David Lang: Writing on Water

Text in englischer Sprache verfügbar

This album actually presents four pieces from the American composer David Lang (born 1957), of which only the first is namedWriting on Water, from 2005, based on a libretto by Peter Greenaway. A libretto means words, and words there are, sung at machine-gun speed over a breakneck, hysterical, irresistible and dangerous musical backdrop; it involves a few horns, a handful of strings, piano, percussion, electric guitar and, above all, re-recorded sounds which add to the works' unreal feel. There follows Forced March from 2008 whose first notes should hardly surprise the listener: the electric guitar (discreetly shadowing the cello for echo effects) and rock drums; the listener might wonder if they'd been mis-sold the record. Hardly! Lang is very much a "classical" composer, and if he brings in elements borrowed from rock, it's sonorities first and foremost. The composer's language is rather in the tradition of North American minimalists, but also of Lou Harrison or Hans Werner Henze, of whom he was once a disciple. Increase from 2002 also makes use of amplified instruments, but the language remains very discreet, a rarity for Lang. The album closes with Pierced from 2007, a mix of salsa, cha-cha-cha, and furious folly. The explanations provided by the composer on his site are quite opaque; it is enough to find the pleasure in these pieces just by listening to them – that is, if you are a fan of slightly nutty minimalist music. © SM/Qobuz