Reviewed: 2018-03-11
Genre: Classical (X)
FCCs: none
Review: The music of the American composer Rick Baitz unfolds in long, episodic streams of sound, one section following another like the chapters in a picaresque novel. Each of the three chamber works on this engaging disc creates a distinctive sound world and then explores it for some 15 or 20 minutes without a lot of formal variation. The rewards come less in dramatic structure than in the ingratiating allure of Baitz’s textural and instrumental palette.
If You Like: hard to compare since each track has a different line-up.
Track Review (favorites denoted by *):
**1/ Chthonic Dances f(or String Quartet) (21:54) – viola starts> uptempo jam> pause> nidtempo jam builds into uptempo> pause> midtempo jam slows, then swings back up to uptempo> slows to midtempo> slows to slow tempo> quick fade
**2/ Wall of Mirrors (for Percussion Quartet) (14:41) – marimba starts> midtempo jam with shifting percussion instruments& electronics> crescendo> electronics space solo with percussion fills> midtempo percussion jam builds to uptempo> fade
*3/ Into Light (for Clarinet, Viola, & Piano) (21:54) – piano starts slow & heiistating> slow jam swings to midtempo & off-kilter> builds in volume & intensity> crescendo> pause> slow jam slowly builds to midtempo> crescendo> viola solo to fade