Wandelweiser und so weiter 2

The other three discs from the recently released Another Timbre box- as before, these don't even qualify as capsule reviews: at best, these are a flurry of initial impressions, many of which will include the words 'sparse' and / or 'lovely'.
Thut- Many, 1-4. We left our last episode, if you'll recall, with the flat Manfred Werder cliffhanger- it's a relief to hear something sensual, albeit brief, after that.###
Improvisation #08.01.12. Really engrossing improvisation, full of alluring sounds. Can't possibly give more than that on one listen, except to say I know already I will end up playing this many, many times. #####
Sfirri- for the choice of directions #1. Almost literally unremarkable. Come on, I've not hit my stride yet, let me warm up. ##
Susam- for maaike schoorel. Now this is beautiful, for what that's worth. Long, potent silences and then a sudden flurry of chamber music sounds, just for a few seconds. Some brief dialogue and some deep, vital (good Ben Watson word, that) double bass (I'm guessing). Really, really good. #####
Lash- For Five. Breathy- every sound is important here. Sustained notes on different instruments, working together, working alone. And yet hypnotic. Very taken with this. ####
Frey- Time Intent memory. A very pure tone to open, and again this is going to take far more than one listen. I can't even formulate my opinions on this yet, though I suspect I may come to like it a lot. And that's very much becoming the theme of this batch of tracks, and that's no bad thing. I don't think there's any doubt though that the concept of the 'boxed set' / 'compilation' is going to end up working against a lot of this music. I can't imagine I'm going to feel the urge to play these discs from start to finish particularly often- I'm not sold on there being a 'theme' for each of these discs, despite the titles they've been allocated, very poetic and suggestive titles like 'Drifts' and 'Eddies'. Inevitably some pieces are going to fall by the wayside, and only by keeping these brief, insubstantial notes can I really track what I'm going to want to hear again and why. ####
Sfirri- for the choice of directions #2. Some rather obviously 'pretty' pluckings which is a bit of a shock to the system. ###
Frey- Circular Music. Again there's something obvious and straightforward about the instrumentation here, and surely anyone could find this attractive. But I find this far less frustrating than the Sfirri. This piece comes from a classical background and I would argue seems the most overly classical of all the pieces so far. Actually this is gorgeous. You know, this could be played on Classic FM and I don't think anyone would blink. #####
Werder- 2008 (6). My main man! A very rainy field recording and what may or may not be a double bass. This is a more satisfying listen than the other Werder pieces. That's as far as I'll go. ###
Frey- Un champ de tendresse... Whistling wind and clattering percussion- enjoyable if perhaps a little lightweight. Sorry, probably not really supposed to use throwaway words like that. One listen, remember, one listen. I can get away with anything here. ###
Susam- for sesshu toyo. Hard to get any sort of a grasp on this from one listen. Sparse and fairly uninvolving. ###
Pisaro- Descending Series (1). Quite lovely set of very echoey piano notes. There's a very low electronic drone with the piano above it. The notes never seem to die- they fall away, they linger, and then, where they've fallen, they gather. It's ptetty. ####
Cage- Prelude for Meditation. A piece with repetition, with a hook even. How did that sneak in here? It's over in a flash, so don't worry. Another palate cleanser, and very welcome. ####
Sfirri- little by little #1. I need another word for sparse. Very breathy, atmospheric, layers of minimal sound piled one on the other. Again, waves and then a gathering of reserves. ###
Davies- Cofnod Pen Bore. An Autechre cover? Apparently not. This is really good, sensual stuff, something to get your teeth in to and something to luxuriate in. That's nice, getting all that from a brief piece like this- this could have been much longer and I would have been happy. #####
Sfirri- natural at last #3. Raw, rough, growly. Can't really see any particular connections with the first two readings of this. ###
Sfirri- little by little 2. There's not a hell of a lot going on here, but what there is is fascinating. These Sfirri pieces are hard to pin down and impossibly hard to write about. ####
White- Drinking and Hooting Machine. The joker in the pack. A mood changer certainly. Long live the Clangers.###
Sfirri- little by little 3. The brief duration doesn't do a piece like this any favours. This, more than any of the last few Sfirri realizations is hanging around in my head though. Already I want to listen to it again. Who knows- 6 and a half hours into this set and I can't even tell what I like any more. ###
Nemeth- eine unbedeutende aussage. There's something very satisfying about the pure held tone against the scratching and the forraging. Sensual almost. No, strike out that almost. Sensual. It makes the skin tingle. ####
Houben- von da nach da. Droning strings and vibrant railroad percussion- this isn't a million miles away from a GYBE! track. Then a second section where the drones dominate. Fascinating, compelling and a really good way to end the set. ####
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Have a huge amount of respect for this set, as I hope I've conveyed, and further listens can only deepen this respect. I think, generally, there are too many short pieces, and one or two further improvisations would have been welcome. The Werder pieces you can keep, but perhaps that goes without saying. I'll listen to them again, but I rather begrudge it. I don't know- perhaps that tells more about me than the music. There's a considerable amount of music on this set though that I'm going to be spending a considerable amount of time with- I think it's a fine release.

Asides, for better or worse 4

         It was no good arguing with him, for he had the appalling obstinacy of very weak things.

John Buchan

Asides, for better or worse 3

Fen, who disapproved of congregational singing, occupied himself with glaring at anyone who opened his mouth.

Edmund Crispin

Wandelweiser und so weiter 1

Because there's something childishly inappropriate about giving a bunch of Wandelweiser (and related...) recordings a cursory listen and assigning them a grade out of five, here are some grades out of five for a bunch of Wandelweiser (and related) recordings that I've given a cursory listen to.
The new 8 hour box 'Wandelweiser und so weiter' has just been released on Another Timbre, and while any sort of weighty judgement on the set is going to have to wait, I wanted to put a few initial impressions down. And these really are initial impressions- most tracks here (aside from a few I was instantly taken with and wanted to replay before moving on to anything else) have just had a solitary listen. And I've spent very little time with the booklet so I couldn't begin to tell you who is playing on most of the tracks, let alone the sources for Manfred Werder's creative soarings this time around. 
But these initial impressions are generally very positive- the biggest fear I had going in to this was the set could easily dissolve into vaitaions on a theme- hesitant notes and tones, extended silences, repetitions with only microtonal differences each time around: all the trademark, stereotypical Wandelweiser stuff (which, of course, is usually bang on the money). An absence of grit in the proceedings. Fortunately, this is not the case- there are some group improvisations thrown in to the mix which provide all the grit you'll need, and nourish the palate ready for the next round of quiet distractions.
The first three discs then, and this is essentially a reference for myself- an aide-mémoire of early impressions.
Sfirri- Natural at last #1. Very beautiful. There's definitely a foreground and a background here- sparse sensual pluckings to the fore, hissings and cracklings behind. They come and go but there is always something there to grip onto. The tingling of the skin, the functioning of the body. ####
Beuger- Lieux de Passage. Very beautiful. (This could get repetitive). But, really, very beautiful. More satisfying than anything else I've heard by him. Gripping, serene. #####
Werder- 2011(4). A fairly empty ten minut field recording which could well be more engaging elsewhere- this is where having the music in a compilation of handy bite-sized 'chunks' probably does it an injustice. This isn't uninteresting, but to be honest I wanted to hear the Beuger again. ##
Sfirri- Natural at last #2. Soft drones and breathing noises, all of a piece, all of a level. Pleasant.###
Saunders- Various distinct spatial or temporal locations. A whisper of a piece- perhaps a brief indulgence, but actually very attractive listening. ###
Malfatti- Heikou. Cells and waves. The instruments come in, announce themselves, retreat. Pause. Return. ###
 Sfirri- The Undulating Land- held tones interspersed with a plucked string and- what- a gong? I could always check I guess. It works really well though. This little taster of variety is refreshing. ####
Cage- Three2. And instantly this seems like a barrage of raucous noise after everything that has gone before! Interesting noise though and more interesting the longer it goes on, especially the frenetic conclusion. ###
'Etchings'. The to and fro-ing between the two tones I find raher annoying, especially as what is going on around these tones isn't. Is this an improvsaion? The booklet isn't far away... The to and fro-ing ends and the soundworld becomes immeasurably richer. And then I lose interest again. This is by far the piece I have liked the least so far, and I'm not sure why. ##
Durrant- Sowari. Squeakings and rumblings. Curious how the little word 'ensemble' colours your perceptions. Pretty conclusion. ###
Pisaro- fields have ears 3b. Despite the field recording and the assisted scratchings and whistlings, everything here is grounded in the piano. I love the sudden stop after eleven minutes which really makes the sounds you have been listening to resonate. Big rather cheesy bass note halfway through. Brief burst of choral music. ###
Beuger- 't aus 'etwas. Quite seductive- very sparse, repetitive vocal sounds, clicking and pushing out air. ###
Thut- Vier,1-10. Cells of orchestral sound punctuated by silences. The sounds are frequently dramatic, romantic even, and the silences quite jarring. One to hear again. ####
Brogan- Ensemble. This sounds like a sparse and nondescript field recording, a windy one at that, with selected instrumentation introduced during the process- reeds, electronics. This is grittier and all the better for it. #####
Saunders- With the same material.With Saunders you are forever in fundamentally the same territory- his pieces are more easily identifiable I think than anyone else in this set- but it is interesting territory, and I'm sure this will repay further listening. ####
Werder- 2 ausfuhrende. Not even sure what the instrumentation is, but this is some kind of mating call repeated periodically over half an hour. The sound itself is by no means interesting enough to stand up to that kind of scrutiny. Is this the music for our modern, interest-filled lives, I ask you... Honsetly, on a first listen, I hated this. #
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And that's halfway through the box. More indepth analysis of a similar stature to come.

Asides, for better or worse 2

          But Nikki was already a yard away, black in blackness.

‘Wait! Give me your hand, Nikki.’

‘Mister Queen. That’s not my hand.’

Ellery Queen

Asides, for better or worse 1

After the detailed life of the household had been thoroughly exhibited, the judge requested the Premier again to step forward which he did with a quiet dignity. The judge then said, in a sudden grating voice: ‘Get a new soul. That thing’s not fit for a dog. Get a new soul.’

GK Chesterton

Catherine Lamb- three bodies (moving)

After an initial listen to 'three bodies', Cat Lamb's piece for cello, violin and bass clarinet on Simon Reynell's Another Timbre (surely the finest record label in the country right now, certainly the home of more pleasing listening for these ears this year than any other label), I resolved never to listen to it again. I don't throw discs away, but this one was going to be hidden in a wardrobe somewhere- my antipathy towards it was that strong. Something about those slow, teetering, dizzying violin and cello lines was creating in me something very close to nausea- I was being physically affected by this music. And not in a way that I was happy paying money for.

But such is the way of things- I had paid money for this disc, I would endure a second listen. And everything changed. Not that it means much when you've heard as little new music as I've been able to this year, but 'three bodies' has gone from being a gift I would send to those I'd wish interesting illnesses upon, to my favourite recording of the year. I want to say it has an alien kind of beauty- the composer calls it, if I remember right, a bland beauty. So there you go- alien and bland. It's wonderful. Nausea? Lily-livered fool. It just sounds right now, though I'm still gong to opt out of inflicting it on the kids.