Fall Music Preview ~ Modern Composition

From the intimacy of solo piano to the fullness of orchestra, our modern composition category offers sounds suited for falling leaves, even if at the time of writing they remain green.  Autumn slowly descends from north to south, bringing new clusters of moods and timbres.  The character of light changes from an inescapable summer sun to angles and filtered light. Personal reflection begins to take hold, making these recordings a perfect match for the season.  Some of these composers address fragility and death, while hoping for a new dawn ~ not only for ourselves, but for our entire world.

Our cover image is taken from Gideon Broshy‘s Nest on New Amsterdam, covered below.

Jessica Moss‘ Unfolding is exquisite and timely, the entire record building to the emotional finale, “until all are free.”  Featuring percussionist Tony Buck (The Necks) and producer Radwan Ghazi Moumneh (Jerusalem In My Heart), the album is dedicated to “a free Palestine in our lifetime,” while the theme can be applied to oppressed people everywhere (Constellation, October 24).

We can’t believe it’s been a decade since Max Richter‘s Sleep was released: an 8 hour, 25 minute magnum opus accompanied by overnight concerts at which attendees had the choice of staying up all night to enjoy the music or using the mattresses that were provided.  Now the artist is preparing the 90-minute SLEEP CIRCLE, which highlights the music most in the foreground of the original recordings.  We can’t wait to see if it works (Deutsche Grammophon, September 5).  In the spring of 2023, Patrik Berg Almkvisth traveled through Nepal, ending up at the base camp of Mount Everest.  His journey turned out differently than he expected, conjuring a variety of emotions, translated into music on Life Above and preceded by the single Like Silver (Nettwerk, September 5).

In his volunteer work as a Trauerbegleiter, Garreth Broke has been sitting with people who have lost loved ones, helping them to go through the complicated process of grief.  After work, Broke returned home to his piano, translating these complex emotions into a set of compositions.  Life Through Loss acknowledges grief while paving a gentle way forward (Neue Meister, September 26).  Out on the Hammock Music Label is Emery Dobyns‘ Improvs, a piano-centric set that began its life in a resolution to record a song a day for an entire month.  These are the finest of those experiments (September 12).  It’s always nice to hear a track titled September in September.  The single is part of Andrew Land‘s Any Road North EP, released Friday on Bigo & Twigetti.

After eight years away, Kara-Lis Coverdale is releasing her second album in less than a year, with a third to arrive on November 21.  A Series of Actions in a Sphere of Forever concentrates on acoustic piano, from note to decay, and is prefaced by the track Turning Multitudes (Smalltown Supersound, September 12).  Acoustic piano decorates So much of you was sleeping, a comforting nocturnal album from Iiris Viljanen, on which the artist occasionally introduces her own vocals.  The album sometimes feels like a lullaby, while the most playful tracks sing of morning (sing a song fighter, October 3).  Alex Kozobolis returns with Asymmetry, a calm and jazzy set whose welcoming timbre sets the stage for the holidays (October 24). performed by pianist Reinier van Houdt, Alessandro Bossetti‘s Carnaval 2 is a reinterpretation of a Robert Schumann piece, delicate and ordained (three:four, September 5).  Dustin O’Halloran‘s The Chromatic Sessions EP contains three tracks titled “Gold,” “Red” and “Blue.”  We love synesthetic releases, so we’re hoping for a full album to complete the rainbow (Splinter Music, October 8).  Romantic pianist Bruno Bavota releases his most vulnerable record yet in I’m losing you, heartbreak amplified by Laura Masotto’s violin (oscarson, September 19).

F.S. Blumm & Nils Frahm join forces on Handling, blending piano, guitar, celesta and other instruments in a painterly fashion.  The EP is released September 19 on LEITER.  Gideon Broshy‘s compositions often seem electronic, but have an organic base.  Piano, celesta, dulcimer and more are shaped into bright settings, like a bowerbird creating its Nest.  The video for “Crumple” is an apt reflection of the music within (New Amsterdam, September 26).  Following a series of cover albums and Christmas albums, The Second Hand Orchestra is stepping out with an album of original compositions, composed democratically and recorded in a spirit of friendly collaboration.  The 13-strong ensemble sounds organic and loose, making this Puzzle a joy to put together (Sing a Song Fighter, October 28).

Moving Images lives up to its name, as every track has an accompanying video: four leading up to the release, eleven released after.  Why wait to write a film score when one can commission the works? “Five Corners of Blue” is especially effective, and we can’t wait to see the rest.  In the meantime, Emil Friis‘ cinematic music conjures images of its own, building on a base of piano with evocative strings and synth (FatCat 130/701, September 26).  Also pairing music with short films and photographs is pianist Nathan Schubert, whose move from Vancouver to Berlin informs the intimate single Everything Changes.  Iso is released November 21.  “Indeterminate chamber music” is produced by Composium Ensemble, whose 8 Automated Works integrates prepared piano, bowed harpsichord, bamboo tingklik and more. Founder Noah Creshevsky is also part of Visible Cloaks (EM, October 17).

Icelandic pianist-composer Eydís Evensen is quickly growing in stature; Oceanic Mirror reflects the facets of the sea, both physically and metaphorically, as seen in the gorgeous video for Helena’s Sunrise (Sony/XXIM, October 10).  Another gorgeous release from Icelandic composer Snorri Halgrimsson, The Importance of Birds is a reflection on the fragility of a quickly-changing world. The music is patient, a reflection of ancient rhythms and geologic time (Deutsche Grammophon, September 12).  Latvian pianist Aija Alsiņa has been unveiling singles all summer leading up to the October 3 release of Lightkeeper,  The set is an ode to motherhood in all its joys and anxieties, with a string quartet featured on four of the tracks.

Vanessa Wagner will release Philip Glass: The Complete Piano Etudes on October 10, competing a multi-year project and a layer of love.  Bringing her own subtle take to the composer’s work, the pianist draws him into the modern era (InFiné).  Vicki Chow plays Frank Horvat: The Banff Suite, inspired by the hiking trails of the Rockies ~ a wonderful activity any time of year, but especially in the fall (Redshift, September 12).

Woodwind artist Faten Kanaan folds synth into her compositions, creating a pleasantly retro vibe.  Diary of a Candle is steeped in nature and suffused with calm (Fire Records, October 17).  Flautist Meerenai Shim rounds out her sound with cello, piano, piccolo and drums, all played by herself, which may explain the title The Audacity.  Ten years have passed since her last solo album, and this is a welcome return (Aerocade, September 5).  Jo Quail plays piano, cello and electric cello on Notan, a Japanese word that means “light and dark in balance.”  The emotional music follows suit (Adderstone, September 12).

Layers of cello wash over the listener on in holiday clothing out of the great darkness, a sound bath of strings.  Clarice Jensen‘s new set is simultaneously restrained and intense, billed as “a celebration of solitude” (FatCat/130701, October 17).  Violinist Ana Phoebe (AVAWAVES) is releasing her solo album Divergence on Eat the Peach.  The timbre sways gently from ambience to modern composition, creating a soothing atmosphere.  A preview can be experienced here (October 24).  Taking a break from her wonderful series A Compendium of Beasts, Laura Cannell unveils The Visible Light of Other Worlds, which simultaneously imagines worlds beyond our own and mourns newly lost ecologies on our home planet (Brawl, September 5).  Travis Laplante & JACK Quartet join forces for String Quartets.  Depending on how one looks at it, the album is either a quartet of quartets, or two two-part quartets (New Amsterdam, October 17).  Don’t be thrown off by Saloma, the first single from Bryan Senti‘s La Marea; the single is an alternate take of the track of the same name, and is the only piece to include vocals. The bulk of the album is string-drenched and melancholic, a tribute to the seafaring aspects of the immigration experience (51st State Conspiracy, October 10).

Ember‘s Birds of Paradise celebrates women composers and performers, as the trio of Emily Levin, Julia Choi and Christine Lamprea present a century-spanning set on harp, violin and cello.  The album contains both forgotten classics and world premieres (Azica, September 12).   On NAMBÉ, Peter Lieuwen explores the New Mexican landscape and translates it into wide open vistas of sound.  His compositions are brought to vibrant life by the Hungarian Pannon Philharmonic (Albany Records, September 19).  Daniel Gall‘s Exit Paradise (featuring The Miguel Vargas Ensemble, and violinist Laura Giannini) is a “dance fantasy album,” loosely based on the author’s upcoming book The Lawn Cult.  The set is stately and elegant, but never forgets to wink (September 1).

Richard Allen