The Septet begins with alluringly dark colours, with
bass clarinet and viola setting a sombre mood. Brighter colours
emerge
later, with violin and piccolo
providing contrast of sound. The slow opening gradually erupts in faster material
in which punchy rhythms and scalic movement are prevalent. In the informative
and well presented sleeve-notes, the composer comments that this work “is
the account of a battle between intellect and intuition in which he gradually
came down on the side of the latter”. As such, the compositional style
is different from more recent works, with a large part of the writing process
pre-planned and intellectually conceived. The final section, during which the
more intuitive side of the process took over, is calmer and makes use of fewer
ideas, but is no less successful; the harmonies are more static but there is
time to reflect on the scalic patterns which emerge and return to the texture
of repeated notes. This work is a wonderful opening to the disc. Its thirteen
and a half minute duration seems to fly by, and the textures and instrumentation
that Visman uses are constantly evolving through the work. The playing is exceptional
throughout.
New Heaven! is a 2003 work for male chorus, performed here by The
Gents and Peter Dijkstra, who commissioned the work. The change of acoustic
is obvious
between this and the previous piece, but it does not cause alarm, since the
more reverberant acoustic of this recording suits the work well. Visman’s
work is joyful and celebratory in tone and once again makes use of the textural
variety available within an ensemble of this kind, from solos over sustained
pedal notes to hymn-like chordal writing and contrapuntal sections. The choral
sound from The Gents is beautifully balanced with an impressive sense of
blending and ensemble. This is a highly enjoyable piece which has some beautiful
moments
and rich, luscious harmonies.
The final work on the disc is Sables, Oxygène, a large-scale work
for soprano and orchestra composed in 2008. Using a tonally-based language,
this
work features imaginative and well-conceived orchestration and a wonderful
sense of acoustic space between the soprano and the orchestra. The first
song in the
cycle, Chatres is hauntingly beautiful, from the opening soprano lines
to the organ-like final orchestral chord. Semences is more tonal in its
language and feels warmer, with Ravelian waltz-style writing emerging in the
orchestral accompaniment. Marine is darker and becomes increasingly static
and desolate. The mood lightens considerably in Volcans, while the final
movement, Fruits, is spacious and brings the work to a dramatic close.
Saskia Macris’s texts are sung with the utmost expression, poise and
delicacy by Barbara Hannigan.
Visman’s music is a delight; his language is accessible without being
overly saccharine or patronising, and the music has much to offer in terms
of emotional
impact.
Carla Rees
The Gents/Peter Dijkstra; Schnberg
Kwartet, Het Trio 
