Weissberg, Daniel - So Long

A haunting and wincing opening merges into waves of homogenous chords. Long pedals morph in and out of focus, carried through the quartet before the first assertive staccato tutti. An atmosphere is certainly tangible, at least for a moment before the holes and sinking harmony starts to cause its poignant disturbance. Pyramids of chords cue more aggresive material with bubblings of subtone menace fighting to erupt. The unpredictable volcano of four saxophones continues to spew out strange fumes and sonic lava before something semi-human enters the mix. A disfigured sonority emerges to terrify or perhaps to plead, before utter madness descends on all. Interesting vocalisations are peppered through the score and prevent the work falling into predictable extended techniques. The piece does run the gamut of most special effects nonetheless, but the landscape created is always convincing, if often peculiar. The revenant of the opening returns with increased pain at the conclusion and a stumbling, fraglie dissonance leaves us barren.