Reiko Füting www.reiko-fueting.de was born in 1970 in
Königs Wusterhausen in the German Democratic Republic, studying composition and
piano at the Dresden Conservatory; Rice University, Houston; the Manhatten
School of Music and Seoul National University, South Korea.
As well as composition, Füting has performed throughout
Europe, Asia and the USA. He teaches composition and theory at the Manhattan
School of Music and has appeared as guest faculty and lecturer at universities
and conservatories in China, Colombia, Germany, Italy, Russia, South Korea and
the USA.
He has written instrumental, chamber and orchestral works as
well as choral and vocal works.
Now from New Focus
Recordings www.newfocusrecordings.com comes a new
release of solo, chamber and vocal works by Reiko Füting entitled namesErased.
 |
| FCR 152 |
This new CD features members of New York City’s most
celebrated contemporary ensembles, including the International Contemporary
Ensemble http://iceorg.org , Either/Or Ensemble
www.eitherormusic.org , and the
Mivos String Quartet www.mivosquartet.com
performing works written by Füting over the past thirteen years.
In Kaddish: The Art
of Losing (2008) the cello of John Popham www.johnpatrickpopham.com opens
bringing some quite distinctive ruminations, played remarkably. Soon the piano
of Yegor Shevtsov http://yegorshevtsov.com
enters quietly as the cello weaves its way ahead, a little theme showing
through as it develops. The music grows in tension with a more strident,
dissonant piano part and some very fine chords from the cello creating some
wonderful textures and timbres. Incisive bowing from the cellist leads into a
quieter passage before falling to a halt. The cello and piano slowly lead off
again more gently before growing more agitated before another momentary pause.
As they slowly move ahead again there is a sense of a heavy burden. Hushed
vocal sounds are heard then the piano appears, leading slowly to the quiet coda
that ends on a repeated single piano note.
Mezzo-soprano Nani Füting enters high up to open ‘Leises Geigenspiel...’ (Distant violin
playing) (2004), slowly extracting some highly characterised vocal shapes
in this, the first extract on this disc from Füting’s ‘…gesammeltes Schweigen.’ (‘...collected silence’) a setting of
texts by Reiner Bonack.
tanz.tanz
(dance.dance) (2010) for solo violin is based on the choral tunes in Bach’s
Chaccone that were discovered by the German musicologist Helga Thoene. These
choral tunes are woven throughout the Chaconne and serve as the source material
for Füting. The soloist Miranda Cuckson www.mirandacuckson.com
opens, winding a line of textures, slowly
adding bolder, more vibrant chords. She weaves a remarkable texture creating some
very fine moments, with absolutely terrific playing. There is always a
distinguishable forward line as this violinist reveals some finely shaped
phrases. Throughout, a broader theme seems to be lurking. This is a formidable
challenge for any violinist; here Cuckson is terrific.
Mezzo Nani Füting brings another extract from ‘…gesammeltes Schweigen’, ‘Fiel ein Stück Himmel...’ (‘Did a piece of
the sky…(fall)’) in which she combines vocal sounds, sung text and occasional
sprechgesang, very finely controlled.
leaving
without/palimpsest (2006) is based on the old German folk tune Gesgn dich
Laub (Bless you leaves) and brings clarinetist Joshua Rubin http://thisroom.org and pianist Yegor Shevtsov
who opens slowly suggesting a little theme, rising in dynamics occasionally as
it develops before falling to a brief halt. The music picks up slowly but halts
again as the clarinet joins, bringing some finely tongued sounds between the
melody. Füting often stretches the tonal
abilities of the clarinet, verging on the shrill, not necessarily capitalising
on the mellower aspects of the clarinet. Nevertheless, some remarkable sounds
are produced as the theme moves along, Füting showing how he always manages to
hold an overall musical line before ending on a simple hushed piano note.
The third extract from ‘…gesammeltes
Schweigen’ is ‘Das alte Weingut...(’The
old vineyard’) where Nani Füting brings a lower range as she carefully delivers
some very finely shaped text, vocally quite superb.
The title work, names,
erased (2012) features cellist John Popham and uses musical material from
Bach, Berg, and Ligeti, compositionally treated to reflect the erasing process
of Robert Rauschenberg www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/collection-online/artists/bios/1396
in his famous Erased de Kooning Drawing www.sfmoma.org/explore/collection/artwork/25846
. The cello opens by ruminating on a motif. Here again this soloist proves to
be a very fine artist, allowing a theme to emerge from the closely woven
texture of the opening. It is fascinating to follow the suggested musical lines
that subtly emerge. There are many little subtleties in this piece that bear
repeated listening before we are led to a hushed coda.
The fourth extract from ‘…gesammeltes
Schweigen’ is ‘Die Teiche im Dunst...’
(‘The Ponds in Mist’) where mezzo-soprano
Nani Füting rises from a lower pitch as she slowly allows the music to unfold
in this remarkable, if short, piece.
ist - Mensch –
geworden (was – made – man) (2014) is based on quotations from such diverse
composers as Josquin, Bach, Schumann and Debussy with additional material from Boulez,
Morton Feldman, Beat Furrer, Jo Kondo, Tristan Murail and Nils Vigeland. Flautist Luna Kang http://lunacholongkang.com and pianist Jing
Yang www.morningpiano leap out suddenly as
strident flute and piano chords are heard. The flute slowly subsides in more
subtle textures before leading ahead with drooping notes and piano
accompaniment. There are some lovely flute arabesques within a rather
fragmentary line. As the flute develops the melodic theme, there are varying
tempi with more strident, staccato passages. Flautist Luna Kang intersperses
occasional breath and vocal sounds before repeated shrill flute phrases.
land - haus – berg
(land – house – mountain) (2009) is for solo piano and takes settings of
Goethe’s poem Kennst du das Land, wo die
Citronen blühen (Do you know the land where the lemons blossom) by
Beethoven, Schumann and Wolf. Yegor Shevtsov brings a rolling theme that is
nevertheless broken by rests. It is rhythmically varied, the pianist bringing a
really lovely feel to the music through his fine phrasing. Later there is a repeated
note like a drip, drip before the music increases in flow yet still with
occasional pauses. The lovely coda arrives with a single note. This is rather a
lovely piece.
The fifth and final extract from ‘…gesammeltes Schweigen’ is "Hoch
im Gebirge..." (‘High in the
mountains’) where mezzo Nani Füting brings some intense phrases as she
moves around to a hushed coda.
light, asleep (2002) for violin and piano opens with
pianist David Broome introducing a broadly fragmented theme. Violinist Olivia
de Prato www.oliviadeprato.com enters quietly bringing a longer musical line,
developing the theme with some fine textures and timbres. Later there is a dissonant
piano passage that develops the theme before the violin re-joins with some
lovely phrases that burst out in little surges. The music moves through some
very fine passages for solo violin before the coda.
finden – suchen (to
find, to search) (2002) was written for a concert of works by former
students of Jörg Herchet on the occasion of his 60th birthday. Here the alto flute of Eric Lamb http://fluteaddict.weebly.com is soon joined by cellist John Popham and
pianist Yegor Shevtsov in a tentative theme, finely phrased with some lovely
sonorities. Little flute trills rise out as the music is taken slowly and
gently forward, building moments of more decisiveness before the flute brings the gentle end.
‘...und ich bin Dein
Spiegel’ (‘and I am Your
reflection’) (2002) for mezzo-soprano and string quartet was a commission
for the Festival Magdeburgisches Concert and
is based on excerpts from the fragmentary writing of Mechthild von Magdeburg
(c.1207-1282). Mezzo-soprano Nani Füting is joined by the Mivos String Quartet
(Olivia de Prato and Josh Modney (violin), Victor Lowrie (viola) and Mariel
Roberts (cello).
This work gives Nani Füting a more sustained opportunity to
bring her considerable vocal skills to a more extended piece. She enters alone with
a simple little melody, showing her very fine voice, musical, flexible and
melodic. She then varies the melody, bringing a variety of vocal techniques,
moving around vocally, often showing a terrific ability to suddenly rise up
high. The quartet enters slowly, picking over the theme in fragmented chords before
rising in passion and developing some very fine moments with terrific textures
and sonorities. When Füting re-enters she brings some declamatory phrases that complement
the quartet, showing terrific control in her dynamic leaps. There is a vibrant,
volatile passage for swirling string quartet strings bringing a terrific outflow
of textures before Füting returns along with quieter, yet still strident,
quartet textures leading to this mezzo’s final outburst at the end.
This is a terrific conclusion to this disc.
It is Füting’s ability to subtly develop themes within a
richer and often quite complex texture that is so attractive. The recording is
detailed, revealing every texture and timbre and there are useful notes as well
as full texts and English translations.
This is a most welcome release.
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