Search - Ingram Marshall :: Dark Waters

Dark Waters is Beautiful....

Christopher Forbes | Brooklyn,, NY | 07/23/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a CD that might seem nothing more than a gimmick on the surface; three pieces for double reed soloist and electronics using delay effects, transformed raven and loon calls and an old acetate recording of Sibelius' famed Swan of Tuolena. But Marshall is a real composer, not content with just a "remix" of his materials, he transforms the works into something new and distinctly his own.The stunner on the disc is Dark Waters. Written for Libby Van Cleve, the performer on this CD, it is essentially a concerto for English Horn and recomposed and subtly processed strings. At first, Marshall's source material is evident.... you can recognize the phrases from the Sibelius work, sounding like it is coming from an old 78 gramophone speaker. But as the work progresses, the original material becomes lost in a beautiful and dense reworking, one that builds a new composition based on Sibelius' beautifully voiced chords, and adds layers of other sounds from the source recording to create a dark and alluring background. Over top of this, the live English horn and the pre recorded one exchange duet material and new phrases that are mournful and ominous. The work is a beautiful 17-minute tone poem and more haunting on each rehearing.I wish the same could be said for Holy Ghost, the second work on the disc. This is based on live and prerecorded music on the oboe, and resembles nothing so much as Steve Reich's early tape-loop pieces, but without the sense of discovery behind the Reich works. Luckily, this work is short enough not to seriously outstay it's welcome.The final piece on the disc, Rave, is scored for oboe, oboe d'amour and a tape based on the calls of ravens and loons. This is a more effective piece, even if it doesn't reach the depths of Dark Waters. At times the source material is fairly self-evident, but at other times you loose it in a glorious wash of sound with the reed instrument sailing above. Marshall's music is fascinating on this disc...tonal, but adventurous. He has obviously been influenced by minimalism, but his take on the style is refreshingly free of bare repetition. Dark Waters is highly recommended, but Rave is also a well-done piece. Overall, a good modern CD by an interesting composer."

Ingram Marshall does it again...

K. Doles | 07/12/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Dark Waters" is another triumph for Ingram Marshall! This set of pieces for oboe, English horn, and oboe d'amore (ably played by Libby Van Cleve) with tape and/or processing is a showcase for Marshall's electro-acoustic inventiveness. Unlike many other composers' works for acoustic instruments with electronics, Marshall's works are never overwhelmed by their technological component. Here, technology is a means to an end, not an end in and of itself. The finished product here, as always, is stunning."