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Piotr Szewczyk: Bliss Point – Selected Chamber Works
Navona

Piotr Szewczyk: Bliss Point – Selected Chamber Works

$16.99

Details

Composer
SZEWCZYK, PIOTR
Artist
Szewczyk, Aspinall
Format
CD
Label
Navona
Released
May 12, 2017
Catalog #
NV6093
UPC
896931003933

About

When appraoching his latest chamber album Bliss Point, Polish-born violinist and composer Piotr Szewczyk turned to a unique lens of inspiration - food science. His interpretation of a "bliss point" in the culinary sense embodies the technique's saturation ofa flavor just before the poitn of diminished potency. Of course, he trades in the contents of his spice cabinet in favor of diverse instrumental pairings, and in doing so, the composer explores the "saturation limits in teh full spectrum of emotions, textures, and characters." In doing so, Szewczyk is confident that the resulting collection of chamber works "covers the entire expressive range of my vocabulary and artistic sensitivity." Naturally, Szewczyk's violin stylings are included in this spectrum, as he appears on nearly all the album's compositions. He keeps true to his stated inspirations on Bliss Point and exemplifies these goals on the title track. Accompanied by clarinet, cello and piano, the violinist leads the quartet through a set of intertwined sections that stakly differ in their pacing. An ostinato bookend aids in structuring the piece, opening with a gentle pulsation and closing with tranquility after a midsection of contrasting instrumental textures. Contrasting moods also appear on the album's first two mixed ensemble pieces. The four shot, ever-shifting movements of Twisted Dances are brought alive by oboe, violin, cello and piano, and the scattered themes of Images from a Journey - which retains the same instrumentation save for a flute replacing the oboe - range from explorations of darkness to a similarly dance-inspired movement based on gypsy performers. These ensembles are only a sample of Szewczyk's use of contrast on teh album, with a strong example arrivign on Piano Trio No. 1's bricolage of disparate movements. The composer cycles through passages of intense, rhythmic virtuosity; then meditative jazz piano obscured by melancholic tendencies; and lastly, an explosive finale with unbridled energy as its ignition. His vibrant writing for strings echoes this trend as well, including the viscous, atonal sonorities of a string quartet in the octatonic scale on Half-Diminished Scherzo and the fury of a lively string trio on the appropriately titled Furioso. These types of musical personification all exhibit the itnense imagery of Szewczyk's compositions. Even without knowing the title of Very Angry Birds, the way the violinist's extended techniques glide over propulsive piano chords will prompt listeners to point their imaginations skyward. This tendency also holds true for the composer's dialogue between instruments, such as the furious battle of violin and viola on Conundrum and the marital themes of Nimbus, which tests the polarity of wedding vows with passages full of both joy and bickering.

Tracklist 19 tracks

  1. 1 I. Polytonal Polka 01:45
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Polytonal Polka
    Duration
    01:45
    Composer
    Piotr Szewczyk
    Ensemble
    Bold City Contemporary Ensemble
  2. 2 II. 12 "Tone-al" Waltz 01:13
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. 12 "Tone-al" Waltz
    Duration
    01:13
    Composer
    Piotr Szewczyk
    Ensemble
    Bold City Contemporary Ensemble
  3. 3 III. Jig with a Twist 01:18
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Jig with a Twist
    Duration
    01:18
    Composer
    Piotr Szewczyk
    Ensemble
    Bold City Contemporary Ensemble
  4. 4 IV. Effin' Tarantella 02:16
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Effin' Tarantella
    Duration
    02:16
    Composer
    Piotr Szewczyk
    Ensemble
    Bold City Contemporary Ensemble
  5. 5 Conundrum 07:08
    Track
    5
    Title
    Conundrum
    Duration
    07:08
    Composer
    Piotr Szewczyk
    Ensemble
    Bold City Contemporary Ensemble
  6. 6 I. Aggressive 03:37
    Track
    6
    Title
    I. Aggressive
    Duration
    03:37
    Composer
    Piotr Szewczyk
    Ensemble
    Trio Solis
  7. 7 II. Dark 03:56
    Track
    7
    Title
    II. Dark
    Duration
    03:56
    Composer
    Piotr Szewczyk
    Ensemble
    Trio Solis
  8. 8 III. Energetic 05:26
    Track
    8
    Title
    III. Energetic
    Duration
    05:26
    Composer
    Piotr Szewczyk
    Ensemble
    Trio Solis
  9. 9 Half-Diminished Scherzo 05:22
    Track
    9
    Title
    Half-Diminished Scherzo
    Duration
    05:22
    Composer
    Piotr Szewczyk
    Ensemble
    Bold City Contemporary Ensemble
  10. 10 I. Through a Prism 01:52
    Track
    10
    Title
    I. Through a Prism
    Duration
    01:52
    Composer
    Piotr Szewczyk
    Ensemble
    Bold City Contemporary Ensemble
    Conductor
    Piotr Szewczyk
  11. 11 II. Moonlight Passacaglia 02:07
    Track
    11
    Title
    II. Moonlight Passacaglia
    Duration
    02:07
    Composer
    Piotr Szewczyk
    Ensemble
    Bold City Contemporary Ensemble
    Conductor
    Piotr Szewczyk
  12. 12 III. Night's Embrace 01:37
    Track
    12
    Title
    III. Night's Embrace
    Duration
    01:37
    Composer
    Piotr Szewczyk
    Ensemble
    Bold City Contemporary Ensemble
    Conductor
    Piotr Szewczyk
  13. 13 IV. Gypsy Ballroom 01:53
    Track
    13
    Title
    IV. Gypsy Ballroom
    Duration
    01:53
    Composer
    Piotr Szewczyk
    Ensemble
    Bold City Contemporary Ensemble
    Conductor
    Piotr Szewczyk
  14. 14 Furioso 07:29
    Track
    14
    Title
    Furioso
    Duration
    07:29
    Composer
    Piotr Szewczyk
    Ensemble
    Bold City Contemporary Ensemble
  15. 15 Very Angry Birds 05:15
    Track
    15
    Title
    Very Angry Birds
    Duration
    05:15
    Composer
    Piotr Szewczyk
    Ensemble
    Bold City Contemporary Ensemble
  16. 16 Nimbus 05:37
    Track
    16
    Title
    Nimbus
    Duration
    05:37
    Composer
    Piotr Szewczyk
    Ensemble
    Bold City Contemporary Ensemble
  17. 17 I. — 03:53
    Track
    17
    Title
    I. —
    Duration
    03:53
    Composer
    Piotr Szewczyk
    Ensemble
    Bold City Contemporary Ensemble
    Conductor
    Nathan Aspinall
  18. 18 II. — 07:25
    Track
    18
    Title
    II. —
    Duration
    07:25
    Composer
    Piotr Szewczyk
    Ensemble
    Bold City Contemporary Ensemble
    Conductor
    Nathan Aspinall
  19. 19 III. — 05:47
    Track
    19
    Title
    III. —
    Duration
    05:47
    Composer
    Piotr Szewczyk
    Ensemble
    Bold City Contemporary Ensemble
    Conductor
    Nathan Aspinall