importantly, utter silence.  The latest release of Korf ar son  is a multidisciplinary masterwork in four parts. The duo has produced some of the most mindful artworks this generation has heard and seen. That being said, their work is meant for a specific niche community in contemporary classical music, and is not for the general audience. Korf ar son, Breton for "body of sound", is comprised of composer,  Nebel lang  (Pablo), and visual artist,  Sylvain Levier . Together, Nebel lang and Levier have exponentially expanded upon the definition of contemporary graphic scores and artistic collaboration. While some could say they are stuck in the time of high modernism, each work has evolved from the simple concept of a graphic score into a full piece of collaborative art. Each of the four artworks, Wilhelm Schimmel 40445 , Wilh. Hauschildt , F. Rösener Berlin 2519

Menelaos Peistikos - Le persone al sole

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Menelaos Peistikos - Le persone al sole Peistikos' music is both haunting and mystical, leaving behind a complete musical journey in just under four minutes.  Menelaos Peistikos ' piano miniature, Le persone al sole , is one of the many works by contemporary Mediterranean composers featured on  Erato Alakiozidou 's recent album release, "Silent Landscapes." Le persone al sole , People in the Sun, is inspired by the Edward Hopper painting of the same name. The piece alternates between two contrasting musical thoughts, which slowly morph into one unit by the final cadence. Peistikos' music is both haunting and mystical, leaving behind a complete musical journey in just under four minutes. He seamlessly blends lyrical melodies with sudden bouts of anxiety, which are further amplified by Alakiozidou's delicate hands. Listen to the recording here or on Spotify. Check out the entire album by Da Vinci Publishing here .

Jan Krzywicki - Catching Light

 Jan Krzywicki - Catching Light Jan Krzywicki's  Catching Light  is an incredibly pleasant yet stimulating work; it is of no surprise to see it already have multiple performances, and hopefully it will do well to expand the repertoire for this ensemble. Catching Light  beautifully captures the morphing qualities of physical light in three movements: flickering, shimmering, and burning. Originally composed in 2014, the work has had multiple performances, the most recent being by the Network for New Music Ensemble on a concert this past February, with the composer conducting. The piece is written for an adaptation of the Pierrot ensemble (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion), an ensemble of which Krzywicki takes full advantage when building iridescent musical colors. While at times cliché, Krzywicki effectively forms musical metaphors for the attributes of listed lights. Due to his clear control of form, none of the kitschy sounds come across as uncompelling, as t

Cole Reyes - Circular Reasoning

 Cole Reyes - Circular Reasoning   While groovy, the nature of Reyes' piece makes it too likely to turn into background music, overlooking the incredible amount of talent and musical subtlety of the performers. Cole Reyes  is young composer of tonal and tonal-adjacent music based in the Brooklyn area. Circular Reasoning , an 11 minute work for string quartet, begins by catching the listener's attention with percussive rhythmic grooves. Performed by the Bergamot Quartet , the piece implements a vast array of timbral colors for a string quartet, all shown within a relatively strict tonal template. Reyes' usage of slow glissandi over multiple bars call to mind the accidental warping of a dying record player, an interesting and effective method of modulation.  Moments of slight relaxation occur in the work, but for the majority, Reyes presents us with a moto perpetuo sound for 11 minutes. After a short while, the fluttering, out of breath high runs and the low, power chord-esqu

Sabrina Clarke - Love Songs for Ada

 Sabrina Clarke - Love Songs for Ada Clarke's writing style is dreamy and lush, whisking the audience away from reality into Lowell's romance. Love Songs for Ada  is an emotionally poignant setting of three poems by American, Amy Lowell (1874-1925). Sabrina Clarke 's careful organization of Lowell's poems, Vespers , In Excelsis , and Prime , and insistence on reoccurring musical motifs generates a complete narrative arch throughout the continuous fifteen minutes of song (Listen to the recording here ). Performed by mezzo-soprano, Emily Bullock, and pianist, Christine McCloskey, the Love Songs  are well-suited to the romanticized approach of the performers. The work is clearly intended for a lyric soprano, with long phrases occasionally written incredibly high for a mezzo. Despite this setback, Bullock's incredibly expressive yet sensible musicality is perfect for the music. Clarke's writing style is dreamy and lush, whisking the audience away from reality into L