Bell Threads
New Focus Recordings, 2021
8/10
The composer Adam Roberts has a knack for exciting chamber music, and here he brings many musicians in for a varied display of rich, expressive and focused songwriting, the exact kind, in fact, that has comprised all of his work up to this point.
“Shift Differential” starts the listen with Maya Bennardo’s violin and Hannah Levinson’s viola (both of andPlay) interacting with a distinct harmonic tint, quivering moments and a rare improvisational skill, and “Oboe Quartet” follows with 3 movements that welcomes Erik Behr (oboe) and JACK Quartet providing strings in the more classical oriented setting that balances the string presence with the oboe amid some creative grooves and sublime intimacy.
“Rounds” resides in the middle and showcases Hannah Lash’s harp, where the dreamy polyrhythms and textured beauty makes a large impact in a minimal environment, while “Diptych” brings andPlay back for timbre manipulation between the violin and viola that’s quite mesmerizing.
“Happy/Angry Music” arrives near the end and is an upbeat and playful album highlight with Karl Larson’s piano, Matt Evans’ percussion and Pat Swoboda’s bass exploring rhythm and pitch with inimitable results, and “Bell Threads” exits the listen with Levinson’s solo viola almost seeming like it’s a duet with itself, exploring two different registers of the instrument with both an adventurous and vulnerable technique.
An album that shines whether the setting is solo, duet, trio or quartet, the unpredictable time signatures, very precise gesturing and unconventional rhythms make for a chamber experience you won’t soon forget.
Travels well with: Mark Kirschenmann- Cybersonic Outreach; loadbang- Plays Well With Others