April 8, 2019

  • Blending Seemingly Disparate Musical Realms

     

    D’Haene: Music With Silent Aitake’s
    Reigakusha Gagaku Ensemble, Ensemble Modern/Kasper De Roo
    Ravello Records 8008
    Total Time:  42:11
    Recording:   ****/****
    Performance: ****/****

    At first glance, the average person’s question will be, “What is an aitake?”  The clues to that answer lie in the performance group and are further enhanced by a striking photograph on the back of the CD booklet.  There we see a traditional gagaku ensemble front and center with traditional Western instruments in a semi-circle behind them.  This blending of cultures is going to be further reflected in composer Frederick D’Haene’s piece Music With Silent Aitake’s.  D’Haene’ refers to this approach as paradoxophony.

    One of the first hurdles that must be overcome in this melding of cultures is the tuning as this differs greatly between the Eastern ensemble and the Western one.  But to overcome this, D’Haene starts with where the common tone may intersect and then creates from those patterns intense harmonies and dissonances which shift through the two ensembles.  Gagaku by nature has its own patterns and motifs that are used to enhance narratives and so here it works somewhat in the same way.  These rhythms and sounds move toward gradual builds of tension, but it is also in the silences where the music also impacts the listener.  The Western instruments add their own distinct colors to the texture, sometimes also being stretched to extremes.  In this way, the music recalls some of the experimental music of the 1960s (and in particular George Crumb) with it exploration of complexity and dissonance.  The music demands a bit more from its listeners but an understanding of these two seemingly disparate musical worlds is not necessary to be drawn in to D’Haen’s work.  In a sense, he has done here what Toru Takemitsu attempted in his score for Kurosawa’s Ran (1985).

    The music here is indeed “experimental”, highly-organized material with a seeming sense of randomness and improvisation which may not come through at first.  One might best approach this as a cinematic experience where the story itself evolves as the piece itself progresses across the five parts.  There is nothing quite like this and kudos to Ravello for allowing others to experience this interesting exploration of cultures.