The Classics: July 17th

Achalinotopoulos: Flight On Light. Manos Achalinotopoulos (clarinet), etc. Rattle CD

Manos Achalinotopoulos was born in Athens and travels extensively, performing and recording with a vast array of internationally renowned singers, musicians and composers.  He shows his brilliance on the clarinet on this disc of seven tracks (43 minutes) which he composed to show the ‘‘poetry of light,’’ flying the ‘‘uncharted territories of the unconscious’’ in a continuous stream. Manos’ intent is to show his Spirit, Breath, and Inspiration, as explained in the accompanying booklet.

He is helped by John Psathas, fellow Grecian and well-known composer here and overseas, with arrangements and electronics. Also in credits for arrangements or electronic sounds are Steve Garden, David Downes and Tim Prebble. Chris Mason-Battley’s soprano sax adds to the Horizon of Remembrance, which concludes the work.

Verdict: Remarkable journey with elements of ancient and modern music.

 

Dave Lisik: Donated by Cantor Fitzgerald: a threnody. Amy Rempel (piano), Tim Hopkins (tenor saxophone), Colin Hemmingsen (bass clarinet), etc. Rattle CD

A threnody is a lament. This one was written by the New Zealand composer for the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York’s Twin Towers and Washington in ‘‘9.11 2001’’.  Lisik is assisted by Jorge Sosa in the musical conception and electronic effects in the single movement, 90-minute work, with good improvisations  introduced by fine jazz musicians.

Cantor Fitzgerald is a financial firm that lost nearly 700 employees when the planes crashed into the World Trade Centre.  Sosa and Lisik met at an electro-acoustic music festival in Cleveland, Mississippi, and  began several collaborative works. This works well, although the one track makes it difficult to navigate to encore passages or repeat sections on the CD.

Verdict:  Effective  musical portrait of a great tragedy.

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