REVIEW
\nRECORDING OF THE MONTH<\/p>\n
John CORIGLIANO (b. 1938)<\/b>
\nConjurer<\/i>\u00a0– Concerto for Percussion and String Orchestra with optional Brass (2007) [36:27]
\nVocalise<\/i>\u00a0(1999)* [21:16]
\nDame Evelyn Glennie (percussion); *Hila Plitmann (soprano)
\n*Electronics produced and performed by Mark Baechle
\nAlbany Symphony\/David Alan Miller
\nrec. 13 March 2011, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Troy, New York; *22 May 2011, Experimental Media Performing Arts Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York. DDD.
\nNAXOS AMERICAN CLASSICS 8.559757<\/b>\u00a0[57:43]<\/p>\n
It\u2019s little wonder that\u00a0Conjurer<\/i>\u00a0scooped the instrumental solo award at the Grammys; whatever you might think these industry junkets they definitely got it right this time. These high standards prevail in\u00a0Vocalise<\/i>, in which soprano Hila Plitmann makes a secure, soaring protagonist. After the hot, sweaty virtuosity of\u00a0Skin<\/i>\u00a0this substantial filler comes as a cooling zephyr. The initially sinuous,\u00a0ondes<\/i>-like vocal lines segue nicely with Mark Baechle\u2019s discreet and sensitive electronics. Indeed, the composer’s message – it\u2019s time for classical and electronic music to merge – is couched in the most convincing terms. \u00a0Hila Plitmann makes a tremendous job of what is clearly a hugely demanding solo part. I\u2019m normally resistant to the use of electronics but they\u2019ve been used skilfully here and with restraint and make a positive impression and contribution.<\/p>\n
The work is scored for a soprano, whose part is wordless, and what sounds like a very large orchestra. At the start we hear the soloist alone, singing quietly. For quite some time she and the players perform \u2018naturally\u2019, without recourse to any amplification. The music is essentially slow and lyrical. My ear was caught particularly by a short, rapturous passage around 5:30 in which the soprano and a solo violin are prominent and there\u2019s a very brief moment, around 10:00, which is positively Straussian. The music grows in both volume and intensity. Eventually (at 10:44) the singer has to resort to a microphone to be heard – though that begs the question how singers have managed to be heard in, say, Strauss or Wagner all these years. Given that under recording conditions musicians are, by definition, using microphones I wondered how this effect would be managed on disc but one can tell the difference. There\u2019s a moment (at 12:29) where a soprano phrase is sung and then repeated in an electronic loop. Later on some phrases played by wind and brass soloists are also looped. From 15:00 onwards, after a thunderous orchestral descent, we return to the mood and sound world of the opening with the singer quietly vocalising. In live performance her sounds echo across the hall through loudspeakers placed around the audience. That\u2019s not easy to replicate on disc – except through surround sound, presumably – but a good attempt has been made here. Eventually the sound of the singer fades to nothing.<\/p>\n