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Bryars: Piano Concerto (The Solway Canal)

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Bryars: Piano Concerto (The Solway Canal)

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A sense of spacious tranquility in these piano works (Feb 8, 2011)
Reviewer:Dan coombs
Gavin Bryars' music has focused on a very "post-minimal" sound He creates music that takes a long time to develop, that envelopes simple extended melodies with lush, unusual chord progressions and that hardly ever gets louder than a mezzo forte. His works are truly a radical, unique and undefinable bridge between the worlds of minimalism, new age ambience and jazz and I have come to love it... Gavin Bryars' music has focused on a very "post-minimal" sound He creates music that takes a long time to develop, that envelopes simple extended melodies with lush, unusual chord progressions and that hardly ever gets louder than a mezzo forte. His works are truly a radical, unique and undefinable bridge between the worlds of minimalism, new age ambience and jazz and I have come to love it all! Many readers may be familiar with his breakthrough work, "The Sinking of the Titanlic" or the more recent and fascinating "Cello Concerto" This new CD on the Naxos label features three of Bryars' works for piano. The big one - the one that simply demands careful uninterrupted listening - is his Piano Concerto, "The Solway Canal". The first piece on the disc is "After Handel's Vespers" for solo piano (originally written for harpsichord) The work is, indeed, written after pieces of melody found in the 'Vespers' of G F Handel. Some wonderful effects are created by embedding a section of the original melodic line into a very Bryars like minimalist texture. There are moments of ornamentation, such as trills and grupetti that sound like they belong in the golden Baroque and in jazz improvisation equally. Bryars' "Ramble on Cortona" was written for the present performer, Ralph Van Raat, and is based on themes from Bryars' "Laude" for voices which, in turn, is based on some 13th century manuscripts found in Cortona, Italy. This is a very beautiful piece evocative of everything from plainsong to Faure to Monk. The work does "ramble" in a wonderful way through some harmonies that flow together, that surprise and intermingle. The real prize on this disc, though, is the Piano Concerto, "The Solway Canal" This is in no way a "typical" piano concerto. Written for piano, orchestra and chorus, this is another beautiful example of Bryars' ability to create new sounds from somewhat traditional concepts. The piano in this work does not play virtuoistically. It acts almost as a guide through a long, winding exotic voyage through timbre, harmonies and voicings. There are moments of exposed and beautiful solo writing for the winds and strings that rather invade the space created by the piano's meanderings and the chorus's commentary. The choir also never rises above a medium dynamic and Ralph van Raat plays sensitively throughout. I do wish the booklet contained the text by the Scottish poet Edwin Morgan from which it is derived because it is just a bit hard to hear the words and, therefore, search for symbolism. The sound is what matters. I found that approaching this piece as if it were inspired by the cover art (the photograph "Boat and Fog" by Xandranico) is a reflective exercise. The piano really does seems to float, carrying us down a waterway of visions that are strange and beautiful and - like all Bryars - bearing the unknown that becomes a pleasant surprise with every chord progression and every nuance. The Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic under Otto Tausk plays cleanly and with commitment. Highly recommended for any Bryars' fans and anyone enjoying peaceful, evocative music. (read more)

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Label: Naxos Classics
UPC: 747313257072
Item Number: 8572570
Release Date: Feb 22, 2011

Bryars: Piano Concerto (The Solway Canal)

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