Raised Structures
Albany, 2023
8/10
The clarinet wizard Anthony Taylor brings his craft to both electronic or electroacoustic components, where Thea Musgrave, Alejandro Rutty, Doina Rotaru, D. Edward Davis and Aleks Sternfeld-Dunn’s work is fleshed out with a very creative approach.
Davis’ “Raised Structures” opens the listen with much attention on mood, where the clarinet quivers with minimal waves of intrigue, and “Narcissus”, by Thea Musgrave, follows with the bright and flowing wind making for a playful, cinematic 15+ minutes.
The middle track belongs to Rutty’s “Guitars”, where Kelly Burke’s clarinet is present for the harmonic gestures, while “Metamorphosis” makes great use of the bass clarinet with a charming, lower register of meticulous playing in the Rotaru piece.
“100 Years Later” is the final selection, and it injects intimacy, initially, before a building tension that, later on, leads into ominous areas enters that mesmerizes us.
Taylor’s resume includes being the Associate Professor of Clarinet at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and also the principal clarinet of the Winston-Salem Symphony. His immense skill certainly makes this a colorful and distinct listening experience.
Travels well with: Vivian Fine- Dreamscape: Chamber Music For Flute By Vivian Fine; Luke Dahn- The Valkov-Dahn Project