Customer Reviews

Compositions

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Subdued but filled with a quiet intensity, the pieces on "Compositions" seem to exist in a world by themselves, inhabiting a space where Western and Eastern Europe have swirled together to create something new. Removed a few steps from easy familiarity and possessing the innate strangeness of the other, Arnaoudov's music seems to exist in a timeless, universal space that recalls some distant dream -- it is not difficult to see why Arnaoudov is attracted to surrealist paintings, to ancient languages, and to the mystery of religious rites. Indeed, the cycle of "Ritual" pieces are particularly effective in creating moods of otherworldly calm; focused meditations occasionally broken by spiky dissonances or passages of percussive piano. These are framed by two chamber works for soprano voice. Based on Sanskrit texts and Gregorian chant, they combine a sublime beauty with a sense of religious longing, skillfully avoiding all the cliches that so often place this kind of music in the New Age bin. And unlike the music of Arvo Part, another "mystical" composer to whom he is sometimes compared, Arnaoudov's music contains more awareness of human weakness and imperfection. While the music may strive toward a state of mystical apprehension, it is also burdened by the foreknowledge of innate loss: we can strive for union with the numinous, but the gulf can never be truly crossed. This element of desire, of melancholy, and even frustration lends a unique sense of passion and humanity to his work.

Although a few instruments seem miked a bit closely, the CD has overall been recorded very well, and the playing is all top-notch. (Kalina Krusteva plays cello with Saint Martin in the Fields.) I do wish for better liner notes, however; the information provided is a bit sketchy, and neither text is provided for the vocal works. Still, this disc serves as an excellent introduction to a composer who deserves a wider audience in the West.