Customer Reviews

Christopher Rouse: Passion Wheels

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This CD is well named, for it covers a wide range of expression--all of it passionate--from primitive Hawaiian war and Haitian voodoo rituals to sophisticated discourses on Christ and Shostakovich.

In addition to the music proper, which is always interesting and creatively orchestrated, we are treated here to a tour de force of engineering. You will need seatbelts to keep the drums from knocking you to the floor in the two island ritual works, Ku-Ka-Ilimoku and Ogoun Badagris.

The Concerto Per Corde and Rotae Passionis, while not quite so immediately gripping, greatly repaid repeated listenings for me. How many times can you hear the Gorecki Third before it palls? Every time the "passion wheels" go round in this important collection, new elements of the composers insights are revealed.

Strongly recommended.

Any damage that may have been done to the phrase "modern music" by composers who write music that is both difficult to perform and to listen is being quickly repaired by Christopher Rouse. It's been a long time since I've heard such a beautiful string piece as the Concerto Per Corde written by a modern composer. The players do nothing but play their instruments very beautifully using only conventional means. There are no extended techniques or gimmicks - there is only beautiful playing and writing. The two percussion ensemble pieces are thrill rides. I had seen Ogoun Badagris performed once before, and that was what initially drew me to this CD. The pieces are both very evocative of their respective stories and are expertly performed.

The "Passion Wheels" itself took a little bit longer for me to get into, but both that piece and the entire CD are worthy of repeated listening. The playing and recording quality of the CD are excellent and I am noticing that several of my more recent purchases have been conducted by Marin Alsop. Ms. Alsop is clearly an asset to music in 2000, as is this CD.

If you are afraid to listen to anything written before 1900 or earlier, this CD will demonstrate that music is alive and well in modern times.