|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CD
|
|
WER 6857
|
"Unexpected events rupture continuity; they occur suddenly and they create a moment, a now, in which the flow of history dissolves into 'suddenness.' The question posed by David Lang in the title of his melodrama Are you experienced? is rhetorical in nature, given that the piece takes a speculative look at the unexpected end of a concert evening. Philippe Boesmans, best known as a composer of operas, surprises us with a Biedermeier sextet. For Richard Barrett, interference becomes a structural principle, and Luca Francesconi knows the formula for driving the formulaic out of music."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
WER 6856
|
"A tendency to focus on internal processes has emerged in the music of the last few decades. This disc features compositions on that theme by Mark Andre, Kaija Saariaho and Ian Willcock. Andre was seeking existential sonic situations on his path 'toward the inside' (or nach innen, to quote the written out title of his piece 'ni'). Like Andre, Saariaho has also delved into the internal nature of sound. Her rich variety of spectral harmonies tells an old story in a new way: a violin concerto that portrays the legend of the grail. Willcock's piece visits the discoverer of the unconscious, Sigmund Freud, on his deathbed. Freud's glimpses of the 'inside' showed that sometimes there is more to be found there than the truth."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
WER 6855
|
"Wergo's focus with this new CD entitled Coronation is not on blue blood or kingly power, but in organic processes -- the music on this CD sends up its shoots and produces blossoms like crowns. '(co)ro(na),' by Vykintas Baltakas, springs from a cascade of motivic branchings, its roots in a cycle of works named after the alchemical Ouroboros, a snake that swallows its own tail. Its dragon's blood, so the legends say, is cinnabar red, like the hue that shines in 'Cinnabar' by Rebecca Saunders. Magnus Lindberg's 'Joy' expresses itself through its profligacy with spectral harmonies and the resonant snapping of the strings of a demolished piano. 'Thalleïn' by Iannis Xenakis creates sieves that proliferate until they transform into archaic dances, refulgent with the brass tones."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
WER 6854
|
"This CD takes us on a foray into the land of shadows -- its compositions make remarkable use of light and shadow effects while simultaneously recalibrating the relationship between ensemble and soloist in unique ways. Michael Jarrell's violin concerto refracts the solo instrument's line through the prism of the ensemble. Stefano Gervasoni's concerto for double bass is like a dream full of odd sound forms -- until the alarm goes off. Taking an (early-morning) look in the mirror, the solo flute in Durand's Ombre/Miroir finds itself still faced with shadowy creatures as well. In Brian Ferneyhough's Shadowtime VI, the angel of history appears and in verses by poet Charles Bernstein, he shows his gloomy face."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
WER 6853
|
"This new collection from MusikFabrik focuses on three composers' imaginings of music from heaven or hell. In the Old Testament, the musical praise of God was imagined as an overpowering roar, a concept depicted in Martin Smolka's 'Rush (Hour in Celestial Streets).' Mauricio Kagel's 'Orchestrion-Straat' celebrates a joyous earthly resurrection while Louis Andriessen's 'Racconto dall'Inferno' ('Tale From Hell') proposes that hell has a soundtrack, and anyone caught in its repetitive loops will find it difficult to escape."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
WER 6852
|
"The theme of Sichtbare Spuren (Visible Traces) -- is how visible things can leave audible traces. It features compositions by Rebecca Saunders, Mauro Lanza, Nicolaus Huber and Bernd Alois Zimmermann."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
WER 6851
|
"The contemporary music ensemble MusikFabrik, led by Diego Masson, is spotlighted in this new series from Wergo. Each release will have a theme and feature a selection of music by various composers to bring the theme to life. On Sprechgesänge (Speech Songs), music by Jonathan Harvey, Beat Furrer, Georges Aperghis and Unsuk Chin stretches instrumental possibilities and allows the players to savor their vocal potential."
|