Search - David Lang, Evan Ziporyn, So Percussion :: So Percussion

Music that stops time....

David W. Madeira | Nashville, TN USA | 02/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For anyone interested in up and coming percussion music, performers, and composers, this album is a must-have. The So Percussion Group is a rising quartet from New York with an ambitious repertoire, a growing reputation, a tremendous amount of skill and musicality, and now with this record, an amazing piece of music with their name on it.



By this I am referring to the second piece on this record, "The So-Called Laws of Nature," composed for the group by David Lang. I had the privilege of hearing them perform this piece live in the Nashville area about a month ago, and it was one of the most moving musical experiences of my life. Composed in three movements on different timbres of percussion instruments, Lang's piece literally suspends time for the listeners. By the time the piece was over, anyone could have told me I had been listening to it for five minutes or five hours, and I would have hardly been able to tell the difference.



The piece is characterized by repetitive patterns occuring with subtle rhythmic and timbral alterations. The first movement, which involves each performer striking a row of different-sized wooden planks, incorporates patterns which speed up and slow down while gracing each "pitch," then moving back across the boards in what sounds like a cyclical formula. Parts of the movement involve all players in unison, while at other times certain players stray from the others. As the parts begin to diverge and resolve and it sounds like the movement is coming to a close, the tempo-shifting patterns begin again, and again, in a fashion that is not at all tedious, but transcendent. Time literally stalls.



The second movement then sees the players moving on to metallic bars, set at several different pitches. The parts interweave with each other creating rhythmic and harmonic melodies that involve hocketing, or creating a melody that is comprised of different notes from different players (like members of a handbell choir). As the movement develops, the players add drums to the mix, resulting in a beautiful mixture of metal and skin sounds. Primal patterns underscore beautiful melodic lines, creating a pristine mix of the ethereal and the primitive.



After a long pause of intended and meaningful silence between the second and final movements, the four players move to a set of flower pots, teacups, and crotales, and jump immediately into a movement of the most pristine and heart-wrenching simplicity. Using only four notes played upon flower pots, Lang has created one of the most moving chordal melodies I've ever heard. An interval of a perfect fifth sustains for ten or so seconds, then the top note moves down a step to a perfect fourth. Then, the bottom note moves down so we are at another perfect fifth a whole step below where we started. Finally the top note moves back to its original starting point (now a major sixth interval), followed by the bottom note moving back to its starting point. As the players repeat this pattern over and over, they add tiny little colors over the top by lightly striking the teacups and crotales. The effect is nearly overwhelming as we are left with a cyclical, expanding and contracting foundation -- reminiscent of God or the universe itself, the master narrative -- about which the bodies of the created dance, moving about and engaging in playful curiosity with the source of all life. This movement speaks to the eternal like nothing else I have ever heard. Time stands still.



This is a piece that must be listened to either live or through headphones while lying still. It must be heard to be believed, and don't be surprised if it moves you to tears. Check out this group -- they have a new record coming out soon -- but if you ever have a chance to see them in concert, jump on that opportunity. It is a completely perspective-altering experience."

Another Bang up job from Bang on a Can composers!

Jeff Abell | Chicago, IL USA | 05/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"SO Percussion ensemble is a hot young New York percussion group with an exploring sensibility and plenty of chops. The works included here are by two of the composers closely associated with the Bang on a Can Festival, Evan Ziporyn and David Lang. Ziporyn's "Melody Competition" evokes elements I associate with some of the music of Bali, not surprising considering that Ziporyn directs a Balinese gamelan ensemble at MIT. Lang's "So-Called Laws of Nature" is slightly more ambitious, evolving in three movements for different instrumental combinations. I like the 2nd movement, where bell sounds eventually evolve into drums, and the 3rd movement, that sounds like the joyful romping of children in a mound of broken glass. It's been a long time since a recording label produced such consistently excellent stuff. Thanks, Cantelope, for another beauty!"