Following on from
Paige Stockley’s very fine performance of Peter Vukmirovic Stevens’ http://petervukmirovicstevens.com large,
five movement August Ruins for solo cello
(2010-2012) comes a similarly large scale work for solo viola, Feral Icons also released by Navona
Records http://navonarecords.com
 |
| NV 6008 |
Written for Seattle Symphony Orchestra violist, Mara Gearman
www.ssopo.org/musician-profiles/mara-gearman.html
, who performs it on this new disc, Feral
Icons is a suite of six works for solo viola intended to capture the
instrument’s rich and haunting quality.
The title track Feral
Icons sets the scene for a
musical journey, bringing a decisive theme full of fine, gritty textures and
lovely double stopped sonorities. As it moves forward, one can hear the theme
emerging from within the rich textures of the viola.
Sovereign is a slower
piece, where the viola weaves a fine melody that works its way through a
texture of often rich harmonies. It soon picks up a little with a rhythmic
theme but soon returns to the opening tempo. Later it rises in passion before
returning to the slower pace, this time with deeper, richer textures. It is
another passionate passage that brings the end.
Sanctuary brings a
plaintive melody that becomes a little more passionate before textures are
built in. The viola rises higher with the melody, through some richer textures,
using the full tonal range of the viola and developing some terrific overlaid textures.
Ex Nihilo takes
its title from the Latin phrase meaning ‘to create out of nothing.’ It opens
with a repeated rhythmic staccato motif over a longer theme. The repeated theme
is brought to life through a fine variation of textures. Centrally the music rises
a little as the lower, richer timbres are contrasted with the upper line. Eventually the music grows more passionate as
the upper line is weaved around before the opening theme returns with the
little staccato phrases. Richer textures are overlaid as we lead to the end.
The viola develops a rich theme for Bloodlines bringing some lovely lower tones and some attractive
little variations of tempo. The viola rises higher in the register becoming a
little anxious. The lower tone is retained as a kind of drone around which develops
some terrific dissonant chords. There are some really unusual and inventive
harmonies here. Later one can hear the drone like sonorities again but soon the
music rises higher, becoming passionate before falling to a richer coda. At
just over fourteen minutes, the longest piece in this suite, this is a
tremendous tour de force by composer and soloist.
Black and Gold brings
a fine flowing melody that is taken forward alternating between double stopped
passages and those of a richer texture. It moves through some fine passages as
it rises and falls with fine textures and sonorities often creating the effect
of two voices communing in a broad landscape of sound.
Stevens does not give us details of the exact ideas behind
the titles but treated as pure music this is a very fine achievement. So much
here depends on the soloist’s tonal qualities. Mara Gearman proves to be an
impressive violist. This is music of
great strength and invention.
My download revealed a recording that is close but very
detailed, revealing clearly the viola’s various tones and textures.
See also:
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