Category Archives: On record

On Record – Kate Moore: Velvet (Heritage Records)

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Ole Böhn (violin) (Heather, Dies Irae, Way of the Dead); Minah Choe (cello) (Velvet), Daniel Herscovitch (piano) (all) with Benjamin Kopp (piano) (The Body is an Ear)

Kate Moore
Zomer (2006)
Velvet (2010)
The Body is an Ear (2011)
Heather (2013)
Dies Irae (2015)
Way of the Dead (2017)
Lucidity: Eyes of Hands (2018)

Heritage HTGCD137 [79’38’’]
Producers Kate Moore, Daniel Herscovitch Engineers David Kim-Boyle, David Kinney Recorded 3 March, 8 August and 9 October 2023 at Verbrugghen Hall, Conservatorium of Music, Sydney

Reviewed by Richard Whitehouse

What’s the story?

Heritage rings the changes on its schedule of welcome reissues with this release of music by Kate Moore (b1979), Australian composer born in the UK who currently resides in the Netherlands, all played by a notable roster of musicians based at Sydney Conservatorium.

What’s the music like?

As the booklet notes make plain, any tendency to Minimalism in Moore’s music is rendered from a distinctly maximalist perspective. Hence an inexorable build-up of tension in the two-piano version of The Body is an Ear (initially for organ and recast for two such instruments), with its inspiration in Sufist legend, or growing plangency of Dies Irae where violin intones elements of that plainchant against some ominously undulating harmonies on piano in what the composer has aptly described as a ‘‘spiritual meditation on forgiveness and redemption’’.

Arguably even more revealing of Moore’s aesthetic is the title-track. Velvet draws cello and piano into a sustained and increasingly intense dialogue whose ostensible depiction of cloth in Renaissance painting yields great textural and colouristic diversity, while building toward an impassioned culmination from which the coda is more affecting for its brevity and pathos. Hardly less absorbing, Way of the Dead takes a not dissimilar formal trajectory – this ‘danse macabre’, as inspired by a Mexican festival, fusing melodic eloquence from the violin with an implacable rhythmic accompaniment on piano such as comes to the fore in those seismic final bars. At the opposite end of the scale in all senses, Zomer takes extracts from a sermon by John Donne for this piano rumination with the simple and profound artlessly combined.

The duo for violin and piano Heather takes its cue from the composer’s Hebridean hike – the incidence of vegetation growing in patterns according to outlines of now-vanished buildings effecting a piece where instrumental coordination becomes ever more exacting, as the music’s emotional velocity gradually while also remorselessly accelerates towards another of Moore’s reticent and poignant apotheoses. Lucidity: Eyes of Hands draws on the legend of St Lucie, as related by Dante, for a solo piano work whose polyrhythmic intricacy is in constant evolution as the music unfolds – though, on this occasion, there is no crystallizing of tension at the end; rather, the accrued impetus spills over into a forceful and even unnerving peroration to leave no doubt as to Moore’s identity with the narrative that made possible this piece’s conception.

Does it all work?

Yes, given that Moore’s is an arresting and appealing idiom, one whose outward consistency is countered by its variety of technical procedures along with its underlying expressive range. It certainly benefits from the advocacy of these musicians, their dedication and commitment coming across at every turn, while the clarity of recording emphasizes its visceral immediacy. Informative notes from the composer and Daniel Herscovitch. Those listening via download have an additional item – a Prelude for piano, whose limpid poise makes for a welcome tonic.

Is it recommended?

Indeed, and hopefully those who have acquired this Heritage project will investigate further releases of Moore’s music – the volume of piano pieces Dances and Canons (ECM) and the collection of vocal items Stories for Ocean Shells (Canteloupe) proving no less worthwhile.

Listen & Buy

You can hear excerpts and look at purchase options on the Presto website. For more information on Kate Moore head to her website – and for more on the artists click on the names Daniel Herscovitch, Ole Böhn, Minah Choe and Benjamin Kopp.

Published post no.2,128 – Monday 25 March 2024

On Record – Roderick Williams, Rupert Marshall-Luck, BBC Concert Orchestra / John Andrews – La Belle Dame (EM Records)

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Roderick Williams (baritone) (Holst, O’Neil, Quilter & Scott), Rupert Marshall-Luck (violin, Brian), BBC Concert Orchestra / John Andrews

Brian orch. Marshall-Luck Legend B144 (c1919)
Delius Petite Suite d’Orchestre no.1 RTVI/6 (1889-90)
Holst Ornulf’s Drapa H34 (1898, rev. 1900)
Mackenzie Colomba Op.28 – Prelude (1883)
O’Neill La Belle Dame sans Merci Op.31 (1908)
Quilter orch. anonymous The Faithless Shepherdess Op.12/4 (1908)
Scott The Ballad of Fair Helen of Kirkconnel Op.8 (1900)

EM Records EMRCD085 [61’21’’] English texts included
Producer Neil Varley Engineers Andrew Rushton, Robbie Hayward
Recorded 5-7 January 2023 at Battersea Arts Centre, London

Reviewed by Richard Whitehouse

What’s the story?

EM Records continues its enterprising schedule with this collection of mainly vocal settings from the early twentieth century – heard alongside early orchestral pieces by Mackenzie and Delius, plus a recent orchestration of what is Havergal Brian’s only surviving chamber work.

What’s the music like?

This album’s title is also that of the 1819 poem by John Keats, its tale of ecstasy recollected in despair tangibly conveyed by Norman O’Neill in a setting which surely ranks among his finest concert works before music for theatre productions became his focus. Only marginally less compelling, Cyril Scott’s take on a typically over-elaborate ballad by Walter Scott has a keen sense of atmosphere – not least as rendered by Roderick Williams with an appropriate Lowland burr. Less involving emotionally, Holst’s setting of verse from an early Ibsen play is rather forced in its rhetoric – though the passages of emotional impulsiveness, allied to an acute feeling for orchestral textures, does presage those masterpieces of his maturity. Roger Quilter’s setting of a favourite Elizabethan lyric launches the collection with brusque charm.

Of the orchestral pieces, Delius’s early Première Petite Suite is here heard in full for the first time. Influences are easy to discern – Bizet in its whimsical Marche, Grieg in its winsome Berceuse, Massenet in its vivacious Scherzo then Fauré in its plaintive Duo – but never to the detriment of this music’s appeal, while the final variations on a sternly unison theme with ecclesiastical overtones will keep even seasoned Delians guessing as to its provenance. The likelihood of Alexander Mackenzie’s lyrical drama Colomba being revived is slim, but the Prelude to its first act has an evocative ardency which concludes this album in fine style.

John Andrews has the measure of these contrasting idioms and gets committed playing from the BBC Concert Orchestra. Roderick Williams is on fine form, as is Rupert Marshall-Luck in the Legend by Havergal Brian he himself has orchestrated. Ranging widely in expressive profile, while building considerable fervour during its relatively brief span prior to a calmly eloquent close, it is a stylish adaptation of the violin-and-piano original which has enjoyed increasing exposure this past decade. Marshall-Luck speculates whether Brian intended his own orchestral realization yet, given the composer had evidently written an orchestral piece with this title around 1915, it seems not impossible that the duo version is itself a reduction.

Does it all work?

Yes, in that the whole proves greater than the sum of its parts. Certainly, the works by Scott and O’Neill find these contemporaneous while otherwise very different figures at something near their best, while the Delius makes for an attractive sequence which deserves more than occasional revival. As, too, does the Brian given that comparable shorter concertante pieces by figures such as Saint-Saëns are being taken up by a younger generation of violinists. The spacious sound and extensive annotations are both up to EMR’s customary high standards.

Is it recommended?

Indeed. Hearing the Holst prompts the thought that, with the 150th and 90th anniversaries of his respective birth and death falling this year, now would be the ideal time for revival of his orchestral suite Phantastes – which has seemingly remained unheard since its 1912 premiere.

Listen & Buy

La Belle Dame is due for release on 19 April, but you can hear excerpts and look at purchase options on the EM Records website. For more information on the artists click on the names of conductor John Andrews, baritone Roderick Williams, violinist Rupert Marshall-Luck and the BBC Concert Orchestra

Published post no.2,126 – Saturday 23 March 2024

On Record – Dave Harrington, Max Jaffe & Patrick Shroishi: Speak, Moment (AKP Recordings)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

One of jazz music’s strongest qualities is improvisation, and the way musicians are encouraged to speak with freedom and walk a tightrope, to see what they are capable of.

Such a statement can certainly be applied to these three musicians, who improvised this recording on the afternoon of their very first meeting. Dave Harrington contributes guitar and electronics, Max Jaffe looks after the drums and percussion while Patrick Shiroishi is the saxophonist, as well as contributing bells and tambourine.

What’s the music like?

Consistently engaging – and inventive with it. There are four longer form pieces here, and the shorter Ship Rock. Each finds the players fully engaged while the extra-long pieces are well structured, with imaginative changes of colour to aid the ebb and flow.

Staring Into The Imagination (Of Your Face) is immediately notable for Jaffe’s sensitive brush work and Shiroishi’s well-judged vibrato, the saxophone given a nicely poised solo. How To Draw Buildings is something of an epic that bursts with sonic invention, with smoky and psychedelic moods that feature some powerful, long notes on the sax.

Dance Of The White Shadow And Golden Kite has a great urgency, breaking out into manic episodes, while Harrington’s guitar shapes the start of Return In 100 Years, The Colors Will Be At Their Peak. This track is full of incident, becoming fractious as each instrument strives to be heard.

Does it all work?

Largely. With such an instinctive approach – and such little preparation time – it is a risk to open out the broad canvas in this way, but the musical chemistry is such that these three musicians succeed in their endeavours.

Is it recommended?

It is. There is fiercely passionate music to be heard here, and imaginative use of the colours available. Hopefully the trio will continue their musical quest, as it would be interesting to chart their ensemble work over a period of years, to see where it takes them.

For fans of… Jeff Parker ETA Quartet, Ben Monder’s Amorphae, Body / Head, 75 Dollar Bill

Listen and Buy

Published post no.2,119 – Saturday 16 March 2024

On Record – MINING: Chimet (The Leaf Label)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

The story behind this remarkable album is best read through quotes from the MINING Bandcamp site and press release, as it bears repeating.

“Chichester West Pole Beacon, also known as Chimet, is a comprehensive weather information system recording conditions in Hayling Bay, West Sussex, both in real-time and historically. Located at 50° 45′.45 N, 00° 56′.59 W, approximately one mile from the entrance to Chichester Harbour, the instrumentation on Chimet records data including air and water temperature; barometric pressure; wind speed and direction; water depth; wave height, period and frequency; and time of day.

Over a period of seven days in October 2017, the devastating Atlantic Hurricane Ophelia fed straight into another weather event, known as Storm Brian in the UK. MINING mapped the data from this storm onto various musical values and parameters, including harmonic range, pitch, density and volume – resulting in a continuous piece of electronic sound design that directly traces the contours of the two storm systems. After several iterations, improvised instrumental performances were added on piano, cello and synthesiser.

The album was created using 2,016 sampled data streams, collected every five minutes between 0030 on October 16th 2017 and 0025 on the 23rd, translating seven days of information into 67 minutes and 12 seconds of detailed and evolving music. With mother nature orchestrating the piece, she is joined by intuitive and powerful improvisations on piano, cello and synthesiser. The recording captures the sense of building expectation and tension, the dropping air pressure, the rising winds, the interlocking storm systems and the serene aftermath. The shifts are seamless, monumental and open to the elements.”

MINING was conceived by Craig Kirkpatrick-Whitby, with sound design and programming from PJ Davy. The improvised contributions on piano, cello and Lintronics are all made by Matthew Bourne.

What’s the music like?

Intense, yet ambient at the same time. The circumstances of composition mean that Chimet is certainly best heard as an uninterrupted stream (pun intended), describing the weather activity in remarkable detail.

Yet the crowning achievement of this project is that in their work together, Craig, PJ and Matthew have made something that has deep emotional content. The sound ‘beds’ are effectively drones, slowly shifting in deep colours, over which Bourne is able to work some carefully thought improvisation.

Ophelia develops very slowly, over a quarter of an hour, but there is something immediately ominous about its approach. The synthesizers pile up, with the occasional intervention from the piano – with layers of notes in swirling harmony, before they gradually retreat. Petrichor poses more of an initial threat, the foreboding low synth sounds presenting a dark outlook, before the relative calm of Latent – a slow piano meditation – dispels the worry.

The central section starts with a piece depicting Chimet itself, the remoteness of the open water apparent in Bourne’s distant musings on the piano. Then, with Arise, a series of long cello notes provide a swell in the texture, moving seamlessly into the elongated Force 10 Pts. 1 & 2. Here the held notes feel bleaker, until the inexorable build that piles them up towards the sky, a regular ticking holding everything in place. There is a strong sense of the ravaged seas, of craft blown this way and that, but also Chimet standing tall throughout.

The epilogue, Debris, has a synthesizer motif depicting the aftermath, with matter falling back to earth and settling, the long note underneath held until it passes from audible range.

Does it all work?

It does. For such incredibly slow music to maintain this level of intensity is remarkable indeed, something few artists can achieve. The melodies may be minimal, but getting caught up in the sweep of the extended piece is inevitable.

Is it recommended?

It is – a proper musical experience that should be played from start to finish, so the listener can get the whole awe-inspiring weather events recreated in their own environment.

For fans of… Loscil, Stars of the Lid, Biosphere

Listen and Buy

Published post no.2,118 – Friday 15 March 2024

On Record – Whitelands: Night-bound Eyes Are Blind To The Day (Sonic Cathedral)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Whitelands are a breath of fresh air. With shoegaze an area of music populated mostly by white males, it is refreshing to report the ascendancy of a black quartet who have been supporting Slowdive on a recent UK tour.

Although they have been a going concern since 2018 this is the debut album for the current line-up, with singer and guitarist Etienne joined by Michael (guitar), Vanessa (bass) and Jagun (drums and backing vocals).

It was Slowdive themselves that inspired the band’s current musical direction, though their diverse backgrounds from rock, techno and R&B inform their music too.

What’s the music like?

As refreshing as the band themselves – and the cover art, too. The blast of sound that welcomes Setting Sun is like a jet of fresh water full in the voice, all the levels going to up red with an invigorating wall of guitar sound, one that is soon revealed to contain plenty of melodies.

The band’s diverse influences reveal themselves subtly as the album progresses. While ‘shoegaze’ is the main style – a wall of guitars and softly spoken vocals to complement – there is a funky undercarriage to the beat of The Prophet & I, which typifies the excellent drumming throughout, and the excellent Tell Me About, where Etienne is joined by the softly-sung Dottie for some gorgeous harmonizing.

Sometimes the guitars form the same effect of a wordless choir, on the evocative Setting Sun, other times there are subtly curved melodies, as on Cheer. The slow burning Born In Understanding is a stately mover. Overall though there is an impressive momentum coursing through the album, with one of the best examples being Chosen Light – a combination of guitar sounds you can dive in to, a propulsive rhythm and subtle, warm-hearted vocals.

Does it all work?

It does – and the more you listen the more the melodies stick.

Is it recommended?

Yes. This is a record to bathe in, a sonic spectacular that has at its core some heartfelt songs. More please!

For fans of… Cocteau Twins, The Cure, Slowdive

Listen and Buy

Published post no.2,116 – Wednesday 13 March 2024