Julius Eastman: Femenine

Album review

The music of the late Julius Eastman (d. 1990) has been undergoing a major revival, and Femenine, from 1974, although a lengthy work (clocking in here at 71 minutes plus), has been frequently performed. The spelling of the title is intentional, suggesting a duality of the feminine and the masculine. Eastman, quoted in the useful booklet, elaborated on this theme: "The composer is therefore enjoined to accomplish the following: she must establish himself as a major instrumentalist, he must not wait upon a descending being, and she must become an interpreter, not only of her own music and career, but also the music of her contemporaries, and give a fresh new view of the known and unknown classics." Puzzling though parts of this may be, it was undoubtedly ahead of its time for 1974. So is the work as a whole. It certainly was shaped by minimalism, but its affect is wilder and freer than what Glass and Reich were doing at the time, and improvisation is integral to it. The piece opens with two instruments, vibraphone and sleigh bells, and two notes, E flat and F, which may alternate or sound together. These pairs continue through the entire piece, and over this basis, larger units of sound, partly improvised, are added; the music recedes to the baseline at the end. This recording was made in May of 2021, just as New York was emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the conjoined forces of the Talea Ensemble and the Harlem Chamber Players have real energy in their playing. Another draw is the Kairos label's sound, recorded at Oktaven Audio in suburban Mount Vernon. This is recommended for anyone with the slightest interest in Eastman and his unfailingly progressive music.

© James Manheim /TiVo