Sens(e) Absence
Daniel ROTHMAN (b.1958)
Sense Absence, for string quartet (2003) [37:18]
Ernstalbrecht STIEBLER (b.1934)
Sehr Langsam, for string quartet (2005-6) [30:36]*
Bozzini Quartet
rec. Sendesaal, Bremen, 1-2 October 2007; *17-19 May 2010. DDD
COLLECTION QUATUOR BOZZINI CQB 1111 [67:54] 
The Montreal-based Bozzini Quartet,
named after the sisters who founded it in 1999, Isabelle (cello) and Stéphanie
(viola), have now released a dozen CDs, mostly on the label they set up in
2004. Their dedication to new music is unwavering: according to the liner-notes,
they have commissioned an incredible hundred-plus works, and premiered more
than 150 - including the two on this disc, which here receive their first,
and in all likelihood, last recording.
There is little current information available about veteran German composer
Ernstalbrecht Stiebler on the internet; his works list in the online version
of the New Grove Dictionary has not been updated since 2003. What is clear
is that Stiebler was at the Darmstadt summer schools in the late 1950s, where
he apparently took Karlheinz Stockhausen's composition course and came under
the influence of the musical style - if that is the right word - of LaMonte
Young. Nearly fifty years on, Stiebler is still evidently fascinated by those
ideas - of sustained sounds and minute changes over time. If it is nothing
else, Stiebler's Sehr Langsam is honest - it is indeed very slow. It
begins with a drone that sounds a lot like the quartet tuning up in slow motion
- and then carries on in similar fashion for half an hour, ending more or
less as it began.
Stiebler says that the title Sehr Langsam gives both the tempo indication
and "characterizes the music itself, asking the listener for patience,
for calm concentration, and for abandoning himself to the sound." He
adds: "In order to enhance the musical experience of this piece, it is
suggested to listen to it at a reduced volume level." Some, perhaps many,
may be inclined to take that advice to its extreme and switch the CD off.
There is no sense of development or narrative - this is the hardcore end of
uncompromising!
There is even less information about American composer Daniel Rothman readily
available. His Sense Absence is in some ways similar to Stiebler's
work - those who are not impressed by this kind of avant-garde soundscaping
will find it all too similar, especially confronted with the fact that it
is even longer. It could also just as easily have been titled Sehr Langsam.
What initially sets it apart, however, is that every now and again, the long
drone, which is higher-pitched - reminiscent of a loud tinnitus, perhaps -
breaks off to allow several seconds of silence to intervene. Rothman likens
the work to "a building whose rooms always seem different as light changes
throughout the day and through the seasons", but the listener must also
factor in Rothman's "unusual tuning system" which gives an effect
that is both spectral and relentless - until at 23 minutes, that is, when
the instrumentalists suddenly take to plucking. Two minutes later the drone
tries to start up again, failing at first, but ultimately forcing the sound
on to the end which, as with Stiebler's work, is quite a lot like its beginning,
although by now the sonorities are almost electronic in their mesmeric effect.
Rothman writes that "Composing for strings has always been, for me, a
process of discovery, with their infinite tuning possibilities that produce
subtle harmonies and timbres of great nuance and beauty", but the beauty
in this work is so subtle that most listeners will look for it in vain. Nevertheless,
within very narrow constraints, there is more variety here than in Sehr
Langsam, more interest.
The notes suggest that these two works create "a luminous space in which
our thoughts can be reflected, can wander and explore freely", but it
is hard to believe there is anything but a minuscule market for this kind
of experimentalism - a strong liking for Stockhausen or LaMonte Young is probably
a prerequisite in any prospective listener.
On the other hand, for artistic freedom's sake, the Bozzini Quartet deserve
credit for making it available. Sound quality is very good. There is no jewel
case or CD booklet as such, however. The disc is housed in a cardboard sleeve
which folds out. All information - in French and English, but in fairly short
supply - is printed straight onto the card.
Byzantion
Collected reviews and contact at reviews.gramma.co.uk
A strong liking for Stockhausen or LaMonte Young is probably a prerequisite
in any prospective listener.