It Floats Away From You
New Focus, 2023
8/10
Listen to It Floats Away From You
Corrine Byrne brings a healthy set of soprano pipes to Andy Kozar’s well manipulated trumpet for this debut recording, where compositions by Alexandre Lunsqui, Beth Wiemann, Li Qi, Vid Smooke, Jeffrey Gavett, Christian Carey, Lei Liang, and Chris Cresswell make for a distinct and exciting version of chamber music.
Lunsqui’s “Solis” starts the listen with playful vocal scatting and gorgeous singing that illustrates a stunning ability alongside the well timed brass moments that point towards The Beatles’ classic, “Here Comes The Sun”, and Wiemann’s “It Floats Away From You” follows with poetry from Marianne Moore, where 3 movements pay close attention to pitch and mood thanks to the stunning voice and expressive trumpet.
Further along, “Lonely Grave”, by Qi, finds a meditative place to reside, where the intimately sonic landscape is mournful and heartbreaking, while Carey’s “A Lady” puts forth strategic harmonization from Kozar that complements the vocal acrobatics of the colorful text.
Closer to the end, “All That’s Left Is Dirt And Sky” recruits field recordings, ambient noise and room tone for the love song about environments, and Lunsqui returns for the final track, “Two Patches”, where a pair of voices in rhythmic unison rely much on timbre, articulation and diction, and the instrumentation provides a sparse backdrop.
The duo are well versed at interpreting work, and their inimitable delivery and meticulous nature makes for a highly atypical chamber and baroque experience.
Travels well with: Guy Barash- Killdeer; Christopher Cerrone- The Air Suspended