Customer Reviews

Pulse Shadows

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Wow. I've generally been no fan of the British composer Harrison Birtwistle. Most piece I've heard from him I've found to be grey and directionless, a sort of generic modernism little distinguishable from the work of many other composers. But in his epic work PULSE SHADOWS, Birtwistle has set the poetry of Paul Celan with great effect.

The Romanian-born, German-speaking and French-naturalized Celan was a survivor of Holocaust, but his parents and many Jewish acquaintances perished in the camps. His poetry is concerned with what language might mean after "that which happened" in the war, and his poetry seems to doubt the power to express anything with words at that same time that it moves into stunning linguistic brilliance. If you like 20th century poetry, there's a fine volume of Celan's poetry available with the same translations as found here.

Birtwistle's PULSE SHADOWS consists of two interleaved parts. On one hand, there are the Nine Settings of Celan for soprano and chamber ensemble (two clarinets, cello, viola and double bass), where Celan's poems are powerfully articulated in Michael Hamburger's English translations. On the other hand, we hear interspersed between them the Nine Movements for string quartet.. The ensemble pieces are light in musical content, with the vocal line always calm and singable and little instrumental ostentation, but the words of Celan they set are searing. I especially love the setting of "Todtnauberg", the sole poem sung in the original German, where the soprano speaks the English translation after each line as if underscoring it. The string quartet passages in some sense provide a release from the angst of the poetry, but are highly virtuosic and avoid any kind of stability. It's remarkable that PULSE SHADOWS is a combination of two independent works that, what's more, can be played in any order, for the work presented on this disc is entirely coherent.

The liner notes are quite informative, containing an essay on the work by Stephen Pruslin and comments by Celan translator Michael Hamburger giving his view of Birtwistle's blend of poetry and music. My only complaint is that they do not give the exact lineup of the Arditti Quartet which performs here.

This disc will probably not appeal to listeners who aren't comfortable with at least the music of the Second Viennese School--though it's not Darmstadt-era weirdness and listeners who are willing to go as far as Schoenberg and his vein of expressionism will find much familiar here. Still, if you like contemporary music, this is a disc worth hearing.

A wonderful CD and well recorded. This is the first recording of Birtwistle's that I've heard and I am well pleased with it. It ranks up there with the best of Ligetti, Carter, et alia. No wonder it won the Gramophone mag. "contemporary" award last year. I've already played it many times and it improves with every listen. It will not disappoint.

Culver's remarks are quite apropos here. Pulse Shadows is a set that arcs back to the expressionist pieces of the Second Viennese school, to the Schoenberg of Pierrot, and perhaps even more to Webern's vocal output. Clearly, those who have yet to find value in such works will have little to gain from Pulse Shadows. Which is unfortunate because this arresting and, yes, emotionally involving piece offers a remarkable point of entry not so much into Birtwistle's own oeuvre (I tend to favor Silbury Air for that purpose) as into that of Paul Celan. Celan's poems present difficulties, not to mention searing emotions, of a resolutely modern kind that would be poorly served by a neo-romantic setting, however much it presumably would please those whose musical evolution stopped somewhere at Mahler. I strongly urge those antipathetic to Birtwistle's set to become acquainted with Celan first: it might change their perspective and enlarge their world.

Pulse Shadows is Harrison Birtwistle's magnum opus. At a towering hour and twenty minutes long, this exquisite recording brings the intricate cycle of cycles to life. Paul Celan's haunting poetry is brought to life through a strangely detached and distant setting, alternating with a string quartet movement. The quality of recording, production and performance is obvious. This CD is a must buy for any contemporary music lover.

This is my first exposure to Birtwistle and I'm certainly impressed. In terms of the other reviews, I can't say the piece is taut (needs some pruning or greater tempos) and the style reminds me constantly of Webern but never of Dowland. However the vocal lines are usually highly singable and there is a near-constant play with lyrism, and much fine listening -- probably more when I get to know the piece better. I'm no fan of serialists but this is one of those cases where modern (post-'50s) composers show that serialism or its like can be truly musical and haunting. The sound is excellent and the performances seem right on target, although I was surprised to discover that the soprano was singing in English. (The only way to tell was to follow along with the printed poems.)

If you are looking for something different, This is the cd to get. Birtwistle idea of combining songs and quartet movements it's an interesting concept indeed. These Songs and quartet-movements can be performed as separate cycles, either complete or in part. All or some of the songs and quartets can also be interleaved. And both strands of music are sharing something in common at the same time. Which is the shadow? Which is the image?. I think his style is somewhere between John Dowland and Anton Webern. Anyway, you find out where?

Want melody? Harmony? Coherence? Talent? Go elsewhere. It would be just as effective a statement of the supposed chaos of life to simply dump the contents of your trash can in the middle of your living room floor as it would to 'compose' this work. The very word is antithetical to this work.

Music is the expression of the soul. I suppose this work would adequately express the soul of a postmodern nihilist, but then again, perhaps this work is evidence that postmodern nihilists should stay out of the music business altogether.

I await the cacophany of detractors claiming I completely miss the point of this 'artist'. No, I get his point. I'm simply saying it's not a point worth spending the time to attach musical notation to.