By MauriceGerald
21-Feb-2011

Nothing to Frighten the Horses  

Tristan Murail was a pupil of Messaien and co-founder with the tragicaly short-lived Gerard Grisey of the so-called 'spectral' school, which has had considerable impact on avant garde French and American music (Murail teaches at Columbia University). This rather daunting background should not however put off anyone who listens to Messaien, say to his 'Couleurs de la Cite Celeste', from enjoying this album. Without delving into the intricacies of 'spectral' theory it is sufficient to say that your ears tell you that pure sound and the harmonics of sound override 'development' in the classical-romantic traditions - and what agglomerations of sound, startling and glorious are produced by these means!

All three works date from the first half of the 1980s and are played in order of composition; the first and last are major pieces for large orchestras, 'Disintegrations' for 17 instruments and electronics. All three pieces, each performed by a different orchestra/ensemble exploit the possibilities of their instrumental/acoustical and electronic resources to the full. Rich fare; but digestible.
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