Julia Den Boer

Kermés

New Focus, 2021

8/10

Listen to Kermés

The French-American pianist Julia Den Boer returns with a sophomore album, and it’s comprised of 4 absorbing pieces from experimental female composers that are executed with a sublime and technical ability.

Giulia Lorusso’s “Déserts” starts the listen with bare, precise keys that cultivate a very distinct mood as each of the 5 pieces identifies with a specific desert, i.e. the Wadi Rum in Jordan, carved out by the river; the Uyuni salt desert in Bolivia; the Atacama, a flowering desert located between Southern Peru and Northern Chile; the Murzuq in Libya, the sand sea; and the Hammada, the rocky desert, in the Western Sahara.

The middle track, Linda Catlin Smith’s “The Underfolding”, then manipulates pitch and rhythm with a very unique layering skill that emits much ambiguity, while “Reminiscence”, by Anna Thorvaldsdottir, blends 7 quick movements into a very intimate and focused display of stirring key work that puts emphasis on timbre.

Rebecca Saunders’ “Crimson” exits the listen, and is the most firm track present, where the frame of the instrument is even used to highlight the dramatic, animated environment.

A New York City resident who has made quite a global impression as both a soloist and chamber musician and who is always commissioning new works, Boer is constantly challenging the boundaries of her instrument, and here she’s redefining contemporary classical sounds with awe and wonder.

Travels well with: Ensemble Dal Niente- confined.speak.; Mark Kirschenmann- Cybersonic Outreach