Users' Reviews
By mm119339
12-Jul-2012
Spaces and Places / Eva Ostergaard / Dacapo
The concept of this CD is to get 5 Danish composers to write multi-tracked flute pieces utilizing the various reverbs available at Lagumkloster Church in Denmark. Although the idea on paper is interesting, not having control over reverb length in a multi-track setting presents all kinds of musical problems which are very difficult to fix in a mix. But reverb issues aside, music, in the end is about the composers and the performance—in this case, the performances by Eva Ostergaard are superb and the compositions have mix blessings.
The first composer is Peter Bruun whose mixture of bird loops, hymn melodies, madrigal-like flute quartets, untrained solo-male songs and general Renaissanceness, conjure all the mysteries of a psychedelic soundtrack from a late 60’s art film. At times he arpeggiates Hindemith fourths along with other 20th Century allusions, while the formal architecture floats by like clouds in the sky, with little formal connection.
I found the second composer, Jexper Holmen, more interesting. Mrs. Schmidt is a multi-tracked bass flute piece, though it was a bit defuse (too reverby and having deep muddied harmonies). Deimos is better with its hypnotic minimalist language. The third composer, Torben Snekkestad, was more traditionally modernist with a solo alto flute piece in a quasi serial/pitch set tradition (no multi-tracking).
The 4th composer, Morten Olsen’s piece, The Dark Room was a lot more musically sophisticated in its electro-acoustic roots, although the roots are more Musique Concrete vis-a-vis splicing and dicing. Long loops churn with bits and pieces floating over top, and with not a lot of use of stereo space (lots in the left side at times!). Formally it all seemed very random.
The final composer, Thomas Olesen’s piece opens with fast parallel chords up and down in scales. Besides the melody being too far back in the mix, the piece goes into a very odd Schoenberg /Hindemith section which eventually ends up back to the parallel scales.
As mentioned the spirited performances of Ms. Ostergaard are worth the price of admission to the Lagumkloster Church.
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