Robert ERICKSON (1917-1997)
White Lady (1975) [8:01]
Garden (1977)* [18:23]
Piano Concerto (1963)** [17:13]
Pacific Sirens (1969) [14:03]
Laura Martin (violin)*
Keith Humble (piano), University of Illinois Contemporary Chamber Players**
Cleveland Chamber Symphony/Edwin London
rec. Waetjen Auditorium, Cleveland, 29 March 2001 (White Lady) and 8 April 2001 (Pacific Sirens). Drinko Hall, Cleveland, 28 September 1999 (Piano Concerto), and 17 April 1974, Smith Hall, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois (Pacific Sirens).
NEW WORLD RECORDS 80603-2 [69:58]
Robert Erickson’s music is well served by the New World Records
label, and the enquiring, exploratory and always thoughtful work of this
composer becomes the more rewarding the better one becomes acquainted
with it, from orchestral work to string
quartets. White Lady, for wind ensemble, is an archetype
of Erickson’s work with timbre, with chords shifting or remaining
the same in terms of harmonic content, but always emerging in subtle contrasts
of instrumentation. The effect is of a landscape over which clouds are
constantly being blown, the moving shadows across fields and trees hiding
and then highlighting shapes and details.
Garden for violin and orchestra is the most recent end of a spectrum
at which the Piano Concerto stands at the opposite end. This
is not a typical violin concerto though comparisons are inevitable. The
soloist rises above contemplative sounds from the orchestra in ways which
might have turned the work into a modern ‘Lark Ascending’
but Erickson’s individuality takes us into different realms, of
“elegant, quiet, reflective joy… [singing] of gardens spread
over the California hillsides… revelings in the pure magic of sound…”
Alan Rich’s booklet notes are informative and descriptive in the
best way.
The Piano Concerto is more rough-and-ready as a recording, with
narrow if any stereo imagery, level meters pushed into the red here and
there and an energetic, spontaneous feel to the performance. This is an
entirely different world, and with explosive gestures from soloist and
the accompanying chamber ensemble more what one might expect from the
more angular end of the mid 20th century avant-garde. The composer
states that he “would be pleased if the listener were unable to
tell where (except for the cadenzas) the written music leaves off and
the improvisation begins.” This is rendered even more realistic
through the somewhat twangy piano used and the rather foggy nature of
the recording when attempting to reach in and hear more subtle details,
but this serves as an introduction to a side of Erickson’s creativity
which surprises if one recalls the contrapuntal rigours of the 1950 First
String Quartet and pensive later works.
Erickson experimented with electronics and tape composition for a short
time, and Pacific Sirens is an interesting departure which unites
adapted natural sounds to those of of a chamber orchestra. Sounds of the
sea, ‘tuned’ through a variety of pipe lengths to give them
a certain amount of pitch, echo almost menacingly through the sustained
notes of the ensemble whose elongated tones in turn form a pre-echo or
Erickson’s later focus on timbre through more conventional means.
The ultimate effect is like the inhalation and exhalation of nature, with
bow strings across cymbals and other effects enhancing the work’s
sense of heavy atmosphere. If it were to start raining indoors while this
music sounded, one feels the sense of surprise would be almost absent:
such is the feel of rolling sea and driving wind which pushes towards
you from your speakers.
This is a bit of a mixed bag as a programme, but a fascinating one nonetheless.
The opening of the booklet quotes Robert Erickson: “…I think
that what composers do now and have always done is to compose their environment
in some sense.” With Pacific Sirens this is pretty close
to literal, but Erickson also responded to his musicians empathetically
in the creation of his own environments, and those collected here deliver
some remarkable statements in sound.
Dominy Clements
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