Immaculate sigh of stars
New Focus, 2024
9/10
Listen to Immaculate sigh of stars
The composer, conductor and violinist David Fulmer returns with 8 works that include his 2014 violin concerto, as well as recent solo and chamber works that features several players .
“Jauchzende Bögen” starts the listen with Stefan Jackiw’s adventurous and tense violin playing alongside the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen for the unpredictable and mesmerizing 21+ minutes, and “Cantantes Metallis” follows with Jay Campbell’s strategically bowed cello amid Conor Hanick’s playful keys and Mike Truesdell’s atypical percussion.
At the midpoint, “Star Of The North- Requiem For Zhanaozen” showcases Campbell’s cello acrobatics that shine in often bare moments, while “Only In Darkness I Thy Shadow Clear” benefits from the rumbling pianos of Nathan Ben-Yehuda and León Bernsdorf.
The title track resides near the end and allows for Parker Ramsay’s intimate harp to impress us with its strong attention to mood, and “Whose Fingers Brush The Sky” exits with Hanick’s cinematic and sonic gestures of intrigue.
A technical effort that employs timbral experimentation, quarter-tones and contrasting ideas, each selection present is precisely executed and draws the listener in to its unique language.
Travels well with: Arthur Levering- OceanRiverLake; David Kaplan- New Dances Of The League Of David