collectif9, Volksmobiles

With the declining sales of classical CDs the past few years, there is a certain concern among the industry and artist base out there that "something must be done," that the music needs to appeal to new ears, that new ways must be found to engage people in the genre. I agree that new ideas might help. It is as true of classical as it is of "serious" jazz and perhaps of esoteric rock as well. So what is to be done?

One answer is in the deliberately entertaining ensemble collectif9 and their album Volksmobiles (self released).

The ensemble is a small chamber orchestra from Canada, a string nine-tet if you will. It has been attracting traditional and non-traditional audiences since its debut in 2011. This album is their first.

It is a lively gathering of mostly short folk-based works that work exceedingly well together.

The centerpiece is a three-part work commissioned by the ensemble, the title work "Volksmobiles" by Geof Holbrook and it shares with virtually the entire program a take on folksiness that is not afraid in include modern elements here and there.

Brahms' "Rondo alla zingarese" leads off the program as arranged by Thibault Bertin-Maghit, who is the double-bassist in the group. It has that infectious quality of the light classics that served as the music for various cartoons I saw as a kid. Those did get my interest and I guess the theory is that such music can still appeal to a broad base. I do not doubt it and the performance is very lively.

This is followed ingeniously by a Bertin-Maghit arrangement of a high-modernist folk work by Schnittke, "Sonata, Allegretto" (taken from his first violin sonata) and the juxtaposition gives us the modern equivalent of the Brahms in an almost uncanny manner, making it easy for listeners to enter "more difficult territory" without much effort, seemingly. It manages to demonstrate that the modern work shares with the Brahms a reworking of folk dance and so will I suspect connect the two different works in even untutored minds.

"Volksmobiles" follows and gives listeners a change of pace with some delightful post-modern accessibility that does not stint on musical content.

Then follows a lively Bartok Divertimento and finally a brief sort of country fiddling piece, "Petit Concerto pour Carignan" by Andre Gagnon.

In the end the audience in a relatively short amount of time gets exposed to romantic-to-modern-to postmodern classical music with a unifying folk element, played with great brio and vitality. It is substantial music that kept my interest but I believe would also appeal as a sort of introduction to the present-day classical world for kids and the not-as-yet-anointed older listeners.

It is lots of fun and yet it gives some worthwhile fare, played exceedingly well. Get this to play for your kids, grandma, your neighbors or anyone you might want to get interested in the music. Recommended!

Jane Antonia Cornish, Continuum

The world of emerging new music composers continues to grow. There are now a good number who espouse a new classical modernism built of post-modern, sometimes radical tonal elements that point to early music and modal forms not strictly minimalist nor quite beyond it altogether, in that there is more in the way of repetition, but usually more in the nature of an ostinato. Arvo Part has been a model composer in the past decades with an influence that has freed composers from restraints of modernist practice or neo-classicism per se. All of this exists today in a pluralist world that includes extensions of modernism and both neo-classic and neo-romantic camps.

Jane Antonia Cornish, British-born New York resident, most certainly qualifies as one of the post-modernists, a rather important one, judging from her recent release of chamber works entitled Continuum (Innova 923). She is known for her lushly atmospheric film soundtracks. This is her second release of chamber works, following upon the heels of the acclaimed volume Duende (see my post on that release from May 7, 2014 on these blog pages).

The Carnegie Hall affiliated group Decoda does an excellent job performing the seven works presented on Continuum. "Nocturne I-III," "Continuum I & II," "Portrait" and "Tides" make up the program. Strings are at the forefront. The three "Nocturnes" feature a cello quartet, the two "Continuums" and "Tides" are scored for two violins, four cellos and bass guitar, "Portrait" is for solo cello.

Much of the music is built upon repeating chord progressions with variations and counter figures, a little reminiscent of the baroque variations built on the theme of "La Folia," yet quite different in sound and result. There are often enough broken-chord string arpeggiations, and generally a full, warm sound both atmospheric and lyrical. "Portrait" concentrates effectively on arpeggiations. "Tides" contrasts open-fifth and more complex oscillations in the violins with contrasting cello-bass guitar chord clusters to musically model the idea of shifting wave cycles. The music builds into what becomes climactic chordal swells that more adherently alternate between violins and cello-bass to create a sort of natural steady state, which then transforms into an ever-more gentle cello chordal sounding.

All told Jane Antonia Cornish gives us some very evocative and lyrical music that is neither quite linear nor cyclical, but instead utilizes the two together to create memorably poignant sound structures. She deserves your ears, certainly, on this one. Both Continuum and the earlier Duende show us a composer of great promise, with a haunting spatiality, and a primal yet complex sense of sound. Definitely recommended!