Brutal New Music Reviews

     Nirmali Fenn - When Apathy is Betrayal Just under an hour long, Nirmali Fenn's When Apathy is Betrayal  connects an intensely spiritual musical langu age with the visceral reality of the modern world. Written for two sopranos and an ensemble of flute, percussion, strings, and electronics, Fenn's music captivates the listener, forcing us to reflect with intent. The two sopranos,  Barbora Kabátková and Pavla Radostova, brilliantly navigate the demanding and theatrical writing, switching from independent virtuosic solo lines, to blending within the larger ensemble, to acting as one more-than-human combined vocal instrument - often supplemented with live electronics. The cohesive success of the work is largely due to the fact that  When Apathy is Betrayal is bookended by forceful drumming solos, inspired by Sri Lankan Kandyan drumming. The percussionists of Prague Modern, Štěpán Hon and Ladislav Bilan Jr., are able to seamlessly incorporate the style ...

     Duo Étrange - i wish i were dead With their debut album,   Duo Étrange , Sahara von Hattenberger and Vanessa Croome, presents a collection of contemporary works, blurring between art song and chamber music. Supported on some of the pieces by pianist, Joanne Kang, and clarinetist, Airat Ichmouratov,  i wish i were dead  claims to brazenly support contemporary classical music. Even on its fringes, the works are all focused around traditionally pleasant sounds and accessibility. Duo Étrange's mission also comes across as quasi-paradoxical, giving us all newly composed music, but only when directly related to ancient themes and traditional mystic texts.  Two pieces by Jeffrey Fong open the album, new commissions which set excerpts of a Medieval epic poem. Fong's jerky vocal writing is assuaged by Croome's incredibly lyrical voice, but it still results in the musical impression that the composer has no care whether or not the text is hea...