Search - Robert Houlihan :: BARRY: Orchestral Works

Process music

Jeff Dunn | Alameda, California United States | 11/25/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Barry's music is more interesting for the passion he invests in constructing it rather than the displeasure I experienced hearing it. Once he captures source material, of his own or others, he reworks it according to specified machinations until it retains nary a smidgeon of the original character.



In the program notes, fellow Irish composer Kevin Volans tries to elevate Barry's "Chevaux-de-frix" to " ... the most powerful and overpowering work of recent times--a latter-day 'Rite of Spring' in which the listener feels more like the victim than a witness." The piece is indeed an ordeal: relentlessly dissonant, driving, cold, and structurally unsatisfying, it's an item for aural masochists. Nevertheless, it and the other pieces are worth hearing--once--to see if this Process music is your cup of very bitter tea.



For the latter-day "Rite of Spring," Christopher Rouse's "Gorgon" is a far superior candidate. I'd recommend waiting for its reissue rather than making Barry's acquaintance in this recording."