CLASSICAL
Henrik Ødegaard
Music by Henrik Ødegaard
Vox Clamantis
ECM
2767
Eric Whitacre
Home
Voces8
Decca
485 3970
Here are two outstanding — but very different — examples of contemporary choral music. Henrik Ødegaard’s sacred compositions are a dreamy blend of modernist and ancient sounds; on this collection performed by Vox Clamantis, the featured pieces are sometimes indistinguishable from Gregorian chant, and at other times are characterized by complex harmony. And often, you get a combination of the two, with simple modal melodies surrounded by a cloud of harmonically denser but still ethereal choral accompaniment. Eric Whitacre’s music is richly lyrical and more consistently modernist in sound, and yet at the same time thoroughly accessible and emotionally immediate. The centerpiece of Voces8’s Whitacre program is a stunning (and frankly heartbreaking) cantata titled The Sacred Veil, which is written on a text by Charles Anthony Silvestri. It’s a poetic account of Silvestri’s relationship with his late wife, from their meeting through their courtship, marriage, and the births of their children, culminating in her illness and death. A dizzying combination of joy, hope, courage, and despair is beautifully expressed in both word and music; this piece is one of the most moving things I’ve heard in years. Both discs are strongly recommended to all libraries.
Antoine Gosswin
Selected Works
Le Miroir de Musique / Baptiste Romain
Ricercar (dist. Naxos)
RIC450
An acolyte of Orlando di Lasso at the court of Albert V of Bavaria, Antoine Gosswin was originally from Liège, Belgium, and returned there after his extended apprenticeship in Munich. The music gathered on this recording was all written during his time in Bavaria, though, and includes madrigals, Mass sections, motets, and instrumental pieces. The fragmentary nature of the program makes it a bit frustrating as a listening experience — I would have loved to hear the entirety of the Missa invidiosa amor rather than just the Agnus Dei section, for example, and the same goes for the four other Masses of which we get to hear only individual extracts — but for research purposes this album will make an essential addition to any library’s early music collection: as far as I can tell, these are the only recordings currently available of any of Gosswin’s music. The performances by Le Miroir de Musique are outstanding.
William Byrd
Byrd 1589: Songs of Sundrie Natures (2 discs)
Alamire; Fretwork / David Skinner
Inventa (dist. Naxos)
INV1011
William Byrd
Mass for Five Voices
The Gesualdo Six / Owain Park
Hyperion (dist. Integral)
CDA68416
Two outstanding — and very different — William Byrd recordings are out this summer. From the magnificent Alamire vocal ensemble and Fretwork consort comes Byrd 1589, a rather unusual collection of secular and sacred songs that includes madrigal-like settings for anywhere from two to six voices, alongside penitential psalms and Christmas carols. This is material with which I was not very familiar, and I was struck by (among other elements) the cascading harmonies of the women’s voices on “From Virgin’s Womb,” the fugal structural subtleties of “Behold How Good,” and, most of all, the consistent bell-toned clarity of soprano Rachel Haworth’s voice. The Gesualdo Six’s recording of Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices brings the group’s now well-established rich blend and perfect intonation to this frequently recorded work, shedding new, golden light on a familiar repertoire. Along with the Mass, the program also includes luminous accounts of Byrd’s Ave verum corpus and other sacred songs, as well as his setting of Jeremiah’s Lamentations. The performances are hushed and restrained, and utterly gorgeous. Both albums highly recommended.
Hildegard von Bingen
Ad Lucem
Romain Daze; Jean-Paul Dessy
Cypres (dist. Naxos)
CYP0618
Unlike the rest of the entries in this month’s Classical section, this one is not technically a choral recording. But I couldn’t resist including it anyway, because it’s so unique and cool and because it’s based on music that was originally more or less choral. Using as a basis the morality play Ordo Virtutem written by 12th-century abbess Hildegard of Bingen, Romain Dayez and Jean-Paul Dessy have created a fusion of modern and ancient music that incorporates plainchant, electronics, and cello. The music is deeply respectful of the original; the electronic elements are quite subtle, and the voice is central throughout. And even though Ordo Virtutem is all about female Virtues overcoming the blandishments of an aggressively male Devil, the fact that the singer here is male never feels awkward or strange. Library collections that support either early or contemporary music (or both) should seriously consider this fine album.
Marc’Antonio Ingegneri
Volume Three: Missa Susanne un jour A5; Motets for Double Choir
Choir of Girton College, Cambridge; Historic Brass of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama / Jeremy West; Gareth Wilson
Toccata Classics (dist. Naxos)
TOCC 0677
When we think of sacred music in 16th-century Italy, our minds naturally turn to Venice and the musical giants who made their names at the Cathedral of San Marco: first Adriaan Willaert, then later the Andrea Gabrieli and his nephew Giovanni, and then of course Claudio Monteverdi. But we mustn’t forget Cremona — the city where Monteverdi was born and had his musical training under Marc’Antonio Ingegneri. Ingegneri’s music has been largely neglected, and this third volume in a series of performances by the Choir of Girton College seeks to remedy that: virtually everything on this album is recorded for the first time here. You’ll definitely hear elements of technique that Monteverdi learned while Ingegneri’s pupil, and evidence that the music of Cremona was just as lush, expansive, and thrilling as that being made in Venice.
JAZZ
Ben Powell
New Jazz Standards Volume 6: The Music of Carl Saunders
Summit (dist. MVD)
DCD 810
I’m always excited to see another installment in the ongoing New Standards series, which has featured a variety of artists performing tunes by the gifted composer Carl Saunders. Referring to these as “new standards” may sound a bit bold, but I have yet to hear a Saunders chart that I don’t believe could easily meet that… er… standard. The latest release in the series features violinist Ben Powell leading a quintet that includes the legendary drummer Peter Erskine and pianist Christian Jacob. Powell’s arrangements find him often multi-tracking himself on violins and violas, sometimes creating unusual effects. For example, on “Solicitude” he writes parallel harmonies for the strings that give a bit of a Jon Hassell vibe to the arrangement, while on “I Can Dig It” he plays the head on both violin and viola in octaves and then in more conventional voice-led harmony. His stylistic range is impressive — his solo on “Latin Tendencies” is delightfully light and frothy; the violin-piano duet setting of “Shared Secret” is tender and beautiful. The whole album is an excellent addition to the series.
Kaisa’s Machine
Taking Shape
Greenleaf Music (dist. Redeye)
GRE-CD-1101
“Nordic noir meets New York sparkle,” says the publicity one sheet, and how could I resist giving it a spin? Bassist/composer Kaisa Mäensivu hails from Finland originally, but moved to New York in 2016 shortly after organizing her group Kaisa’s Machine. There she studied under Dave Liebman and Ron Carter, earning a master’s at the Manhattan School of Music, and continuing to write for her ensemble. On their latest album, there’s plenty of swing and also plenty of angular modernism, as on the carefully structured and fascinating “Gravity” (featuring the fine vibraphonist Sasha Berliner). “Aurora Unbound” brings the strongest hint of genuine jazz noir, what with Tivon Pennicott’s tenor saxophone sounding like it’s bouncing and echoing off of rain-slick New York streets, and “Sink or Swim” sounds almost like a tone poem, with chord changes that bob and float on a current of harmony. This is fascinating and engrossing music by a major young talent.
Noah Haidu
Standards
Sunnyside
SSC 1705
This is pianist Noah Haidu’s tribute to the classic Keith Jarrett “Standard Trio” recordings, which featured bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette and were inaugurated 40 years ago this year. Haidu doesn’t ape Jarrett’s style (still less Jarrett’s jarring habit of moaning and whining on-mic during his recordings and performances), but ably replicates the easygoing swing and the crystalline clarity of sound that characterized all of those recordings. Accompanied by drummer Lewis Nash and alternately by bass players Buster Williams and Peter Washington, he is also joined on several tracks by saxophonist Steve Wilson for a set that includes the kind of familiar tunes you’d expect: “Old Folks,” “I Thought about You,” “Someday My Prince Will Come” (which sounds to me as much like a tribute to the Evans/LaFaro/Motian trio as to Jarrett’s), etc. As always, Haidu is both a brilliant and thoughtful player and a masterful bandleader.
Metropolitan Jazz Octet
The Bowie Project
Origin
82864
I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Lester Bowie, so I picked this one up with eagerness — only to discover that it’s actually a jazz tribute to David Bowie. Well, no worries, I’m also a big David Bowie fan, so I cued the disc up with only slight trepidation. “Slow Burn” and “5:15 the Angels Have Gone” both adapted themselves nicely to the balladic arrangements, but in my mind the test was going to be “Changes” — and I was startled by how well it worked out as a slow-to-midtempo contemplation. Vocalist Paul Marinaro sings in an only slightly adapted jazz style, wisely avoiding either rockish affectations or a Procrustean forcing of these songs into an artificial swing. Arranging duties are handed around between the band members, with a majority involving saxophonist Jim Gailloreto, and he deserves great credit for both taste and creativity.
Ben Wolfe
Unjust
Resident Arts
RA8449
Veteran bassist/composer/producer Ben Wolfe and his crew almost lost me on the opening number (“The Heckler,” with its long and self-indulgent solos) and then won me back decisively on the second (“Hats Off to Rebay,” with its pleasantly dry, side-slippy chord changes and better solo discipline), leaving me wondering what to expect on track 3. Well, track 3 turned out to be a lullaby; the following track is a slow-rolling hard bop burner that actually fades out (when was the last time you heard that on a jazz recording?); track 5 is a noirish vibes feature; and so forth. If by “and so forth” you understand me to mean that pretty much every track is a departure from the style of the previous one, you’re right. And I mean that in the best possible way. Kudos to Wolfe for producing such a kaleidoscopically interesting program for his tenth album as a leader.
Sara Caswell
The Way to You
Anzic
ANZ-0085-02
Here’s another outstanding album of violin jazz, though a very different one. On The Way to You, Sara Caswell is supported by a guitar-bass-drums trio (and on several tracks by the brilliant vibes player Chris Dingman) in a program of original compositions that shimmer and float even when the groove is propulsive and that couch structural complexity in sweetly lyrical melodic lines and lush atmospherics. That these atmospherics are achieved with such minimal instrumental forces is impressive, but more impressive (and important) is the sheer beauty of the compositions: notice how deeply lovely “Stillness” is, not to mention the stunning ballad “On My Way to You.” “Voyage,” on the other hand, swings conventionally and powerfully but features a nearly abstract chord progression. Caswell’s tone is also worth noting: there’s a classical decorousness to her sound, but you’ll also hear Hot Club-style inflections and maybe just a hint of Jean-Luc Ponty from time to time. To make jazz that is this modernist but still this accessible and emotionally immediate is quite an accomplishment.
FOLK/COUNTRY
Brigid Mae Power
Dream from the Deep Well
Fire
FIRE680
Hovering somewhere between Irish folk music and dream pop, the songs of Brigid Mae Power manage to combine a fully conventional prettiness with an underlying oddness that borders on the eerie. Some of that is her voice: she sings in a slightly ethereal head voice that quavers gently but never exactly wobbles; her pitch is solid, but there’s something almost spectral about her delivery. On numbers like “Some Life You’ve Known” and “I’ll Wait Outside for You” that effect is intensified by steel guitar and vibraphone; on the traditional tunes (“I Know Who Is Sick,” “Down by the Glenside”) it’s intensified by the feeling that you could be hearing them on hundred-year-old wax cylinders. This is a gorgeous album, made all the more so by its underlying weirdness.
The Kody Norris Show
Rhinestone Revival
Rebel
REB-CD-1878
The line between revivalist enthusiasm and self-parody can be thin and treacherous, and Kody Norris and his group are to be commended for continuing to tread that line so gracefully and successfully. Sure, there’s some humor here — the album title is a reference to the band’s penchant for bespoke Nudie suits — but the group’s dedication to hardcore, straight-ahead bluegrass music is 100% serious. One of the impressive things about Norris and crew is how seamlessly (not to say sneakily) they’re able to incorporate modern elements like trickier-than-normal chord changes into their songs: for example, “Baltimore I’m Leaving” departs subtly but nicely from the usual three-chord format, and yes, that’s a snare drum on their version of “Looking at the World through a Windshield” (it still counts as trad, though: see the Osbornes and Jim & Jesse if you have questions). As always, Norris’s voice is a pleasingly high-lonesome tenor and the harmonies are tight and tasty.
Le Vent du Nord
20 Printemps
La Compagnie du Nord
CIE012
The traditional music of Québec is both fascinating and a perpetual joy. Fascinating because it’s such a unique blend of Celtic, French, and American influences; a joy because that unique blend results in a sound that is distinctively tuneful, rhythmically propulsive, and (even at its most cheerful and uptempo) oddly melancholy. Characterized by unison call-and-response vocals and percussive foot tapping/stomping, Québecois folk music is centered in fiddle tunes but in no way bounded by them. Le Vent du Nord is currently one of the two or three top groups working in this genre, and this recent album showcases them at their best: playing rollicking tune sets, singing lustily, presenting tunes both traditional and original that blend together perfectly. And yes, that’s a hurdy gurdy you’re hearing on several tracks. C’est chouette quand même, hein?
Caitríona O’Leary & Dúlra
Sleepsongs: Irish Lullabies and Songs of Sleep (reissue)
Heresy (dist. Redeye)
014
Originally issued almost ten years ago, this remarkable collection of “suantrai: traditional Irish lullabies and songs relating to sleep from the 14th century to the present day” has now returned to market — still in its original lavish casebound book package, richly illustrated with photos designed to look like pre-Raphaelite paintings. That visual aesthetic is appropriate to the music, which is beautiful and mysterious with the kind of Gothic undercurrent much beloved of Dead Can Dance fans. Along with the expected fiddles, flutes, and whistles, instrumental forces also include viola da gamba, clarinet, and even a gamelan ensemble, so don’t expect trad purity here — but the overall vibe is definitely Celtic and folky, and Caitríona O’Leary’s voice is dark-hued and gorgeous.
ROCK/POP
Turn Turn Turn
New Rays from an Old Sun
Simon
SRC-052522
Do you miss the paisley-patterned, acid-tinged, jangly pop music of the 1960s, as exemplified by bands like the Byrds and the Searchers? If so, you’re not alone — and the aptly named Turn Turn Turn is here for you. The trio’s sophomore effort continues the winning formula of their debut album Can’t Go Back: tight harmonies, chiming guitars, elements of country and Southern rock and acid rock blending into a backward-looking but ultimately pretty original sound. Of course, I’m on the record as believing that originality is somewhat overrated in pop music, and what I care about most are the hooks — which are everywhere on this very fine disc. Highlights include the blissfully tuneful “Dopamine Blues” and the extra-jangly “Schisandra.” Recommended to all libraries that serve lovers of the twelve-string guitar. (And we are legion.)
A Produce
The Clearing (reissue)
Independent Project
IP077SECD
Flexagon
The Towers I: Inaccessible
Disco Gecko (dist. MVD)
GKOCD039
The late Barry Craig, who recorded under the name A Produce, released The Clearing in 1988 on a limited basis and only on vinyl LP. Twenty years later it was released again on a very limited-run CD-R, with a bonus track, and fifteen years later here it comes again on CD in an expanded edition featuring an additional three tracks. The music is perhaps a bit dated (listen to the somewhat Casio-esque drum machine on “For Jackson Pollack [sic] #3,” for example), but it’s both genuinely enjoyable and also a valuable archival snapshot of the state of experimental pop music in the late 1980s. Flexagon’s The Towers I: Inaccessible consists mostly of quiet and introspective pieces inspired by a series of towers that stand along England’s Guernsey coast: one a World War II observation tower, another a decorative folly, another a Cold War-era communications tower, etc. Field recordings are incorporated into the largely synthesized music, as are occasional incursions of cello and English horn — and, a bit unsettlingly, whispered spoken word on “Loophole Tower No. 10.” This is intriguing and lovely stuff.
Daryl Groetsch
Gardens in Glass (digital only)
Self-released
No cat. no.
Daryl Groetsch
Frozen Waste (digital only)
Self-released
No cat. no.
And while we’re in ambient/experimental mode, let me also draw your attention to these two new simultaneous releases by Daryl Groetsch, who normally records on the Hausu Mountain label under the name Pulse Emitter. In the latter mode he produces music that is more intense and driving — but under his own name he makes ambient music of a much more abstract but consistently interesting nature. Gardens in Glass is the least abstract of these two offerings; although there is almost nothing in the way of explicit melody, it’s a relatively colorful set of soundscapes that shift and change consistently and occupy a broad timbral spectrum. Frozen Waste, as its title suggests, is colder and more monochromatic in tone — and there’s a sense of foreboding underlying this program that is not present in the former. Both albums are beautiful, but each in a very different way. Recommended to all libraries.
WORLD/ETHNIC
Arooj Aftab; Vijay Iyer; Shahzad Ismaily
Love in Exile
Verve
B0037175-02
Having been absolutely bowled over by Pakistani singer/composer Arooj Aftab’s stunning debut album Vulture Prince, I was very excited to see this new release, which finds her working with the acclaimed jazz and contemporary classical pianist Vijay Ayer and bassist/synthesist Shahzad Ismaily. This is very much a trio album: although Aftab’s voice naturally drifts in into the center of the sound, Iyer’s piano and Ismaily’s bass are far more than accompanying instruments here, and the music is really like nothing you’ve ever heard. The piano sometimes floats a hint or two of jazz inflection, but this is not jazz; Aftab’s vocal stylings are as melismatic as you’d expect, but never flashy or overtly virtuosic; Ismaily’s bass sound sometimes evokes the work of Bill Laswell (notice in particular his lines on “Haseen Thi”) but never really sounds like anyone else. One hesitates to characterize this music as “mystical,” with all the orientalist baggage such a term carries, but it’s hard to escape the feeling that it really does come from another world. Highly recommended to all libraries.
Johnny Osbourne
Right Right Time
Easy Star/Baco
LOSBCD
To say that this is the best album Johnny Osbourne has made in decades is no idle claim — Osbourne has been on the reggae scene for over 50 years, though he scored his biggest hits in the early dancehall days beginning in 1980. His songs “Buddy Bye,” “Ice Cream Love” and “Water Pumping,” classics of that era, still mash up the sound systems. The new album comes with very little information: we know that it was recorded with the support of the French Connexion Band, a studio ensemble that plays in a heavy rootswise style that evokes the glory days of the Roots Radics, with the addition of a tight horn section. The backing tracks they provide for Osbourne give him plenty of room to stretch his still-powerful voice on songs like “Trust No One” and a slowly rolling recut of his 1981 hit “Kiss Somebody.” There is not a weak track anywhere on this album — and to listen to him sing, you’d never believe he’s 75 years old.
Aditya Prakash
Karnatik Roots
Yarlung
YAR54475
When I first received a review copy of this album by Indian singer Aditya Prakash, I wasn’t sure whether the music was going to be classical or some kind of modernist fusion. The title Karnatik Roots seemed to suggest music that is rooted in classical tradition but not necessarily a pure expression of it. (And the back cover photo looks pretty punk rock, to be honest — as do the liner photos that show Prakash onstage with a variety of Western instruments.) But in fact, this is very much a classical album, a program of seven ragas sung with a combination of fresh energy and respect for ancient musical structures. Prakash performs in jugalbandi style, alongside violinist Kamalakiran Vinjamuri, who sometimes echoes his sung lines and sometimes comments on them; in addition, Rajna Swaminathan plays the mridangam and Vini Sundaram contributes drones on the tambura. The Yarlung label prides itself on sound quality, and with good reason: the recorded sound on this album is exemplary.
Saltwater Hank
Gal’üünx wil lu Holtga Liimi (digital only)
Self-released
No cat. no.
Saltwater Hank (a.k.a. Jeremy Pahl) is a member of the Gitk’a’ta Ts’msyen community in Kxeen, British Columbia, and a guitarist/fiddler/singer rooted in country music. This album is an act of defiance: an entire program of songs written and sung in Sm’algyax, the ancient language of the Ts’msyen people. The song titles defy the diacritical abilities of most computer keyboards, certainly mine — for example, the “k” in the word “Gitk’a’ta” should be underlined — but as close as I can render them they include ” Waaba Gwasoo,” “Liimi Mak’ooxs” and “Goosnł Waals Noon.” The music is scrappy, bordering on cowpunky; steel guitar adds a layer of sweetness onto wobbly vocals and raggedy guitars, but the tunes are engaging and the performances tons of fun. That defiance is always there under the surface, though, and gives an edge to even the most light-hearted fare on this fascinating album. (I received a physical promo CD of this one, but it appears to be available commercially only in digital format.)
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