Recent Releases No. 73 (CD Reviews)

by Karl Nehring   

Maya Beiser X Terry Riley: In C. Maya Beiser, cello; vocals; Shane Shanahan, drums; Matt Kilmer, drums. Islandia Music Records IMR014

 

Our previous encounter with the American cellist Maya Beiser (b. 1963) was with her unusual but captivating traversal of Bach’s venerable Suites for Solo Cello. With this new release she has leaped forward several centuries to bring us music from the American composer Terry Riley (b. 1935), her arrangement of his seminal 1964 composition In C. “To me,” says Beiser, “Terry Riley’s In C is an amalgamation of an ‘open source’ and ‘sacred text.’ In creating this album I was interested in finding the serendipitous rhythmic and melodic connections that emerge when reconstructing In C’s 53 melodic cells as a series of cello loops, floating above continuous C string cello drones. The cello’s lowest, most lush string, with its overtones and harmonics, forms the depth and resonance of the album.” The end result is music that is at once both simple and fascinatingly compelling. The cello supplies the drone, but also plays above it. The drummers add rhythmic intensity that drive the music along without ever threatening to overpower it. 

In a recent Substack posting (which you can find here) the brilliant music and culture critic Ted Gioia enthusiastically recommended a dozen albums for what he termed “immersive listening.” His selections ranged from Mahler to Miles to Metallica,  Hildegard Jarrett, to Bach and beyond – and although he mentioned but did not quite recommend early Riley, I’m confident that this 21^st-century take on early Riley by Maya Beiser and friends is just the sort of immersive listening experience that he would heartily endorse (I urge Classical Candor readers to seek out Mr. Gioia’s publications and especially his Substack column, The Honest Broker, for his insights into music and other matters). 

 

The engineering lends itself to an immersive experience, especially to those who might choose to listen with headphones or earbuds; however, those who listen through a more standard stereo loudspeaker setup will not be disappointed by the full, rich, spacious sound. It's a spellbinding release, well worth an audition for those with a carefree spirit.

 

Touch of Time. Arve Henriksen/Harmen Fraanje: Melancholia; The Beauty of Sundays; Fraanje: Redream; Henriksen/Fraanje: The Dark Light; Fraanje: What All This Is; Henriksen/Fraanje: Mirror Images; Fraanje: Touch of Time; Henriksen/Fraanje: Winter Haze; Red and Black; Passing on the Past. Arve Henriksen, trumpet, electronics; Harmen Fraanje, piano. ECM 2794 587 0512

 

The Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen (b.1968) and Dutch pianist Harmen Fraanje (b. 1976) have combined their composing and performing talents to produce an album that is difficult to classify but easy to enjoy. Although both are considered jazz musicians, and the compositions are brief tunes that certainly make this release look to be a jazz album, the impression that the music makes is not far removed from what a classical listener might expect to form upon listening to an album of chamber music by, say, Debussy or Ravel. This is music that insinuates rather than shouts, making its points quietly, inviting us into a peaceful yet stimulating realm. I was eager to hear this album based upon my fond memory of Henriksen’s magical ECM album Cartography, (which I was shocked to discover was released way back in 2010), and I was not disappointed. 

But where that album was heavily multilayered and electronic, this new one is simpler and more acoustic in its soundscape and orientation, which should make it more accessible and immediately appealing to Classical Candor readers. The only negative that might put some folks off is its duration, around 38 minutes – 38 blissful minutes, to be sure, but more bliss would certainly not be amiss. Still, Touch of Time is well worth your time.