The Recombinant Trilogy
New Focus, 2021
9/10
Listen to The Recombinant Trilogy
The esteemed composer George Lewis brings us 3 works for solo instrument here, where electronics and timbre transformation help illuminate the acoustic sounds of each instrument into a sonic experience that spends an hour enlightening us with its very unique execution.
“Emergent” starts the listen with mesmerizing flute from Claire Chase, where initially bare and nearly sci-fi sounds manipulate space well, and this later evolves into multiple flutes dancing around a playful, unpredictable, exciting 12 minutes.
In the middle, “Not Alone” allows cellist Seth Parker Woods to enthrall us with fascinating string acrobatics as ricochet bowings, glissandi, sul ponticello and tremolos unfold with a texturing that’s so precise and technical it hardly seems human.
The last track, “Seismologic”, displays bassoonist Dana Jessen’s very atypical approach, where the brass instrument sounds like a fog horn, a flock of geese and even wind as both the sounds of insects and mechanical noises are mimicked with much skill and attention to layering.
A truly unclassifiable journey, Lewis blends chamber ideas, electroacoustic song craft and much innovation into these lengthy compositions that never out welcome their stay.
Travels well with: Wang Lu- At Atlas Of Time; David Liptak- Dove Songs