CRI (review)

Ludger Brümmer: CRI. Compact disc, 1996, Akademie der Künste/Production Sender Freies Berlin, edel 0014522TLR; available from Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg 10, D-10557 Berlin-Tiergarten, Germany; telephone +30 390-76-0; electronic mail info@adk.de; World Wide Web www.adk.de

CRI was produced at the studios of the Berlin Akademie der Künste (commissioner of the piece) in 1995. It includes a dexterous use of samples of children screaming and playing. A phase vocoder was utilized to change the spectra. One interesting aspect of the piece consists of long, tension-creating crescendi which are then dissipated by the use of sudden accents. The sonorities are rich and striking. The extended crescendo after the initial pause is enticing and magical. It gives the impression of whale sounds, submerged tones like mating calls in suspended animation. The suspense is abruptly broken after four minutes, the sounds now grinding and caressing at the same time. The second part develops these haunting sounds, teasing in the upper spectrum. Remote voices are embedded within trembling tones. The last part presents a low rumble, almost at the threshold of hearing. A good start for an impressive, climactic ending, the voices still calling ("crying") from inside dense textures. This is sample-based musique concrète at its best.

The Gates of H. was created at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), Stanford University, in 1993. It was derived from a 120-msec sample of a folk song performed by a female choir. This piece has a completely different sonic atmosphere from CRI, with a highly contrasted dynamic profile. Particularly appealing is the initial hypnotic quasi-breathing rhythm, articulated by loud sound interruptions. Higher harmonics richly reverberate, producing a mysterious "singing" quality. The treatment of the sampled material makes it sound as if it were a male choir. Over all, the digital manipulation is flawless. The voices are telling a story by telling nothing.

Le temps s'ouvre, from 1994-1995, was created at the Institut für Computer und elektronische Medien (ICEM) in Essen. It uses only piano samples, triggered via MIDI commands. This creates a truly stunning superpiano, with supervirtuoso virtual playing. The music makes one think of Conlon Nancarrow in the digital world. New timbral situations emerge, brought into existence by the sheer power of extra-fast repeated notes, by the use of rarefied decays, imploding sounds, and reversed envelopes. Imaginative and coloristic, this multidimensional piano work alone makes it worth your while to buy this disc. Le Temps s'ouvre brings the perceptual threshold to new limits. Is it logical to use 33 min to explore this universe? In a way, yes; the high density of textures and the marked angularity of lines sits comfortably in such a large temporal container.

This CD presents high-quality music mismatched with a booklet that is almost unreadable at times. Whether an artistic decision or one concerning cost, the liner notes in German are interlocked with those in English, both running in different directions with different color inks. Hint for listeners: follow the upper left corner's coded info ("e" is for English). It might help you with the outside of this fold-out booklet. On the other, the biographical side, the English is in the center (get your magnifying glass out).

Reviewed by alcides lanza
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

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