Cabinet of Curiosities

Dopo la felice prova dello Iowa Percussion Ensemble alle prese con un recente, fantasioso e irresistibile brano di Robert Moran in una precedente uscita discografica, il matrimonio tra i musicisti e il compositore ci viene riproposto in questo nuovo cd Innova. Ben diverso è però il carattere dei brani qui eseguiti. Si tratta infatti di composizioni scritte da Moran intorno agli anni ‘60 (alcune rielaborate negli ultimi anni) utilizzando partiture grafiche (di per sé, quasi delle opere d’arte visuali) che poco hanno da spartire con la produzione post-minimalista tipica dell’ultimo Moran e contrassegnata da melodiosità estesa, ritmica vivace, vena espressiva e una buona dose di humour. Le musiche qui eseguite si avvicinano molto a quelle del Cage post-1950, nella sua fase aleatoria e influenzata dal pensiero Zen: esse possiedono infatti un’indubbia qualità ambientale, e rinunciano consapevolmente alla dimensione narrativa ed espressiva. I labirinti sonori costruiti da Moran ed eseguiti con passione dallo Iowa Percussion Ensemble, pur non essendo il vertice della produzione dell’autore americano, rappresentano comunque una bella testimonianza della sua sfaccettata personalità creativa.

– Filippo Focosi, Kathodik

“This is the sort of thing that can elicit enormous self-indulgence, and end up sounding homogeneous from one piece to another. Let me testify right now that this is not the case here. In fact, this is one of the finest releases I’ve ever heard to take the indeterminacy bull by the horns and make refined, engaging, and varied music from it. “What makes these performances so successful is: the constant variety and careful choice of seductive sounds (including sampled sounds, in Elegant Journey), the scrupulous attention to different rates of flow (most notable in Meister Eckhard and the Point of No Return and Electric Boogies, which are each the same piece, though the latter—and original version—is five times faster than the former), and just darn great playing all around. And there’s one truly magical work. Salagrama was composed in 1979 for the cathedral organ of Graz. Its original form was what the composer calls an “endless bass line,” tonal but nondirectional. Moore has converted the organ part into a synth sound played by MIDI percussion controller; this provides the shifting pedal, and then he adds a series of tinkling bell sounds around it. The result is truly seductive and hypnotic. At 25 minutes, it’s not a whit too long, and frankly, it’s one of the most beautiful “non-teleological” (non-goal-directed) pieces I’ve ever heard. So bravo to all concerned. This is a tribute to the virtues of open form and notation, when directed to sensitive performers, who bring the whole of their skill and artistry to it.”

– Robert Carl, Fanfare

“Cabinet of Curiosities is a curious collection of seven compositions in which Dan Moore and Iowa Percussion realize the graphic percussion scores of Robert Moran. “The centerpiece of the album is a 25-minute sprawler called “Salagrama” (1979), an exercise in gorgeous understatement which was originally commissioned for a cathedral organ, then adapted for percussion. Indeed, in this solo piece overdubbed by Dan, tectonically slow, droning synth notes coupled with barely-there vibes, bells, wind chimes, gongs and a triangle launch a perfect night of midnight meditation.”

– Arcane Candy

“Atmospheric, sound conscious employing both extended techniques and everyday objects as well as formal instruments, these pieces explore experiential modes of reception rather than formal or structural ones, depending therefore heavily on the performers who, in this case, are exemplary – especially the solo constructions of Dan Moore, clearly a gifted improviser. Salagrama is particularly impressive – apparently consisting of almost nothing, it is so perfectly pitched that it achieves a kind of timeless immersivity that’s hard to dissect or quantify.”

– ReR Megacorp