Attractive New American String Orchestra Works, Beautifully
J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 08/20/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The ensemble on this CD, the String Orchestra of New York City (SONYC), is a group of young string players, most of them members of chamber groups, some of them concertizing soloists, which was formed in the late 1990s. I had never heard them, or even heard of them, until this CD found its way into my hands. And my lord they are GOOD! Impeccable intonation, impeccable ensemble, and musicality in spades. Add to that the music they're playing -- all relatively new, all American in origin, all attractive -- and you've got a winner of a disc.
Chris Theofanidis is a Dallas-born forty-something who currently teaches at Peabody. His music is getting a big buzz these days. His three movement piece, 'Vision and Miracles', is gorgeous. In style I suppose one might say it leans towards the minimalist, but there is enough variation, metric complexity and melodic interest to keep one's attention and evoke admiration. This is a very appealing work. Paul Moravec won the Pulitzer recently for his 'Tempest Fantasy' and he writes immediately accessible music that is not, however, dumbed down. His 17-minute 'Morph', featured here, is based on the story of Apollo and Daphne from Ovid's 'Metamorphoses.' But the title also refers, punnily, to Morpheus, the god of sleep and dreams. The music expertly rings the changes on bits and pieces of motivic material and in the process has a dreamlike quality.
Lisa Bielawa is currently composer-in-residence for the hot Boston Modern Orchestra Project. The present work, 'The Trojan Women', paints portraits of three grieving women -- Hecuba, Cassandra and Andromache -- who lost husbands in the gruesome Trojan War. The three movements differ from each other markedly but each conveys a particular kind of mourning. Beautifully written and scored music.
I'm somewhat puzzled by 'Transformation of the Hummingbird' by Polish/American composer Michael Gatonska. I haven't a clue about the meaning of the odd title and Gatonska's accompanying jargonistic notes about the piece might as well be in Polish. The music, to my ear, often seems aimless and the writing occasionally clotted. There are some striking sonorities but I just couldn't seem to get my ears around the music. I suspect others will be more attracted to it.
The playing of SONYC and the ultra-clear recorded sound (engineer: Adam Abeshouse) make this a remarkable disc and I particularly recommend it for those looking for modern string-orchestra music. (I admit that I am more than ordinarily fond of string orchestra sonority, which attracted me to this disc in the first place.)
Scott Morrison
"
Track Listings (4) - Disc #1