Morton Feldman / San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Stephen L. Mosko, Joan La Barbara, Ralph Grierson, Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick
Only: Works for Voice and Instruments
★★★★
An assortment of various Feldman pieces performed by SFCMP and most notably, Joan La Barbara. What's enticing about this compilation is the fact that all the pieces seem to be at a much shorter length than any other Feldman compositions I've heard before. To be fair, my experience with him is slightly limited. Especially when it comes to any vocal arrangements, which is what this release focuses on. The recording here is superb too, up to par with any ECM New Series release I could think of. The only difference is, perhaps that while ECM has a "lighter" sound, New Albion is stark, direct and darker. They prove to be a good contrast to each other and makes me more interested in delving deep into their perspective discographies. Joan La Barbara provides a mature and experienced touch to the whole grouping of recordings that is hard to find elsewhere. She's worked with every one of the major avant composers of the mid to late twentieth century. From John Cage, Phillip Glass, Steve Reich, and Robert Ashley. Joan takes all of those experiences and performs exceptionally well on everything she approaches.
Her solo singing on the opening and closing piece, "Only", is romantic and more intimate than anything else available here. This is a composition that arose from Feldman's early years (he was only twenty one when he wrote it) and it's a translation of the poem by Rainer Maria Rilke. What I usually have come to expect from Feldman is a combination of intense, and imposing music that takes multiple listens, with various approaches. Even then you may be left confused and frustrated, but it's an entertaining and sometimes fruitful exercise. I find that this release is not to the level that I am most familiar with, in the realm of Morton Feldman. Surely on songs like "Vertical Thoughts 5" and “Voice, Violin, and Piano” he continued that general searching thematic statement so widely observed in his music. The instrumentation is a bit more varied than what I’m used to from Feldman but I don’t think it really changes the goal or target in mind in any piece. With all the differences, it can still somehow remain frozen and static in a cold, primal but inhuman way.
In my opinion the album only gets better as it progresses. With the first major highlight being the music memoir to an artist, “For Franz Kline”. The rumbling and escaping horns and drums seem as strained as humanly possible, screaming and pleading to be let out of the surrounding quicksand. The voice penetrates that feeling like citrus through oil, forcing you to concentrate on what that could mean. The piano and strings hold hands in a worried manner, unaware or unsure of what’s to come before the end of the song. After that nail biting excursion you’re cast off into space with “Voices and Cello”. As composition that instantly reminds me of Ligeti’s work on 2001: A Space Odyssey. Feldman perfects this expansive and lonely feeling and expands it directly into another harrowing piece, “Pianos and Voices”. This song uses an overdubbing technique thanks to Mrs. La Barbara that forms a hellish choir right in front of you. One that is hypnotic but inescapable. The finale is another recitation of “Only”, but it seems softer and less dynamic than the opener, like the life and hope has been sucked from it by a vacuum.
The cover of this album is a riveting painting by artist Philip Guston, more specifically a portrayal of Morton Feldman himself. Guston and Feldman were close friends that eventually distanced each other because of the artistic decisions Guston was taking and how Feldman disliked them. Yet years later Guston painted this portrait of Feldman and it’s remained a fascinating painting. I think that the visual aspect in any music is important and should be truly appreciated by all for what it can do to our imagination. And this portrait / album cover serves me a great deal. Feldman’s bat-like ears and sideways demeanor represented the lack of communication and disinterest that Feldman felt toward Guston. Similarly, this music requires you to invest in a set of bat ears for every minute detail available, but also shows the fact that Feldman really wouldn’t have cared to make his music appealing or mainstream, therefore showing his sideways glance. Feldman came back around to appreciate Guston and when Guston died he was heartbroken and disturbed. Enough to create the enormous and complex composition that served as his way of saying goodbye.
Favorite Song: For Franz Kline
Her solo singing on the opening and closing piece, "Only", is romantic and more intimate than anything else available here. This is a composition that arose from Feldman's early years (he was only twenty one when he wrote it) and it's a translation of the poem by Rainer Maria Rilke. What I usually have come to expect from Feldman is a combination of intense, and imposing music that takes multiple listens, with various approaches. Even then you may be left confused and frustrated, but it's an entertaining and sometimes fruitful exercise. I find that this release is not to the level that I am most familiar with, in the realm of Morton Feldman. Surely on songs like "Vertical Thoughts 5" and “Voice, Violin, and Piano” he continued that general searching thematic statement so widely observed in his music. The instrumentation is a bit more varied than what I’m used to from Feldman but I don’t think it really changes the goal or target in mind in any piece. With all the differences, it can still somehow remain frozen and static in a cold, primal but inhuman way.
In my opinion the album only gets better as it progresses. With the first major highlight being the music memoir to an artist, “For Franz Kline”. The rumbling and escaping horns and drums seem as strained as humanly possible, screaming and pleading to be let out of the surrounding quicksand. The voice penetrates that feeling like citrus through oil, forcing you to concentrate on what that could mean. The piano and strings hold hands in a worried manner, unaware or unsure of what’s to come before the end of the song. After that nail biting excursion you’re cast off into space with “Voices and Cello”. As composition that instantly reminds me of Ligeti’s work on 2001: A Space Odyssey. Feldman perfects this expansive and lonely feeling and expands it directly into another harrowing piece, “Pianos and Voices”. This song uses an overdubbing technique thanks to Mrs. La Barbara that forms a hellish choir right in front of you. One that is hypnotic but inescapable. The finale is another recitation of “Only”, but it seems softer and less dynamic than the opener, like the life and hope has been sucked from it by a vacuum.
The cover of this album is a riveting painting by artist Philip Guston, more specifically a portrayal of Morton Feldman himself. Guston and Feldman were close friends that eventually distanced each other because of the artistic decisions Guston was taking and how Feldman disliked them. Yet years later Guston painted this portrait of Feldman and it’s remained a fascinating painting. I think that the visual aspect in any music is important and should be truly appreciated by all for what it can do to our imagination. And this portrait / album cover serves me a great deal. Feldman’s bat-like ears and sideways demeanor represented the lack of communication and disinterest that Feldman felt toward Guston. Similarly, this music requires you to invest in a set of bat ears for every minute detail available, but also shows the fact that Feldman really wouldn’t have cared to make his music appealing or mainstream, therefore showing his sideways glance. Feldman came back around to appreciate Guston and when Guston died he was heartbroken and disturbed. Enough to create the enormous and complex composition that served as his way of saying goodbye.
Favorite Song: For Franz Kline
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