Quietude
Albany, 2021
8/10
The Hong Kong born but now United States resident Stephen Yip extends on his exceptional catalog of songs with 6 well thought out compositions that welcome the [Switch~ Ensemble], the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, pianist Shelley Ng, and flutists Pei-San Chiu and Chen-Yu Wu.
“Tranquility In Consanance III” starts the listen cautiously, where flute, bass clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion interact in exciting, meticulous ways that emit a nearly futuristic appeal while still being very tied to a unique chamber template, and “Jasmine Blossom” follows with lone piano guiding the intimate and flowing climate.
In the middle, the title track recruits strings and winds for a cinematic and unpredictable 10 minutes, while “White Dew” pairs flute and bass flute into a mysterious and abstract display of detailed songwriting.
Inching towards the end, “Hermit” recruits flute, b-flat clarinet, piano, 2 violins, viola, cello and double bass into a very distinct energy that’s sometimes dreamy, other times experimental, and occasionally rumbles with a unique intensity, and “November White II” exits the listen with a quivering landscape that’s nearly sci-fi amid the fascinating string manipulation.
Yip’s prior work includes orchestral, chamber, vocal, and electronic music, and here he brings many ideas from those genres into a truly unclassifiable listen that you’re not going to hear anywhere else.
Travels well with: Matthew Schreibeis- Sandburg Songs; Dave Walther- Distance