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J. GERBER
Symphony No. 9 for the Virtual Orchestra.
More
than Matter. Lucid: Dream for. Song to the Universe. Raga
Jerry Gerber (electronics) OTTAVA 15-013 (51:51)
In recent Fanfare issues, I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing several CDs featuring the music of Jerry Gerber, as well as interviewing him. Jerry Gerber is a gifted and prolific American composer who employs computer-generated sound files for the instrumental and vocal components in his works. Virtual Harmonics, a new Ottava release, presents several Gerber compositions. In his liner notes, David Reffkin acknowledges “Jerry’s natural inclinations toward cinematic and evocative musical landscaping.” I think that’s a descriptive and apt characterization of Jerry Gerber’s work. Like many successful movie scores, Gerber’s compositions celebrate melody, rich instrumentation, and a focus on atmosphere and exhilarating momentum. Gerber achieves all this with a highly eclectic approach (again, a feature of many film scores), offering a brilliant and seamless fusion of classical, jazz, rock, and techno elements. The Symphony No. 9 for Virtual Orchestra is 35-minute work in four movements. The first two—a traditional opening movement followed by a scherzo—have an irrepressible drive. The slow-tempo third movement, in the spirit of its counterpart in Carl Nielsen’s Third Symphony, weaves male (tenor) and female (soprano) voices into the orchestral fabric. The finale returns to the spirit of the opening two movements, bringing the symphony to an exhilarating close. Four brief works conclude the disc. More than Matter, Song to the Universe, and Raga present a similar construct and aesthetic, with thematic motifs subjected to constant and inventive manipulation, and again, scored in beguiling fashion. In Lucid: Dream for, a speaker delivers a stream of consciousness narrative, complemented by Gerber’s orchestral score. Another fine release of music by a composer whose music I find unfailingly compelling and gratifying. Recommended.
Ken Meltzer
5 Stars: Jerry Gerber’s winning computer-generated music