Ailís Ní Ríain: The Last Time I Died

Album review

It is surprising to see an album from the small, contemporary-music-oriented label NMC make classical best-seller lists, as this collection of pieces by composer Ailís Ní Ríain did in the spring of 2023. Perhaps the always welcome presence of percussionist Evelyn Glennie (who, like Ní Ríain, is hearing impaired) in the two-movement Revelling/Reckoning was a factor, but more likely is that these are immensely appealing pieces. All are solo works or are for a small chamber ensemble. The proceedings open with a work for toy piano, and the rest feature utterly distinctive sonorities; the bass clarinet/recorder combination of Parambassis is particularly unusual. The title of this work denotes an oddly transparent kind of fish, and it is possible to hear the duality of sound in the work as representing the structure of the fish and its motion. Many of the pieces seem suggestive of their titles; sample Seahorse [long-snouted], played by the composer herself on an altered piano. A degree of humor is often what makes music of this sort succeed, and Ní Ríain has it in spades. She is ably backed by her musicians, and NMC's engineers, working in a variety of locations, achieve reasonably consistent results. This release would make ideal material for a classroom in which students are to be introduced to contemporary music, and it's enjoyable for anyone.

© James Manheim /TiVo