Blow
New Focus, 2021
8/10
The wind quintet The City Of Tomorrow bring us a trio of works on the appropriately titled Blow, where oboe, horns, bassoon and many other woodwinds help cultivate rich and animated landscapes of exploratory and memorable song craft.
Franco Donatoni’s “Blow” leads the listen with much emphasis on flute as an unpredictable patterns of off-kilter rhythm, strategic repetition and supporting roles from the other woodwinds add much charm to the energetic textures.
The middle portion belongs to Hannah Lash and her 9 movement piece, “Leander And Hero”. Initially bare and dreamy, the E-flat clarinet, flute and piccolo interact in ways that are playful, even furious, in their dynamic beauty, while also retreating to calm moments, as well as ominous flashes of darker waves.
Esa-Pekka Salonen finishes the listen with “Memoria”, where one 15 minute piece unfolds with alto flute and horns dancing around one another amid solos, clever interplay and even finishes on a memorable chorale that puts a firm exclamation point on the affair.
Elise Blatchford, Stuart Breczinski, Rane Moore, Nanci Belmont and Leander Star, i.e. The City Of Tomorrow, execute a tremendous amount of virtuosity here, and their experimental vision certainly puts them in a league all their own, which, of course, we’re all better off for.
Travels well with: Aaron Jay Myers- Clever Machines; Peter Gilbert- Burned Into The Orange