Search - Aaron Jay Kernis, Neale, San Francisco Sym Orch. :: Colored Field & Still Movement With Hymn

You'll want to listen over and over again.

Tom Brody | Berkeley, CA | 01/01/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first movement begins quietly and gently, but with hints of tension, reminiscent of the first movement of Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta. At 2 minutes, there starts a flittery, fluttery, looping, bounding, flute exercise. Multiple and simultaneous moods are set forth. The natural vibrato of a struck piece of metal is appealing. If you like Charles Ives' music, e.g., Decoration Day or Washington's Birthday, you'll like this part of the first movement. The period between 4-5 minutes sounds a bit like the saxophone compositions of Sam Rivers or Eric Dolphy. At 8 ½ minutes occurs a thunderstorm episode, comprising abundant use of drums which at 10 ½ minutes, suddenly becomes gentle. The first movement ends quietly.
If you like Messian's Turangulila Symphony, you'll like Kernis' second movement. Here, the English horn plays the role of the ondes martinot of the Turangulila, that is, an underdog, young and naive, a protagonist, unwilling to be overwhelmed by the orchestra. At 2 minutes and again at 3 minutes, there occurs a brief playful, laughing, cartoonish episode, reminiscent of composer Carl Stalling. Orchestral "laughing" occurs only rarely in music. One can also find a laughing episode in Bartok's string quartet no.1, where the laughing occurs at 6-7 minutes into the 3rd movement (allegro vivace). Again, at 4 minutes and thereafter, occurs a busy section sounding like Turangulila.
Kernis' third movement begins with a step-wise music, featuring bold, dignified, Coplandesque chords. This contrasts nicely with the cartoons of the second movement. At 4 minutes and 40 seconds into the 3rd movement, there occurs a stuttering horn, briefly evoking Lutoslawski's Cello Concerto (see 3 min and 50 seconds in the Cello Concerto). The stuttering horn never appears again in Kernis' piece. From 9 minutes to 11 minutes, there is a warm and cozy sounding section. Then, 11 minutes into the third movement, the step-wise music returns, with its craggy mountains and Copland-chords, but this time supplemented with clanging metal and galloping wooden blocks. Finally, at 14 minutes, occurs another gentle section, where the English horn provides a solo in absence of accompaniment. At 16 ½ minutes, there occurs a reassuring, optimistic, quiet section, reminiscent of the concluding moments of Ives' Unanswered Question, perhaps implying that the hurdles imposed by the craggy mountains and thunderstorms are overcome. At 22 minutes and 40 seconds, the 3rd movement ends with a creative yelp.
Kernis' piece is a good candidate for your permanent, repeat-listening repertoire. Kernis' concerto is not lengthy. It contains enough ideas for a 90 minute symphony."

What a great surprise from a little known composer!

Damir Janigro | Cleveland Hts., OH USA | 08/12/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD was forgotten on a VHS shelf at the library, I never heard of Mr. Kernis, shame on me since it seems that he is quite famous. I do listen to a lot of contemporary music and am glad to report that there are many wonderful new things to discover out there. This guy has produced great music indeed! The concerto for English horn is a traditional concert with lovely ideas scattered throughout the 40 minutes of the piece. But the following Still movement with Hymn is a gem on its own. It summarizes, without cut-paste, the best music ideas of the past 60 or so years, there is a modernized Shostakovich, a bit of Schnittke's quintet, a Messianesque End of time redux. Don't have me wrong, this is not a collage of previously composed good music, but rather a way to further demonstrate that music, modern or otherwise, does not come from a vacuum, that new ideas come from old sensibilities and cultural influence. The results, in this case, are utterly enjoyable. Schnittke himself dipped here and there, but also created his own world/word/dictionary of music. Aaron Kernis is still very young, and I hope that more exposure will delight you as it did delight me."