5.0 out of 5 stars
colorful, evocative and atmospheric music, November 27, 2005
This review is from: Orch Conceptual & Ensemble Music (Audio CD)
Steve Kornicki's CD, "Orchestral, Conceptual and Ensemble Music" is an engrossing 79 minute sonic experience. The pieces are tonal, postmodern classical compositions with elements of minimalism, symphonic impressionism, ambient music and world music. The CD contains 3 performance pieces and 5 "electro-acoustic" compositions composed between 2001-2005. As there are no sound samples available on Amazon, (...)
Track 1, "Morning Star Rising" is a colorful, symphonic narrative inspired by the book "Conversing with the Planets" by astronomer and anthropologist, Anthony Aveni and performed by the Kiev Philharmonic. The music depicts an imaginary early morning ritual as practiced by the ancient Maya. The flow and texture of this composition is reminiscent of Arvo Part, Alan Hovhaness and Steve Reich and unfolds slowly and organically within its 16 minute duration.
Tracks 2-6 are conceptual pieces created in the composer's recording studio. These pieces were created through the manipulation and transformation of instrumental sounds (flute, trumpet, horn, guitar, orchestra, etc.) that were randomly layered to create mesmerizing sonic environments.
Track 2, "Tonal Shift" alternates lush tonalities of a chamber ensemble with shifting harmonies intersecting at various points creating a dissonant blur of sound that is momentarily atonal but always resolves to consonance. This music has a Ligeti feel to it - very otherworldly.
Track 3, "25 X 8" uses the sound of wind instruments exclusively and has an evolutionary and breathing quality to it with the instruments continually rising and falling like waves. Eno comes to mind on this track.
Track 4, "Altered Orchestra #2" is a manipulation of the orchestral sounds of track 1 on this disc. It is a beautiful and quiet statement with a floating and ambient quality.
Track 5, "22 x5" uses electric guitar as its source material and is the shortest track on the collection (5:23). This piece has a feel similar to Paul Dresher's work for multi-tracked electric guitars and has some very interesting panning effects - great for headphones.
Track 6, "29 X 7" is a dense collage of classical guitar samples. This track has a polyrhythmic feel to it with clockwork loops overlapping and colliding like particles in a sea of sound. Even with its seemingly randomized rhythm, the piece has a calm surface to it. The tonality of the music creates a "stillness within motion" quality.
"Horizontal Color Forms #9" is the 7th track and is a performance by the composer on classical guitar (multi tracked in 5 layers) with congas, brush conga and shaker. The percussion provides a continuous pulse throughout the piece while the guitars create a complex interplay of kaleidoscopic intensity. The composer states in the liner notes that "harmonic and rhythmic interplay is the focus (of this piece) with melody at times being a subsequent result. The Horizontal Color Forms series uses a pitch system of 12 tone rows that are stretched out over long durations through sustained tones and/or repetition and are configured to produce harmonious and tonal results".
The final track "Echoes of Emergence" for percussion ensemble is a live recording of the piece performed by the California State University Percussion Ensemble. This piece has elements of world music (gamelan sounds come to mind) and some rhythmic ideas borrowed from pop music. There are 3 sections divided by tempo - medium/slow/fast. This is almost like a short symphony for percussion with variations developing from the opening movement to the final crashing and pounding climax. I can hear some influence from Steve Reich, Carl Orff and Frank Zappa.
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