Search - Gerard Grisey, Ensemble S :: Gérard Grisey: Solo pour deux; Anubis-Nout; Stèle; Charme; Tempus ex machina

Solo works were not Grisey's forte

Christopher Culver | 08/16/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Gerard Grisey's works for orchestra and chamber ensemble are some of the most exciting pieces of recent times, enthralling listeners with their "spectralist" aesthetic where the music is the very stuff of sound itself. Unfortunately, his solo and duo output is much less interesting, as the following Kairos disc reveals.



"Charme" for clarinet solo (1969) is only about 6 minutes long, but I have a hard time getting all the way through it. It's just so meandering an exploration of the instrument without any compelling musical line. The two-movement "Anubis-Nout" for clarinet solo (1983) is more focused and might keep one's attention in a recital setting, but it has no attraction for further listening. The same goes for the curiously titled "Solo pour deux" for clarinet and trombone (1981). Nowhere do we hear the sound-morphing magic of his spectralist triumphs.



We find two pieces for percussionists, here the Ensemble S. The brief "Tempus ex machina" for six percussionists (1979) starts so quietly that one doesn't even hear half of the work on this recording, and by the time it gets loud enough to perceive, it's almost over. Now, I've read the score and Grisey's description of his aims, and I think this piece might be interesting enough in live performance where you can see the performers, but it's not one of Grisey's major works even though its theoretical concerns might have been close to his heart at the time. "Stele" for two percussionists (1995) is more active, but nonetheless lightweight, and Kairos' recording of the piece is unsatisfying.



If you've never heard Grisey's music before, I wholeheartedly recommend his orchestral cycle "Les Espaces Acoustiques" (best heard on a fine Accord disc). This Kairos disc here will probably appeal only to Grisey completists, and you can put it safely down at the bottom of your list of what to collect."