Search - Diane Thome, Gerhard Samuel, Cincinnati Philharmonia Orchestra :: Thome: Palaces of Memory

Tightly integrated works for soloists and tape

Steve Benner | Lancaster, UK | 04/10/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This CD of works by American composer Diane Thome was her first monographic release from Centaur records. It features music written over a period of almost twenty years, between 1976 and 1994. Perhaps the most striking thing about this disc is how consistent Ms Thome's musical voice has remained during this period, staying absolutely true to her own musical ideals throughout.The work that provides the disc with its title, "The Palaces of Memory", is a composition for chamber orchestra and tape, dating from 1994. This is a perfect example of the way Diane Thome integrates computer-produced tonalities into a more classical framework, using it here to enrich and enhance the palette of timbres available within an orchestral piece. At times suggestive of music by Igor Stravinsky at his most introspective, "The Palaces of Memory" presents an imposing 13-odd minutes for the attentive listener, with a fascinating interplay between piano, orchestral ensemble and synthesised sounds.The same is true (but on a rather more intimate scale) of the much earlier work, "Anaïs", for cello, piano and tape. Dating from 1976, and with a more obviously artificial-sounding tape component consisting very much of 'electronic tonalities' (to borrow a term from Bebe Barron) this work features lyrical, yet brooding, cello and piano lines, interwoven with the synthetic material. Similarly, the 1987 work, "Ringing, Stillness, Pearl Light" blends lilting piano lines with synthetic sounds on tape. Here, though, the roles of tape and soloist are more tightly integrated and the end result sounds more like a work for chamber ensemble, than solo performer. The more traditional setting of soloist with accompaniment is used for "Levadi (Alone)" of 1986. Inspired by the poetry of the Russian-Jewish writer Chaim Nachman Bialik, this composition is a powerful lament for soprano voice, with the tape part providing an almost balalaika- (or else harpsichord-) like accompaniment. The work has something of a mock oriental feel to it, rather in the style of Claude Debussy. It sits well amidst the other material on this disk.For me, though, the highlight of this disc is its opening work. "Masks of Eternity" for solo tape, dating from 1994, consists of four fairly short (untitled) movements, or tableau, each of coruscating electronic and synthesised textures, which dance and bewitch with their dazzling display of sound. While not in any way programmatic, these four movements (totalling some 15 minutes of music) nevertheless manage to convey much of the sense of mystery and mysticism behind the source of inspiration for the work - an exhibition of masks in the museum of Northwest Indian Art in Juneau, Alaska. Bell-like tones compete with swelling and swooping granular sound-streams in a powerfully evocation composition that almost makes the disc worth having for this one work alone. Those music lovers who like a strong cadence to draw works to a close may be somewhat disappointed by Diane Thome's tendency to bring her compositions to a rather abrupt ending but, by and large, they should still find much fine music on this disc to more than compensate. Well worth a listen."