The Hunt By Night
New Focus, 2021
8/10
The esteemed composer Douglas Boyce returns with a 2nd album of chamber sounds, where his always unique vision embraces poetry, painting and philosophy as he draws from primitive techniques that are modernized for the many players present.
“Quintet l’homme armé” starts the listen with a vibrant, adventurous spirit where Benjamin Fingland’s unpredictable clarinet and Miranda Cuckson's precise violin interact playfully with Ning Yu’s warm piano in a live setting, and “Stretto Perpetuo, Quire 4 No. 1 from A Book of Etudes” follows with Schuyler Slack’s moody cello and Ieva Jokubaviciute’s keys birthing both calm moments of beauty and tense bursts of mystery.
The halfway point offers us “Piano Quartet No. 2”, where piano from Jokubaviciute blurs with Harumi Rhodes’ quivering violin and Priscilla Lee’s cello. “Sails Knife-bright in a Seasonal Wind”, the longest tune at 14+ minutes, lands near the end, and alternates between low, cinematic rumbling as well as Daniel Lippel’s spirited guitar and Jeffrey Irving’s well timed percussion.
“The Hunt by Night, Quire 9 No. 3 from A Book Of Etudes” bookends the record with bright and animated keys from Yu, Caleb van der Swaagh’s deft cello and Fingland’s clarinet acrobatics in a memorable, exciting finish.
A very diverse effort that’s capable of being intense, nearly manic, and also intimate, often abstract, Boyce meticulously blends the instruments together in a way that nearly redefines the idea of chamber music, while keeping the listener enthralled for the entire journey.
Travels well with: DUO Stephanie & Saar- Cavatine; Sid Richardson- Borne By A Wind