home | recordings | compositions | press | services | instruction | articles | studio | biography | credits | links
GERBER:
Five Pieces for Virtual Instruments.
Symphony No. 8
OTTAVA
13-012 (56:23)
Cosmic Consciousness
(Ottava Records) presents the music of contemporary
American composer Jerry Gerber. In recent issues of
Fanfare, I reviewed
(and recommended) two other Ottava releases of Gerber compositions:
Home and Love in a Disordered World
(21-015), and Earth
Music (19-014). In my initial review (of
Home and Love),
I characterized Jerry Gerber’s music: “Gerber composes in a highly accessible
and melodic style. His virtual orchestrations are rich and varied in
instrumental colors, and the scoring is unfailingly transparent.” That
characterization holds true for the music featured on all three discs. I will
add that the more I listen to Jerry Gerber’s works, the more I find myself
engaged and moved by them. Gerber’s music has a fluency, momentum, and vitality
that reward repeated engagement.
Cosmic Consciousness
opens with Gerber’s Five Pieces for Virtual
Instruments. The first, Shadow Play,
is a vigorous dance number with a Middle Eastern flavor.
Baroquette
juxtaposes a lively perpetuum mobile episode with more lyrical and introspective
music. Luminous Night Nebulous Light
is a slow-tempo piece, spotlighting both the solo
violin and chorus (Gerber often weaves vocal parts into the fabric of his
instrumental pieces). In Seraphim on a Subway,
synthesizer elements and
a string ostinato are the restless underpinning for a
plaintive soprano voice. The concluding Shadow
Work is a quicksilver Mendelssohnian scherzo,
spiced with African and Middle Eastern percussion instruments (Djembe, Riq,
Darbuka). The Symphony No. 8 is in four movements (or “Parts” as the composer
designates). The first, opening with a slow-tempo introduction, is based upon an
undulating theme that bears a resemblance to its counterpart in the Tchaikovsky
First Symphony. The restive spirit of Part I continues in its successor. Part
III is a haunting, introspective slow-tempo movement. A syncopated horn figure
launches the finale, a relentless danse
macabre that includes a soprano solo and
chorus. The music and its setting evoke the spirit of the
Dies irae portion
of a Requiem Mass. It’s a fitting conclusion to a Symphony imbued with ominous
vigor.
I am grateful that the composer’s website
(jerrygerber.com) provides the scores for all the music on
Cosmic Consciousness.
Would that every recording—especially of contemporary music—offered this
resource! The liner notes, by the composer, do not offer a description of the
included works. Rather, Gerber discusses his philosophy of the function of
music; both live and recorded. I enjoyed this disc a great deal. Recommended.
Ken Meltzer
5
Stars: Two compelling works by Jerry Gerber featuring computer generated
instruments