Strings Attached

Four Strings Around the World is a quite stunning solo CD from the Romanian-born violinist Irina Muresanu that features diverse musical styles from across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and both North and South America (Sono Luminus DSL-92221 sonoluminus.com). Muresanu introduced her Four Strings Around the World project in 2013 after her difficulty in learning Mark O’Connor’s Cricket Dance led her to explore worldwide non-traditional violin styles.

Enescu’s Airs in Romanian Folk Style opens the disc, with works by Ireland’s Dave Flynn, Iran’s Reza Vali, India’s Shirish Korde and China’s Bright Sheng surrounding Paganini’s 24th Caprice, Kreisler’s Recitativo and Scherzo Op.6 and a strongly melodic reading of the Bach D Minor Chaconne. Then it’s Piazzolla’s Tango Étude No.3 and a work by Chickasaw Nation composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate before the short Cricket Dance that apparently gave Muresanu so much trouble. 

Not that you would know it – complete with foot stomps, it’s a simply dazzling end to one of the best solo CDs I’ve heard. 

Terry Robbins, The Whole Note, June/July/August2018 edition

The program divides in two: Western and Eastern Europe, which ranges from Bach to the contemporary David Flynn via Enescu, Paganini and Kreisler, and Music from the Middle East, Asia, and North and South America; quite a lot to include here all round... 
“Muresanu has selected wisely when it comes to her fellow countryman, Enescu, whose Airs in Romanian Folk Style, though written in 1926, was not to be published until 2006. There aren’t many recordings around. The four movements offer plenty of opportunities for characteristic rubato-style performance and for vital dance patterns. The taut melancholia of the third piece is followed by the giocoso vibrancy of the concluding Allegro. This galvanizing reading shows its charms in fine fashion...

“For the second part of her journey she visits Iran via Reza Vali’s Calligraphy No.5. This draws on traditional Persian modes, employing the Dastg?h. This is something of which Behzad Abdi is an outstanding exponent and, like Abdi, Vali aims at a concordance between Persian and Western techniques: Bartók is a probable starting point. Representing India, Shirish Korde’s Vák, for violin and electronic drone invariably owes its inspiration to Ragas. The drone effect allows Muresanu to negotiate the work’s three unbroken sections with considerable virtuosity. Bright Sheng’s international reputation is now of long standing and The Stream Flows, of which we hear only the second part (shame) evokes the sound of the erhu in this dance-patterned and pizzicato-flecked piece. Piazzolla’s Tango Etude No.3 possesses all its resonant and driving capital in this solo reading...”

- Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International

You never know what American original soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom is going to do next. After the success of her GRAMMY® Nominated 2014 all-ballads release Sixteen Sunsets Bloom shifts into another gear showcasing the kinetic energy of her acclaimed trio playing with the musicians that she knows best on Early Americans. It’s her first trio album, sixteenth as leader and sixth recording on the Outline label. Her sound is like no other on the straight horn and she lets it fly on every track. She’s joined by long-time bandmates Mark Helias on bass & drummer Bobby Previte and with over fifty years of shared musical history together the album is sure to be a winner. Bloom’s collaboration with Helias dates back to the mid 70’s in New Haven CT and her unique chemistry with Previte has been ongoing since 2000. She brought the group together in summer 2015 to Avatar Studio B in NYC to capture their breathtaking sound in both stereo and surround-sound with renowned audio engineer Jim Anderson. The album features twelve Bloom originals ranging from the rhythmic drive of “Song Patrol” and “Singing The Triangle” to the spare melancholy of “Mind Gray River.” She closes the album with a signature solo rendition of the American songbook classic, Bernstein & Sondheim’s ”Somewhere.” World-renowned portrait photographer Brigitte Lacombe contributes a stunning cover image of Bloom. “Playing in threes” has always held a special fascination for jazz artists - it offers the possibility that something can be slightly off balance and that’s just what fires the imagination of players like Bloom, Helias, & Previte. With Early Americans Jane Ira Bloom stands in the vanguard of her generation carving out new territory in the heart of the jazz tradition. Don’t miss this trio of “fearless jazz explorers who share a commitment to beauty & adventure.” Soaring, poetic, quick silver, spontaneous and instantly identifiable are words used to describe the soprano sound of saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom. She’s been steadfastly developing her singular voice on the straight horn for 35 years creating a body of music that marks her as an American original. She’s an nine-time winner of the Jazz Journalists Association Award for soprano sax, the Downbeat International Critics Poll, and the Charlie Parker Award for Jazz Innovation and has collaborated with such outstanding jazz artists as Charlie Haden, Ed Blackwell, Kenny Wheeler, Julian Priester, Mark Dresser, Jerry Granelli, Matt Wilson, Billy Hart and Fred Hersch. Her 2014 all-ballads release Sixteen Sunsets was nominated for a GRAMMY® Award for surround-sound. In addition she’s garnered numerous awards for her creativity including a Guggenheim Fellowship in music composition and the Mary Lou Williams Women In Jazz Award for lifetime service to jazz. JIB was the first musician commissioned by the NASA Art Program and was honored to have an asteroid named in her honor by the International Astronomical Union (asteroid 6083janeirabloom). A strong visual thinker, Bloom's affinity for other art forms has both enriched her music and led to collaborations with other innovative artists such as actors Vanessa Redgrave & Joanne Woodward, painter Dan Namingha, cartoonist Jules Feiffer, director John Sayles and legendary dancer/ choreographer Carmen DeLavallade. Her long-standing interest in space exploration and neuroscience has lead to cutting edge recording projects inspired by outer and inner space. Performance venues include Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Dizzy’s Club Jazz @ Lincoln Center, St. John the Divine Cathedral and the Einstein Planetarium in Washington DC. She has composed several works commissioned through the Chamber Music America/ Doris Duke New Jazz Works Program including Chasing Paint, a series of compositions inspired by painter Jackson Pollock, Mental Weather, a suite of neuroscience inspired pieces, and recently Wild Lines, a jazz reimagining of Emily Dickinson’s poetry. JIB has recorded and produced 16 album projects since 1977 for CBS, Arabesque, ENJA, Pure Audio and Artistshare Records, and founded her own record label (Outline Records). A professor at the New School for Jazz in New York City, she holds degrees from Yale University and the Yale School of Music.

Judith Clurman conducts her acclaimed chorus, Essential Voices USA, in Holiday Harmonies: Sounds of Christmas, the ensemble’s third recording for Sono Luminus. This holiday disc includes premiere recordings of new vibrant arrangements of seasonal favorites and new works that were written for the disc by some of America’s finest composers. Mezzo Soprano Jamie Barton, Soprano Maureen McKay, Pianist Tedd Firth, and Harpist Stacey Shames are featured performers. Traditional repertoire includes: “Angels We Have Heard on High” (arr. David Chase), “O Holy Night” (arr. Ryan Nowlin), “Silent Night” (arr. Tedd Firth and Judith Clurman), “The Virgin’s Slumber Song” (Max Reger), and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” (adaptation Judith Clurman). New works include: “Whispered and Revealed” (Nico Muhly), “Love Came Down” (Jennifer Higdon) and “Merry Christmas Wishing Well” (Gene and Lorraine Gilroy, arr. Michael Gilbertson).

For the Del Sol Quartet, this album is a culmination - and also the start of an ongoing musical journey. Terry Riley doesn't limit his music within a final double-bar but allows it to keep on growing - he's already composed more music for us to play together. As a quartet, we've found new energy and growth through the xperience of performing Terry's quartets off-book, by memory. As musicians, we've found an inspiring example - Terry has the strength to follow his own path balanced with the humility and curiosity of an eternal student. For our 25th anniversary festival, we are focusing on Terry's music and honored that Terry and Gyan will be joining us. Like so many worthwhile endeavors, this album began with af riendship. Del Sol violist Charlton Lee first met guitarist Gyan while playing in an ensemble led by the composer/bassist Gavin Bryars. ''I'd been wanting to find more opportunities to play with Gyan ever since we met,'' Charlton explains. ''And with Terry's 80th birthday on the horizon it seemed a perfect time to commission a new piece for all of us to play together.'' For the other dimension of this album, we had long been aware of Stefano Scodanibbio's awesome abilities as a trailblazing double-bass virtuoso, we had our first chance to perform his music thanks to Gyan. Gyan curated a memorial concert celebrating Stefano's music at The Stone in New York City and invited us to participate.

REVIEW:

The late-life creativity of Terry Riley is cause for celebration in troubled times, and this release makes a fine place to start exploring it. Dark Queen Mantra is flavored by Spanish idioms, but is in no way a neoclassical work. Mas Lugares (su madrigali di Monteverdi) by Italian Stefano Scodanibbio, makes an unusually good pairing with Riley: it stands in the same relationship to Monteverdi as Riley does to his Spanish models. The entire program shows how the San Francisco scene that the Kronos Quartet helped nurture has remained vital and continues to develop. Recommended, and not only for admirers of Riley’s work.

– All Music Guide (James Mannheim)

Ensemble Galilei showcases their astounding playing as well as arranging talents on this release, Surrounded by Angels. Each member of Ensemble Galilei is renowned in thier own field - two winners of the All-Ireland Senior Championship, two winners of teh U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Championship, a four-time winner of the U.S. National Scottish Harp Championship, a Fulbright Scholar - they bring uncontested talents to this release. This release is so rich, soulful and deep that it transcends the genres of Irish or Scottish or Early Music.

“The project is inspired by the moment before the realization of something that drastically changes your life, the moment of just being, existing in the moment. That moment in time is free and full, mindfulness-ish and unaffected by misery, sorrow, regret, shame, anxiety and depression. In my mind it is bright and has a sense of nostalgia. The title also refers to a daily tradition on Icelandic radio Ra´s 1, where a song, “last song before the news” would be played just before the news hour at noon. The song would typically be an Icelandic one, sometimes a lullaby, a love song or an ode to scary and gorgeous nature. Or an Icelandic traditional, sometimes an Italian canzone or a Scandinavian sorrow. Jo´runn Viðar’s piece Icelandic Suite sums up all these elements, a piece written for the 2000 years anniversary of inhabitation in Iceland in 1974. The lightness and the longing are with us throughout the program except in the title piece of mine, Last Song before the News, where apocalyptic visions are awfully obvious and take over early on. The album is dedicated to my father, Sveinbjorn Rafnsson, whose lightness and passion for music, poetry and history along with his sense of humor has been a lifeline to many people.” (Una Sveinbjarnardottir)

REVIEW:

The chief attraction of this disc is to be found in the program. There is so much interesting music for the adventurous listener to discover that I can recommend this CD on those grounds. The performances of those works are more engaging.

-- Fanfare

Wild at Heart is the second album in the “Chaconne Project” series on Sono Luminus, which reaches into the realm of parallel universes — connecting the past to the present, into the future. A collection of contemporary chaconnes that echo reincarnations of Bach’s iconic work for solo violin, Wild at Heart reflects a spectrum of sounds from delicate harmonics to hardcore noise. The composers featured on this album are Yoon-Ji Lee, Elizabeth Hoffman, Annie Gosfield and John King, who each introduce a unique voice.

If this global pandemic made anything more clear, it is that we are all connected. By remembering something that is not physically here on earth anymore, it is “kept alive.” At first, these new works felt like mere reactions to the Chaconne. But now I really see this second album as a series of reincarnations of Bach’s Chaconne. Each composer found their own personal connection to the Chaconne, giving new life to those select elements from the original work that resonated with them. Performing the original work connects us to the past, keeping Bach present. Creating new works inspired by the Chaconne facilitates a dream for a future. And, the new works are reproductions of the past in new lifeforms.

STARA is Halldór Smárason’s debut album. It was recorded in Halldór’s hometown of Ísafjörður, in the Westfjords region in the northwestern part of Iceland. Featuring works from different stages in the composer’s life, ranging from his student years in New York to this day as a family man and freelance composer, STARA shows Halldór’s development of a characteristic style and unique sense of narrative. All the works on the album are inspired by personal experiences and are often dedicated to people close to the composer himself. STARA features Halldór’s three string quartets: draw + play, Stara, and BLAKTA; the guitar solo piece Skúlptúr 1; and the chamber works _a_at_na and stop breathing. Halldór’s music has been described as atmospheric yet aggressive, characterized by a simmering energy just beneath the surface that erupts from time to time. His compositional voice is highly original and personal. In each composition, Halldór strives for a distinct approach, which is guided by the specifics of the composition (the occasions, the space, the instruments, the performer, etc.). As a result, his sonic repertoire is extremely rich. He often includes extra-musical and music-theatrical aspects, which create highly distinct artistic experiences. Additionally, Halldór has been acknowledged for high attention to detail in regard to sound and notation. STARA is intended to be an insightful portrait of the composer, introducing Halldór’s poetic sonic world.

"Levingston plays with a marvelous sense of pacing, emphasis, and balance. These renditions are full of thought; and, since he is completely beyond technique, he can express whatever he wants. The resonant sound of the piano is a pleasure to hear…."
--American Record Guide May/ June 2019

"Most of the music on this CD is slow, quiet, and spare, yet giving yourself over to it for even a portion of its 71-minute running time is profoundly cathartic. The piano recording has exceptional presence with an excellent sense of the instrument’s volume.”

MUSIC: FIVE Stars SONICS: FIVE Stars

--THE ABSOLUTE SOUND May-June 2019 

Bruce Levingston writes of his new release: “The genesis of this recording was an invitation to perform for the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, an event which inspired me to meditate on the complex history of my birthplace, Mississippi. A storied, culturally-rich state, it has produced some of our country’s most important artists – including William Faulkner, B.B. King, Leontyne Price, and Eudora Welty – but is also a place that has witnessed notably painful struggles with race, poverty, and equality. The scars are painful and deep. Here, among our colleges, churches, cotton fields and battlefields, contradictions abound. These disparate, but related, elements have long absorbed and confounded artists born in this mystical place. In recent years, I have come to see that my beloved state only reveals more intensely what exists in other places in our world: the struggle for people to come to terms with one another’s histories and differences. In this time of turmoil between peoples and nations, focused on issues of citizenship and patriotism, we continue this struggle. I chose to name this album “Citizen,” not only because it contains works that reflect upon actual citizenship and human rights, but also to highlight that we are all citizens of one earth, and in order to survive, we must find ways to respect one another’s differences, and strongly uphold each other’s right to exist with dignity and freedom. On this recording, I have gathered together works by composers who have contemplated these issues deeply. The voices of these artists plead for civility, humanity, and love, and each brings a sense of immediacy to the cause – offering not a clenched fist, but an open hand that reaches out with a welcoming embrace.”

An absorbing musical study of citizenship and human rights.
— Apple - iTunes A List

"The mix of compositions both contemporary and Romantic, American and European, old and new featured in this recording is brilliantly played, amply justified, and insightfully annotated in straightforward prose by the ever questing Bruce Levingston….This CD’s gathering of voices that celebrate the civility and brotherly love quintessential to what is American or more simply put, what it means to be a member of the human race, is a noble undertaking underpinned by the artistic excellence and commitment of its curator and pianist, Bruce Levingston, a notable artist who brings the album to an end with a profoundly touching AMAZING GRACE.

—All About The Arts Rafael de Acha

"Levingston’s playing is lithe and full-voiced throughout. He has an admirable ability to preserve the clarity of each strand in a densely woven contrapuntal texture, crafting a compelling whole without obscuring its parts. His phrasing is subtle, nuanced shadings of tone playing against each other to illuminate the underlying musical structure...expert control... Citizen adds to a much-needed conversation…."

--National Sawdust Log

The final tracks go to Price Walden whose Sacred Spaces is a profoundly moving remembrance of the countless churches where AfricanAmericans gathered and contributed to their sense of community. His arrangement of Amazing Grace closes the recording. It’s a straightforward structure that uses some extraordinary harmonic transitions to make this iconic hymn even more meaningful in the context of the disc. This recording by Bruce Levingston is far more than a simple CD. It’s a meditation on one of the central issues of our time and can only benefit from being heard and experienced in that way. 

—The Whole Note ( March 2019 )

Sono Luminus presents Der Klang der Offenbarung des Gottlichen, an opera in four acts by Kjartan Sveinsson. This marks the first collaboration between Sono Luminus and Kjartan, who is a founding member of the legendary band Sigur Ros. An opera of severe and supreme beauty, critics have raved about the work. “Der Klang boasts all the qualities we tend to associate with sweeping modern neo-classical—it's beautiful, reflective, sad...Sveinsson has a light touch, but his work hits a deeper and more visceral level, permeating and lingering long after it’s subsided...Whatever he does, he has already quietly announced himself as a major talent.” (Pitchfork) “Sveinsson, in conjunction with co-author Ragnar Kjartansson, has created an opera for the ages...it finds grace in unexpected places, arriving far after the prayers have ended.” (acloserlisten.com) "There is such a longing [for beauty] indeed in Sveinsson’s searching score, a meditative sonic canvas for Kjartansson’s exquisite images. Even absent the visual component, Sveinsson’s music summons a hushed awe that makes for a mesmerizing listen on its own.” (WQXR)

MOONBOW is Gunnar Andreas Kristinsson’s second album, the first to be released on a major label. The music, performed by leading members of the Icelandic contemporary music scene, was recorded in Kaldalo´n and Norðurljo´s, the two recital halls of Harpa Reykjavik Concert Hall. While Gunnar’s first album, Patterns, contains pieces from his study and freelance years in The Hague, MOONBOW is a selection of more mature works from a fruitful period in the composer’s life after moving back to Iceland in 2009, with all the experience from the Netherlands in his pocket. The album features a trio, a quartet and a quintet, flanked by two larger ensemble pieces. The works are diverse, not only in terms of instrumentation but also in terms of musical subject and give a good insight into Gunnar’s distinctive and personal sound-world.

REVIEW:

Kristinsson’s style blends elements of tonality, atonality, New Simplicity (especially in its obsessive repeated patterns) and postmodernist techniques. Patterns IIb (2016) is a fine example of that, with its louring atmosphere despite its use of an Icelandic folk song and euphonious chiming percussion: it was based on a piece of 2004 scored for quartets of gamelan and Western instruments. Roots (2019), by contrast, takes the overtone series as its abstract inspiration. The evocative titletrack, Moonbow (2017), played with relish here by the excellent Siggi Quartet, is more straightforwardly descriptive, reflecting in sound the lunar rainbow (or ‘moonbow’). As such, it is the most directly communicative, and put me in mind at some removes of Saariaho’s celebrated aurora borealis-inspired Lichtbogen (1986).

Sono Luminus provides sound to match Kristinsson’s often coruscating textures and the performers’ clean, luminous virtuosity. You will not regret investigating this music.

– Gramophone

Bruce Levington has a long association with composer Philip Glass. In 2004, the composer wrote his musical tribute to Chuck Close expressly for Levingston who later premiered the piece at Lincoln Center in New York City.” The next year, Levingston and Glass joined again in the same venue for a concert of piano duets which also featured Levingston’s longtime friend, Ethan Hawke. This group of artists has joined together once more for this release of Glass’s works. Levinston is an internationally recognized concert pianist and recording artist, whose last album, “Heavy Sleep,” garnered the praise of audiences and critics, being named one of New York Times’ “Best Recordings of the Year.” This release includes the world premiere recording of “The Illusionist Suite,” as well as ten of the composer’s deeply moving Etudes. This two disc set has already been praised by media outlets. The New York Times recognizes “Mr. Levingston’s mastery of nuance and color,” and MusicWeb International praised his “extraordinary gifts as a colorist and performer who can hold attention rapt with the softest playing.”

They may look like a pop, rock, or crossover group, but don't be fooled! I FURIOSI is the hottest new baroque ensemble on the scene, reinventing the traditional classical music experience, and we are happy to announce the release of their commercial debut CD, CRAZY. CRAZY is an exciting and diverse program of musical pieces whose premise is either insanity itself, or is the product of the disturbed mind of the composer. The album matches unparalleled performances with, painstakingly crafted program notes that provide insight into both the composer's own vision, however twisted, and the broad social themes of their day. The program which includes masterworks by some of the greatest composers of the 16th-18th century is concluded in contrast by a beautifully haunting rendition of Suzanne by master song writer Leonard Cohen's Suzanne.

In developing its programming, I FURIOSI worked diligently to craft themes linked to current events, to provide contemporary audiences with an insight into historical themes that are entertaining as well as educational. The detailed liner notes provide insight behind the selection of each track. 

Cellist Laura Metcalf enjoys a thriving career performing as a soloist, orchestral musician, and performing in the ensembles Break of Reality and Sybarite 5. Joined by pianist Matei Varga, this release is Laura’s debut solo recording. Following this release, Laura has scheduled a series of concerts which will begin in New York City in April. The program for this album features works by Martinu, Enescu, Poulenc, and more.

In recording these, the earliest revelations of Schubert’s boundless lyricism in his early romantic compositional voice as applied to instrumental chamber music, we sought to pay homage to the original intent as well as the authentic sounds.

The Sonatinas, (a posthumous title), were written for music of the chamber, a time of gathering, sharing, and delighting in the discoveries, creations, and talents of others. The Sonatinas are a revealing view into the birth of Schubert’s romantic voice. Whether the sturm und drang of the G Minor and its Haydn-esque representation of drama, the early Beethovenian poise, manner, and delight in the D Major, or the unabashed dramatic and unapologetic severity in the A Minor, (Lord Byron’s Manfred was written the same year!), these works show us young Schubert’s boundless expressive spirit.

The piano is an Érard concert grand, built in Paris circa 1835. It is in immaculate condition, superbly conditioned by Frits Janmaat at Maison Érard in Amsterdam. Parallel-strung, and with dampers beneath the strings, the registers have clear distinction; the action is agile; the rich tonal depth is special. The violin is a rare find, built by Franz Kinberg after the Second World War and set up for late Classical and early Romantic historical instrument performance. The gut-strung violin is paired with an extraordinary bow made by John Dodd, London, circa 1800. This pre-modern, transitional bow is a perfect example of the bows still in favor in Vienna at the time the Sonatinas were composed.

REVIEW:

 These are wonderful works whose considerable depths certainly belie the “sonatina” designation and whose structure and emotional heft Gajić and Carrettin explore with remarkable sensitivity and thoroughness—and with instrumental sound that is, in and of itself, a real joy to hear.

– Infodad.com

This program is a loving tribute to A. Khachaturian, the towering musical figure from my native Armenia and to G. Gershwin, the musical genius from my adopted home, the United States. These two composers are bridged here by the phenomenal pianist/ composer and Hollywood superstar, Oscar Levant. Some of the works on the album have been my loyal recital companions since childhood, the others have become such upon my immigration to America as a young adult. The release includes a world premiere recording of Oscar Levant’s jazzy Sonatina.

REVIEW:

Pianist Raffi Besalyan presents a collection of works from his native Armenia and his adopted U.S, and indeed, he offers vigorous performances of music by Aram Khachaturian and George Gershwin. Most interesting are the points where the two composers meet. Highly newsworthy is the world premiere of the Piano Sonatina by Gershwin specialist Oscar Levanty. The Sonatina has a unique post-Gershwin language and makes one wants to hear more of Levant’s original music. One is left with the impression of an odd kinship between Khachaturian and Gershwin that no one else has quite caught. The presence of some of Earl Wild’s Virtuoso Etudes after Gershwin also works; the pieces bring a bit of the Russian virtuoso school, Besalyan’s specialty, to the proceedings. The whole thing is brilliantly performed and benefits from superb engineering at Sono Luminus’ Virginia studios. A satisfying cross-cultural essay.

-- AllMusic.com (James Manheim)

“Kom vinur was composed in 2017 for the Skálholt Summer Concerts in Iceland when I was the composer in residency at the festival. A year later Maríuljóð was created. Both works are composed to poems by the Icelandic poet Vilborg Dagbjartsdóttir. The poems are the absolute core of the pieces; when composing them, I felt like excavating existing music from the text, unraveling hidden sounds from the words. Kom vinur has a somber undertone, a sense of loneliness and longing for sharing light and thoughts with a friend in the dark winter night. In Maríuljóð the tender view is through the eyes of a child observing subtle changes in nature and the seasons as well as asking the mother questions about the image of the Holy Mother.” (María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir) María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir (b. 1980) is a composer and a violinist. She graduated as a violinist from the Reykjavik College of Music in 2000 and with a Bachelor’s degree in composition from the Iceland Academy of the Arts in 2007. Maria is a member of the band amiina from 1999. amiina has released and recorded several albums and performed their music around the world as well as collaborated with various artists. With amiina, Maria was a touring member and collaborator of Sigur Rós from 2000-2008.

REVIEW:

I feel impelled at the outset to point out that this is an EP containing less than 10 minutes of music, but what beautiful music it is! Icelandic composer Maria Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir (b. 1980) writes of the two compositions on this recording that they are “composed to poems by the Icelandic poet Vilborg Dagbjartsdóttir. The poems are the absolute core of the pieces; when composing them, I felt like excavating music from the text, unravelling hidden sounds from the words. Kom vinur has a somber undertone, a sense of loneliness and longing for sharing light and thoughts with a friend in the dark winter night. In Maríuljóô the tender view is through the eyes of a child observing subtle changes in nature and the seasons as well as asking the mother questions about the image of the Holy Mother.”

I don’t have access at the moment to the poems, but the choral music on this EP is so beautiful and moving that I feel inspired to see whether I can find the poems somewhere on the interweb. Meanwhile, I know that Sigfúsdóttir has composed other music; – This is a wonderful release, brief (but inexpensive) as it might be.

– Classical Candor (Karl Nehring)

“Occurrence is the third, and at least for now the last, in a hugely illuminating series devoted to works by contemporary Icelandic composers, as performed by Iceland’s 70-year-old national orchestra. Speaking for myself – and surely for many others, as well – the series has been a milestone project, one that any conscientious collector of symphonic music simply must have on the shelf. Across three albums now, Sono Luminus has capitalized shrewdly on swelling global interest in the music of Daniel Bjarnason and Anna Thorvaldsdottir, using their works as a means by which to introduce seven more composers with original, substantial voices. Three of the composers represented on Occurrence return from previous installments in the series. In addition to Bjarnson – who also has served as an insightful, sympathetic conductor throughout – we hear new works from Þuri´ður Jonsdottir, whose Flow and Fusion opened the initial disc, Recurrence, and from Haukur Tomasson, whose Piano Concerto No. 2 was a highlight of the second release in the series, Concurrence. These repeat engagements prove serendipitous, showing off fresh facets of these newly familiar creators. One, Bjarnason’s own Violin Concerto, scarcely requires introduction, having proved its merits and attractions already on concert platforms around the globe since its 2017 world premiere at the Hollywood Bowl. Pekka Kuusisto, the violinist for whom the piece was written, demonstrates his consummate skill as a technician, a melodist, a collaborator and – not least – a whistler, and the orchestral accompaniment, no surprise, is vivid and alert.

REVIEW:

‘Recurrence’, ‘Concurrence’, and now ‘Occurrence’. The Iceland Symphony Orchestra’s three-disc survey of new orchestral music from its homeland has reached its end point and it’s easy to conclude that no country on earth has reinvented the language of the symphony orchestra on such distinctive and locally relevant terms as this one. So much so that a Canadian such as Veronique Vaka can fall for Iceland and cook up a piece like Lendh, an extraordinary canvas with an umbilical connection to the landscape of the place. Lendh is a marvel.

Haukur Tómasson’s In Seventh Heaven is full of ear-catching orchestration, as raw and unconventional as Jón Leifs’s, ulterior harmonies tugging while colours shift as rapidly as the Icelandic weather above. The orchestra’s handling of the exposed passages for high strings and characterised woodwind-writing demonstrate technically how far it has come in the past decade alone.

Þuríður Jónsdóttir's Flute Concerto, "Flutter", features sampled insect noises and other electronics, including a promotion of the ubiquitous Nordic pedal note to a general hum. Structurally it feels like a road movie – a journey through textural landscapes more than anything developmental.

Conductor Daníel Bjarnason own Violin Concerto has dedicatee Pekka Kuusisto’s puckish spirit all over it, from the infectious soloist whistling (used to moving effect when it returns late on as the violin’s sole accompanist) to the grunge-improvisatory elements and clear-cut, eyemoistening tune.

As an appendix we hear from a dead composer, Iceland’s great 12-tone pioneer Magnús Blöndal Jóhannsson (1938-2005). His Adagio for strings and percussion of 1980 marked a shift in style following the death of his wife and a battle with the bottle. This is a bleak, translucent elegy that places unison sheets of wannabe-lyrical string melody over held pedal notes and drones, ending with a sudden rush of air as the last pedal falls away. A quizzical gesture to wrap up an outstanding and historic series, one that affects the mind as much as the ears. 

– Gramophone

The present release is the exciting Sono Luminus reissue of Anna’s Thorvaldsdottir’s now classic first album. Long out of print, Rhizoma will now be available once again, both physically and on all digital platforms. The original release has been completely remastered by Daniel Shores at Sono Luminus. This release includes the Sono Luminus recording of “Dreaming”, recorded in 2016 and featured on the album ‘Recurrence?’ Rhizoma was a press sensation when released back in 2011. "[The music on Rhizoma] is meticulously crafted and beautifully put together. The result is enchanting and poetic." (Jónas Sen, Icelandic Newspaper Fréttablaðið) “The album is full of soundscapes that fill the head of the listener. ... Their bare nature makes them incredibly intriguing, something that is difficult to achieve, as it is a thin rope to walk on.” (Elena Saavedra Buckley, Sequenza21) “Rhízoma is modern composition at its very best” (Richard Allen, A closer listen)

REVIEW:

Rhízōma was originally issued on another pioneering American label, Innova, back in 2012. That disc was the first to be exclusively dedicated to Thorvaldsdottir’s music. There is one important difference with the reboot though: the orchestral essay Dreaming has been re-recorded. This svelte new account benefits from the superb acoustics of Reykjavík’s splendid new Harpa Concert Hall.

This re-boot of Rhízōma is unmissable. Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s music might well oscillate between extremes of sensitivity and ferocity, but hers is an utterly independent and authentic voice. Hats off to Sono Luminus for continuing to recognise her stature and document her inexorable progress.

– MusicWeb International