Search - Stefano Battaglia :: Pastorale

Strange--but in a great way

Andrew Johnston | Bennington, Ontario | 04/27/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm increasingly inclined to think that music that doesn't sound strange to our ears at first listen is simply music that's familiar and comfortable; and if it's merely familiar and comfortable, why listen to it? How does it change us and the way we hear and listen. I agree with the first reviewer that the music here is often hard to follow--it plumbs the depths of sound and is often very abstract. Those familiar with the second disc of Battaglia's Re: Pasolini will recognize the kind of sonic explorations of which he is capable. Many of these pieces are studies in the lower register of the piano, that is, of the piano as a percussion instrument, and of angular rhythms, and new sounds in general. I've not heard anything quite like it, even in ECM's broad catalogue. But if we're being subjective here, these challenges are, I think, worth the effort. And some of the pieces, notably the stunningly elegiac opening track "Antifona Libera" and the ballad "Cantar del Alma", are lovely. This is conceptual for sure but also searching and, at its best, deeply moving."