Sparse And Reflective

A typical ECM New Series release, this one if of music by Sofia Gubaidulina. Gubaidulina struggled under the Soviet regime because of her Orthodox Christian beliefs but with the fall of the USSR has been able to relocate to Germany and continue to produce distinctive and personal work. Her music incorporates elements of both Russian Orthodox chant and folk elements with her own take on modernity. The main work on this cd is Seven Words for cello, bayan ( accordion by any other name ) and strings. The performers are Boris Pergamenschikow on cello, Elsbeth Moser on bayan and the Munchener Kammerorchester conducted by Christoph Poppen. Seven Words was inspired by the last seven words of Christ on the stations of the cross. This topic has been tackled before of course but this is a sparse and reflective take. It is the most recent piece on the cd, in some ways the other two pieces can be seen as leading up to it. Ten Preludes is for solo cello and was written to provide a practice piece showcasing the various techniques of cello playing. De Profundis is for solo bayan. The extraordinary sounds from the bayan in some parts of the piece reminded me of the way Peter Sculthorpe has used the didgeridoo.