2. Veni Sancte Spiritus (4:17)
The next track is a traditional movement of a Catholic mass, inventively
scored for a capella voices. The effects created here are quite staggering
- at some points the chorus breaks into almost a scherzo-like pace, at
others it forms towering mutation chords, some getting atonal and unstable.
3. From Darkness to Light (4:49)
Not based on any particular piece or hymn - composed exclusively by
Dudley, this is a heartfelt lament scored for string orchestra. The
style here gives a brief preview of the orchestral grandeur to be found
in the later Three Chorales in Common Time - it's quite classical, almost
Baroque, but hovering around the unstable line between tonality and dissonance.
Sections of it are tragically moving, written in the vein of John Williams'
epic Schindler's List. As the title indicates, it somewhat moves
to a more uplifting tone towards the end, but it's still very dreary.
4. Veni Emmanuel (5:05)
One of the best tracks present is this modern reworking of the ancient
"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" Advent hymn. The chorus sings the lyrics
pretty much like any other arrangement, although one section has the sopranos
doing the equivalent of a mutation stop on the pipe organ (1 and 3/8 octaves
up). However, the main attraction here is Dudley's rapturous orchestral
accompaniment, relying heavily on piano for glistening percussive effects.
The chorus of the hymn's accompaniment is a huge array of pulsing strings,
swirling harps, and pounding percussion.
5. Tallis' Canon (7:00)
This piece's most famous use was probably in Ralph Vaughan-Williams'
concert arrangement of it earlier this century. Dudley's strikes
out on its own, sounding nothing at all like a merry round. Instead
she ingeniously mutates the piece into a dirge-like chorale full of dissonant
chords that reminds me of Jerry Goldsmith's The Omen score (although not
THAT violent.) In fact, the string-based opening sounds exactly like
a score for a horror movie. Another highlight of the album.
6. The Holly and the Ivy (5:08)
I'm sorry, people, but I really can't stand this track. Instead
of giving the piece the huge orchestral performance it deserves, she delves
into Philip Glass-like minimalism, playing some major chords in a totally
unrelated key in woodwinds, strings, and synth keyboard (which really makes
it sound bad.) Then, when the noble tune is played in horns, it's
completely lost all of its splendour. Thankfully, though, this is
the only real dud on Dudley's album.
7. The Testimony of John (5:09)
Although it seems at first to not be based on a hymn, that will quickly
change. The opening section is a haunting passage for solo soprano,
singing the first few verses of St. John's Gospel. It's accompanied
by a subdued pipe organ - don't look for the huge mixture and reed stops,
because the orchestration sticks to the principal and woodwind stops.
After this is a completely unrelated second section. It's actually
a Jewish Chanukah (sp?) folk song, played on hammered dulcimer with percussion.
In between segments of this played on its native orchestration, Dudley
inserts a rich string quartet playing a more Baroque arrangement of the
music.
8. Canzonetta (2:11)
One of the most Christmas-like pieces here, this is completely based
on a melody called the French Carol, played by an intoxicating string quartet.
Those who have heard it before will only recognize short snippets of the
main melody - I didn't even realize what the piece was until the only real
statement of the theme at the end.
9. Coventry Carol (4:40)
Some may despise this because of its grating atonality, but for me
it's one of the main highlights of the album. I'm not very familiar
with the Coventry Carol, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't
originally written for a dissonant string orchestra. The appeal of
this is much like the earlier "From Darkness to Light" track in that the
atonality eventually becomes a tragically moving ode, but now with chorus.
10. Prelude (2:41)
Dudley probably didn't have to do much to this cue - it's one of Bach's
more well-known preludes, probably originally scored for pipe organ.
Here it's adapted to a woodwind ensemble, which sounds quite nice, and
it's played very straightforward with very few of Bach's typical embellishments.
Three Chorales In Common Time:
11. Three Strings (2:54)
Here we come to the main highlight of the album. Dudley composed
these three chorales herself, not looking for much ancient influence.
They are all based on the same theme, a huge chordal monstrosity that slaps
the emotion into you like a wet noodle. Not to say it's manipulative,
but I don't think the composer, once she had discovered the theme, needed
to do much more to it. This chorale is something of a prelude to
the other two, scored for orchestra as well as three solo strings.
12. Eight Woodwind (4:15)
Dudley gives her theme a more spirited arrangement here, highlighted
by chords in the wind ensemble, with minimalistic arching string arpeggios.
Although it's quite impressive in its own right, it's nothing compared
to....
13. Sixteen Voices (7:04)
This is the point that Anne Dudley REALLY lets loose. After a
short gong introduction, the chorale picks up where the last one left off
with the string arpeggios and Baroque woodwind chord progressions.
Where it really shines are the places with the full chorus, finally giving
the chorale theme some words. I think this piece is one of the most
moving and impressive in the entire Dudley canon, and the midsections where
the chorus takes over are probably some of the best passages to come out
of a composer's mind this decade.
Overall, this is one of my favorite new album releases of 1999, filled with impressively tragic moments, as well as bizarre permutations on familiar hymn melodies. I can safely recommend this album to just about anyone, and it's destined for many, MANY spins in my CD player.
| Music Rating | 9/10 |
| Packaging/Liner Notes | 7/10 |
| Orchestral Performance | 9/10 |
| Sound Quality | 9/10 |
| Length | 10/10 |
