In Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang’s new album writing on water, the quality of Lang’s music is as wide-ranging as water itself. Exploring new forms and different combinations of instruments through four ensemble pieces, Lang stretches the limits of what a large ensemble can be, uncovering wildly different textures, colors, and emotions.
The album’s title track, scored for choir and chamber orchestra, was created in 2005 in honor of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, a naval battle during the Napoleonic Wars that resulted in a decisive victory for the British and the loss of 22 ships for the Franco-Spanish forces. For this piece, Lang partnered with film director Peter Greenaway, who wove together a libretto with descriptions of drowning and shipwrecks from Moby Dick, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and The Tempest.
“writing on water” dramatically captures the anguish and fear of catastrophe at sea. Synergy Vocals imbue the choral parts with a broad, grandiose color. The individual vocal lines are largely stagnant throughout the piece, creating an almost demonic sound and empowering slight pitch changes to have an intense emotional impact. The instrumental accompaniment, with its dense texture and dark tone, evokes images of turbulent waves, stormy weather, and the destruction of ships.
The drama overflows into tracks “forced march” and “pierced,” which explore the possibilities that emerge when groups within the ensemble work against each other.
“forced march,” performed by the Crash Ensemble, aligns a boisterous, unwieldy rock melody with steady, militaristic percussion. As the piece unfolds, the restrictive beat changes the melody. The original motif bursts free at times as if rebelling against the structure, but is always absorbed back into the more regulated version of the theme, leaving listeners with the disturbing feeling of being repressed.
“pierced” layers a rhythmically unpredictable melody over a variety of supporting textures, allowing the ensemble—comprised of Logan Paul and FLUX quartet on strings and the electroacoustic group Real Quiet—to color and at times overshadow the melody to inhabit different moods. The result is that sections of the same work with the same melody sound like wildly different pieces, outlining the impact that each instrument has on the overall aesthetic.
Lang wrote “increase,” the third track on the album, in 2002 as a wedding present for friends and a gift for the ensemble Alarm Will Sound’s inaugural performance. While considering old Puritan baby names with his wife, the name Increase struck him as the kind of blessing you’d want for both a marriage and for a new ensemble.
“increase” starts with a mystical, galloping feel. It’s both hopeful and mysterious, as though you don’t know what’s about to come, but believe it may be something good. The mystical motif runs throughout the piece as the suspense builds and the texture intensifies. “increase” develops into a beautifully tempered blessing, one that takes into account both the hope and the uncertainty that comes with a new endeavor.
writing on water is a dramatic and innovative exploration of the possibilities large ensembles present. Lang masterfully layers melodies, harmonies, and textures—allowing them sometimes to work together and other times to clash—to unearth every opportunity for beautiful sound within the ensemble.
Internationally acclaimed countertenor Reginald L. Mobley joins pianist Henry Lebedinsky for a program of music by Black composers from the Classical era to the present, including art songs, spirituals, and gospel. Featured composers include José Mauricio Nuñes Garcia, Florence B. Price, William Grant Still, and Harry Burleigh.
Half hypnotic, half neurotic, Philip Glass’s Mad Rush for solo piano is a minimalist masterpiece. He first premiered the piece in 1979 for the Dalai Lama’s first public address in North America—because his actual arrival time was so vague, they needed music that could be stretched for an indefinite period of time. Thus was born one of the most iconic piano pieces of the late 20th century.
It’s been becoming increasingly clear to me lately that John Cage’s music can be an extremely powerful gateway into a different universe of listening. So, pieces like this one make more sense to me now than they used to. This piece, like Cage’s music, is an inducement to listen with open ears – a reminder to hear music for what it is. – 
A survey of national anthems from nations all over the world confronted composer David Lang with a startling reality: the texts of these songs are generally quite violent. It seems that in the course of expressing national pride through song, we tend to reflect on the bloody struggle of war that gave us the freedoms we now enjoy.
Celebrated Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu breathes a meditative second life into the tale of Moby Dick with his three-section work, Toward the Sea. In the final section, entitled “Cape Cod,” Michael Partington’s guitar gently chops and forms the New England seascape while Paul Taub’s airy alto flute responds as Captain Ahab’s ship, the Pequod.
If you thought the theremin was only for corny sci-fi film soundtracks and intergalactic sound effects, think again. Carolina Eyck, one of the world’s foremost theremin virtuosi, has spent the past decade exploring and expanding the musical possibilities of this eerie electronic instrument.
Turns out you can replace a synthesizer and a clavinet with a few reed instruments and you still have a song that’s funky as hell. Threeds Oboe Trio’s cover of Stevie Wonder’s classic “Superstition” shows off impressive technical ability and a rebellious sense of humor. “Superstition” has a driving bassline provided by clarinet and, since it swings just as hard as the original, it will have you smiling and grooving and bebopping before the oboes even kick in. –