A Place Between International Record Review Sept 2009
All of the works on this disc could be said to address some deep spiritual or philosophical need; a glance at the names of the composers represented here should also give you an idea of the dominant mood, which is one of contemplative calm. Yet monotony is avoided, largely through the variety of styles and instrumentation and of the quality of the performances, which are first-rate. It’s hard to believe that the likes of Tavener, Pärt and Górecki started out as hard-edged avant-garde composers; although in many ways their decision to move in the opposite direction of their peers could be seen as terribly avant-garde in itself, or at least post-Modern.
Tavener’s Ikon of Joy/Sorrow here receives its first recording, the drone-and-chant texture simply and movingly realized by the Callino Quartet, while Pärt’s timeless-sounding Da pacem Domine, in a world première recording of the string quartet version, is rendered with the same sensitivity. Pärt’s Hymn to a Great City for two pianos meanwhile has a multi-tracked Michael McHale inhaling the perfumed air of the composer’s hypnotic repeated notes and spare progressions which later blossom into delicate arpeggios.
Górecki’s Good Night (In Memoriam Michael Vyner) was written in 1990 in honour of the late artistic director of the London Sinfonietta and is cast in three movements. In both the opening ‘Lento’ and closing ‘Lento-largo’,McHale (on piano) and flautist Vourneen Ryan successfully capitalize on the sparseness of the writing to create an atmosphere of awe and mystery that is magnified in the last movement by soprano Patricia Rozario and percussionist Stephen Kelly. The middle ‘Lento tranquillissimo’ is also minimal in its scoring but the musicians manage to negotiate an impressive climax without destroying the overall effect.
The religious tenor of Alexander Knaifel’s music quickly got him into trouble with the Soviet authorities and in 1979 he was blacklisted by Tikhon Khrennikov,
Secretary of the Union of Soviet Composer. His transparent, crystalline O Heavenly King dates from 1994 but was revised in 2004 and it’s this version,for string quartet, soprano, piano and celeste that we hear here. Noted Tavener interpreter Rozario again shows her affinity for this style of music, as do McHale and the Callino Quartet.
The Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov provides two further world première recordings in his Ikon for string quartet and ‘Lullaby’ from 25.X.1893 … P. I. Tchaikovsky. The ghostly viol-consort sound of the former contrasts with the simple berceuse-like melody, played with an expansive cantabile by violinist Ioana Petcu-Colan over a descending ground bass of the latter. John Cage’s ten-minute work for solo piano In a Landscape, with which McHale brings this disc to a tranquil close, is perhaps atypical of the composer’s style, with Cage availing himself of traditional melody and harmony to weave a gentle composition of enormous general appeal.
Expertly recorded in St Peter’s Church of Ireland, Drogheda, in Ireland, ‘A Place Between’ offers an oasis of calm amid the turmoil of modern life.
Though with the music asking far more questions than it answers, the experience is far from an anodyne one.
Robert Levett
http://recordreview.co.uk/index.php
BBC Music Magazine Review September 2009
The inclusion of John Cage alongside a number of so-called holy minimalists seems surprising, but the ‘hook’ for this collection is the effect that profound religious and cultural encounters have had on the composers, and Cage was a pioneer in incorporating lessons from Eastern philosophies and artistic stances. His serene 1948 work In a Landscape is given a sensitive reading by Michael McHale. If you thought there was nothing more to Cage than conceptual gimmicks, then this may well make you think again.
The rest of the composers featured here are less controversial, but no less significant to the state of serious music at the turn of the millennium. All the pieces were composed (or, in the case of Pärt ‘s hymn to New York, radically revised) within the last two decades. Almost all are receiving premiere recordings or premieres in these versions. In an age of anxiety and conflict, this music looks to higher levels of consciousness to provide reassurance. Regardless of whether you share such faith, there is no doubting the beauty of the music or the sincerity and conviction of these excellent performances.
Barry Witherden.
Performance ****
Recording ****
Classic FM Magazine gave the LCMS cd A Place Between an excellent 4* review in the September 2009 edition.
“If you’re someone for whom contemporary music is a dissonant turn-off, then this could be the disc that converts you. The varied programme of short, often minimalist chamber music includes premiere recordings by Knaifel, Tavener, Pärt and Silvestrov, all inspired in some way by religious or cultural encounters. Inevitably then, the music is down-tempo, but it’s comtemplative rather than syrupy. It’s hard to single out favourites, but soprano Patricia Rozario is at her golden-hued best in Knaifel’s ‘O Heavenly King’, while Silvestrov’s string quartet, ‘Ikon’, is beautifully reminiscent of 16th-century viol music.”
