The Squid's Ear Magazine


Frey, Jurg / Radu Malfatti: II (erstwhile)

Two works, one each from trombonist Radu Malfatti and clarinetist Jurg Frey, also credited with "instruments", field recordings and couterpoints; electroacoustic reductionist work of beautiful character that unfolds slowly and rewards attentive listeners in morphing sound.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Jurg Frey-instruments, clarinet, field recordings, counterpoints

Radu Malfatti-trombone


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Label: erstwhile
Catalog ID: 072-2
Squidco Product Code: 19423

Format: 2 CDs
Condition: New
Released: 2014
Country: USA
Packaging: Digipack Double CD
Recorded at Amann Studios in Vienna, Austria on November 13th and 14th, 2013 by Christoph Amann.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Two discs, the first with a work by Malfatti ("shoguu"), the second containing one from Frey ("instruments, field recordings, counterpoints").

"shoguu" translates into "dealing with" and I could deal (and have, actually, dealt) with the piece for days. Clarinet and trombone, in some ways not entirely dissimilar to most of Malfatti's pieces of recent years in that long, quiet tones are offered suspended in space, sometimes touching or overlapping, but also extending his ambit. The nature of the placement, the clarity of the tones (sometimes with a slight burr on the reed, also the odd Malfattian clink of fingernail against bell, all so finely recorded by Christoph Amann), the almost too large to discern, organic structure--these all conspire to form a kind of gentle monumentality, an open vastness. The general contrast of the tones is wonderful in and of itself as is the poetry of the subtle shifts in pitch and the irregularities of placement. The "gaps" themselves are alive with soft breaths and moist lip movements. I get the sense of a hyperextended song as though, were the music to be compressed, a somber melody would more clearly emerge. As is, it seems to be the task of the listener to retain this long string of notes and construct one for him or herself. And that's supremely enjoyable. I'm not sure what else to say; like a lengthy Feldman piece, "shoguu" defies encapsulation. Only to say that I've listened numerous times, have loved every occasion and, thus far, have always found relationships I hadn't heard or understood on previous listens, something I expect to continue indefinitely. A fantastic work, something to be dealt with.

The Frey composition inhabits a very different sound world and is equally wondrous. Even at his sparsest, Frey always seems to have a subtle Romantic quality to his music (as opposed, deliciously, to Malfatti's rigor) and that sense of longing and gentle melancholy seep through the blurred field recordings here, the trombone (very deep) and clarinet imparting a brooding, pensive note. The acoustic instruments bleed through the recordings which, on their own, seem to go through stages of feedback, obscuring the boundaries of those contributions. It's possible that vehicular sounds are there, with wind through trees or an overall urban hum, but all the elements merge so well, one swiftly puts concern over differentiation aside. Echoing bangs, sounding as though emanating from a large interior space, are mirrored, in an oddly touching manner, by what almost becomes a melody from the horns about 18 minutes in; it's a stunning moment. That moment lingers for quite a while, amidst foggy clangs and, eventually, near-at-hand chirps. The horn tones are like warm extensions of the general hum, as though the multitude of natural frequencies coalesced into this sonic breeze, floating through the landscape knowingly and sympathetically. About 42 minutes in, the character changes somewhat, Malfatti inserting a mute, the surrounding sounds thinning out, becoming shopping-mallish (with drips), a kind of cymbal wash seeming to appear; it's disjunctive but, for me, arriving at precisely the right time, an elbow nudge acknowledging other areas, perhaps less accommodating. Foghorns and buoys. This drift toward the conclusion, attenuated, not nearly as lush as heard at the beginning, is bracing, an astringent tonic offered instead of steady state. I love it.

A fine, fine release, certainly among my top favorites of the year."-Brian Olewnick, Just Outside


Get additional information at Brian Olewnick's Just Outside

Artist Biographies

"Jürg Frey was born in 1953 in Aarau, Switzerland. Following his musical education at the Concervatoire de Musique de Genève, he turned to a career as a clarinetist, but his activities as composer soon came to the foreground. Frey developed his own language as a composer and sound artist with the creation of wide, quiet sound spaces. His work is marked by an elementary non-extravagence of sound, a sensibilty for the qualities of the material, and precision of compositional approach. His compositions sometimes bypass instrumentation and duration altogether and touch on aspects of sound art. He has worked with compositional series, as well as with language and text. Some of these activities appear in small editions or as artist's books as individual items and small editions (Edition Howeg, Zurich; weiss kunstbewegung, Berlin; complice, Berlin). His music and recordings are published by Edition Wandelweiser. Frey has been invited to workshops as visiting composer and for composer portraits at the Universität der Künste Berlin, the Universität Dortmund and several times at Northwestern University and CalArts. Some of the other places his work has developed are the concerts at the Kunstraum Düsseldorf, the Wandelweiser-in-Residence-Veranstaltungen in Vienna, the Ny music concerts in Boras (Sweden), the cooperation with Cologne pianist John McAlpine, the Bozzini Quartet (Montréal), QO-2 (Bruxelles), Die Maulwerker, incidental music, as well as the regular stays in Berlin (where during the last years many of his compositions were premiered). Frey is a member of the Wandelweiser Komponisten Ensemble which has presented concerts for more than 15 years in Europe, North America and Japan. Frey also organizes the concert series moments musicaux aarau as a forum for contemporary music."

-Other Minds (http://www.otherminds.org/shtml/Frey.shtml)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Radu Malfatti is an Austrian trombone player and composer. He was born in Innsbruck, in the province of Tyrol, on December 16, 1943. He has been described as "among the leaders in redefining the avant-garde as truly on-the-edge art." His work "since the early nineties... has been investigating the edges of ultraminimalism in both his composed and improvised work." He also operates B-Boim, a CD-R only record label focusing on improvised and composed music, much of it his own."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radu_Malfatti)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



CD 1



1. Shoguu 1 10:34

2. Shoguu 2 12:22

3. Shoguu 3 14:21

4. Shoguu 4 12:28

5. Shoguu 5 14:11

CD 2



1. Instruments, Field Recordings, Counterpoints 1:00:48

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Electro-Acoustic
Electro-Acoustic Improv
Duo Recordings
lowercase, reductionist, micro-improv, sound improv, onkyo sound

Search for other titles on the label:
erstwhile.


Recommended & Related Releases:
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(elsewhere)
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Written by Jurg Frey in 2021 and commissioned by Amsterdam-based pianist Keiko Shichijo, this solo work using the unique audio characteristics of the fortepiano was premiered by Shichijo in 2022 at the Concertgebouw Brugge during the SLOW Festival and performed again at November Music 2022, this recording captured at Concertgebouw Brugge in the presence of the composer.
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Frey, Jurg / Quatuor Bozzini / Konus Quartett
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