Liner Notes
Cat. No. NWCR893
Release Date: 2007-01-01
New York New Music Ensemble: Mary Nessinger, mezzo-soprano; Linda Quan, violin; Christopher Finckel, cello; John Whitfield, cello; Jayn Rosenfeld, flute; Jean Kopperud, clarinets; Stephen Gosling, piano; James Baker, percussion; Jeffrey Milarsky, Conductor; Michael Pratt, Conductor); Princeton Composers Ensemble: (Anna Lim, violin; Nancy Zeltsman, marimba; Michael Lowenstern, clarinet; Talujon Percussion Quartet: Tom Kolor, Michael Lipsey, Dominic Donato, David Cossin, percussion); Barbara White, clarinet
Contemporary debates over musical language often revolve around the supposed rupture between modernist and postmodernist approaches. But for composer Barbara White, polemical debates take a back seat to the shaping of musical ideas, which tend to be unruly and difficult to compartmentalize. “Although I am interested in the ways these categories might describe musical experience,” says White, “I find that the distinctions between them dissolve as soon as I step into the studio.”
In the chamber works by White heard on this recording, improvisatory-sounding gestures are placed in sophisticated formal designs, melodic lines are often singable but never predictable, and compositional techniques are equally informed by vernacular traditions and the gymnastics of today's finest new-music virtuosi.
Underlying the formal rigor and syntactical games like the use of canons and palindromes lies a delight in the vitality of live music-making. As White, a clarinetist, says, “I appreciate the excitement, unpredictability, and even the imperfection that characterizes live performance.” At times the composer challenges performers, including herself, to “misplay” their instruments, or to play unusual objects like tin cans and frying pans; at other times white calls for a more traditional blending of instrumental sounds. The overall result is a stream of sonic possibilities presented by acoustic instruments.
This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Liner notes are accessible via the link above.
Contemporary debates over musical language often revolve around the supposed rupture between modernist and postmodernist approaches. But for composer Barbara White, polemical debates take a back seat to the shaping of musical ideas, which tend to be unruly and difficult to compartmentalize. “Although I am interested in the ways these categories might describe musical experience,” says White, “I find that the distinctions between them dissolve as soon as I step into the studio.”
In the chamber works by White heard on this recording, improvisatory-sounding gestures are placed in sophisticated formal designs, melodic lines are often singable but never predictable, and compositional techniques are equally informed by vernacular traditions and the gymnastics of today's finest new-music virtuosi.
Underlying the formal rigor and syntactical games like the use of canons and palindromes lies a delight in the vitality of live music-making. As White, a clarinetist, says, “I appreciate the excitement, unpredictability, and even the imperfection that characterizes live performance.” At times the composer challenges performers, including herself, to “misplay” their instruments, or to play unusual objects like tin cans and frying pans; at other times white calls for a more traditional blending of instrumental sounds. The overall result is a stream of sonic possibilities presented by acoustic instruments.
This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Liner notes are accessible via the link above.
Barbara White: When the Smoke Clears
| MP3/320 | $9.99 | |
| FLAC | $9.99 | |
| WAV | $9.99 | |
| CD-R | $9.99 |
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
Track Listing
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The Mind's Fear, the Heart's Delight
Barbara White
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When The Smoke Clears
Barbara White
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Third Rule of Thumb
Barbara White
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No-Man's Land: I. Pibroch
Barbara White
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No-Man's Land: II. Foolish Fire
Barbara White
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No-Man's Land: III. Don't Look Down
Barbara White
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Life in The Castle: I. In The Castle
Barbara White
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Life in The Castle: II. Mirror
Barbara White
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Life in The Castle: III. Meeting
Barbara White
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Life in The Castle: IV. Apparition
Barbara White
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Life in The Castle: V. Invisible Woman
Barbara White
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Life in The Castle: VI. There is More to a Mirror
Barbara White
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