New Music for Clarinet, Another Look, F. Gerard Errante

The clarinet as a virtuoso solo instrument has been an established fact in new music for many years. As if to sum up the current state of the art in such matters, F. Gerard Errante distinguishes himself admirably and spearheads an anthology of provocative contemporary modern chamber works on New Music for Clarinet, Another Look (Ravello 7941). It is a reissue of some excellent performances originally available on LPs in the '70s and '80s on CRI and New World Records.

Errante has agility and remarkable tone control. He can dive artistically into extended techniques and revert to more conventional articulations with ease and grace. Indeed his formidable and imaginative approach seem tailor-made for the works on the program.

They are lively, exciting and varied in the most capable hands of Errante. Especially welcome to me are two compositions by new music-jazz icon clarinetist and composer William O. Smith. His "Solo for Clarinet with Delay System" and "Asana" (the latter making use of the MXR Digital Delay and Pitch Transposer) remind us that he has long established an original voice for himself.

Vladimir Ussachevsky's "Four Studies for Clarinet and EVI" (the latter an electronic keyboard) brings us some classic early modernism from a composer who broke so much ground in modern American new music.

But the music continues into equally interesting areas with exceptional performances of Adolphus Hailstork's "A Simple Caprice," (with Lee Jordon-Anders at the piano), Dana Wilson's "Piece for Clarinet Alone," Errante's own "Souvenirs de Nice," and finally the tumultuously irrepressible "The Dissolution of the Serial," which chaotically and beutifully does exactly that via brilliant performances by William Albright on piano and Errante on tenor sax.

It is a re-release that fully rewards us with a program of all-too-neglected music in remarkable performances. Errante soars and the music does not fail to enchant! Need I say more?