Pamela Z: With Malice Toward None / Apollo Chamber Players
Azica Records
CD · 1 disc
$9.49$18.99Save 50%Sep 03, 2021
Anchored in an optimistic synthesis of classical, folk, rock and electronic music, With Malice Toward None elevates the idea of what it means to be human in the 21st century. Pamela Z artfully deconstructs her folk rock heroes while paying homage to youthful nostalgia and childhood songcraft, while Christopher Theofanidis and Mark Wingate partner to craft a jaggedly ethereal adaptation of poet Samuel Beckett’s haunting final masterpiece. Eve Beglarian’s epic Armenian fantasia (We Will Sing One Song) taps into the elemental desire to connect - its yearning, duduk-inspired glissandi and enchanting melismas diverge and reunite as they crisscross digital soundscapes; virtuosic percussion improvisations lead to a place of sonic enlightenment. With tradition beckoning, newly arranged Armenian folk songs find their voice, over a century removed from ethnomusicological discovery. The album’s titular track personifies the life of its creator, weaving storytelling and social contradictions with Enlightenment calls to action and good old-fashioned rock ’n’ roll. Communing with artists across the globe, Apollo Chamber Players expands its bold take on our collective contemporary experience, innovating beyond the boundaries of time, place and pandemic.
Terry Riley’s name will always be associated with his breakthrough work In C, but his influence on modern music has stretched far beyond minimalism. Both of the works on this recording reveal Riley’s spirit of exploration and his close collaboration with remarkable musicians. Commissioned by the Nashville Symphony, The Palmian Chord Ryddle is a kind of musical autobiography in which electric violin pioneer Tracy Silverman’s “one-man string quartet” sets the pace for the sparse, translucent orchestration. At The Royal Majestic is another recent example of Riley’s work with a symphony orchestra and a virtuosic soloist, in this case organist Todd Wilson. Its title refers to “the mighty Wurlitzer housed in grand movie palaces,” and the music draws on a wide variety of genres including gospel, ragtime, Baroque chorales, and boogie.
REVIEW:
The late career of Terry Riley has received less attention than that of Philip Glass or even Steve Reich. The resurgent Nashville Symphony under Giancarlo Guerrero makes a good case here that such neglect is misguided. The Palmian Chord Ryddle (2011) is an eclectic, playful eight-movement work for electric violin and orchestra, but steering mostly clear of highly extended techniques. Even stronger is At The Royal Majestic, an homage to the golden age of the theater organ. Engineering kudos for clarity in an extremely diverse set of materials. Highly recommended.
