Under The Green Time / An Irish Concert

Chronique

This album documents a concert given by the Netherlands Wind Ensemble in 1999. All the pieces are by Roger Doyle and had been commissioned by the ensemble after its members had heard Doyle's 1995 piece Under the Green Time, for tape, uilleann pipes, and flute. Only two of the ten works are for wind ensemble; most are solos with tape. Electronics are featured prominently in all but two of the tracks, Irish folk songs for solo voice, and the CD was produced in conjunction with STEIM, a Dutch center for electronic music and performance. The prevailing mood of the smaller pieces is one of melancholy occasionally troubled by electronic sounds that give the pieces an intriguing texture. The last piece, Tradarr, is scored for full wind ensemble, traditional Irish folk singer, uilleann pipes and electronics, and moves the album into a new realm, with its full ensemble sound, strong and regular pulse, sections that sounds like free jazz improvisation, and the use of traditional Irish folk material, which Doyle had previously avoided in his work. In its flirtation with folk and pop influences, Tradarr is so different from the contemplative mood of the other pieces that it feels out of place. It does end very effectively, though, with a traditional Irish song sung over a discreet and nicely nuanced accompaniment. The other pieces would appeal to fans of edgy experimentalism, but Tradarr seems aimed at fans of world-pop fusion, so the target audience for the CD would be listeners with eclectic tastes who appreciate wide stylistic leaps. The sound is good for a live recording.

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