Chaya Czernowin — Seltene Erde & Atara

Here’s a CD bringing together two around thirty-minute pieces from Israeli-American modern classical composer Chaya Czernowin, both of which possess a rewardingly woozy/ unbalancing quality. They utilise the likes of an ensemble, double bass recordings, an orchestra, and amplified voices.

Ms Czernowin has been active since the early 2000’s- composing work for orchestras and ensembles, as well as operatic, vocal, chamber, and concerto works. The two pieces here date from between 2020 and 2022.

So, we open with "Seltene Erde: Alchimia Communicationis", which is for ensemble and double bass solo, with its own recording. The piece is an unpredictable sonic map of dramatic/ angular percussive chops, seared to warped bass tone pulls, swirling ‘n’ swooning string patterns, neck picks ‘n’ key tinkles, escalating pitches, and brooding horn hover.

The second piece here is "Atara", and it’s for orchestra and amplified soprano and baritone voices. The work runs at just under the thirty-seven-minute mark, and initially shifts between pared-back low-end gloom, slightly swirling near silence and sudden blocks of thick malevolent orchestral sneer  ‘n’ grim swoon.  Later on, simply tolling, chiming, clamouring/ crinkling percussive detail is added, along with vivid to animistic swoops/stretched bays of vocals. The track's sonic make-up is either very wavering, warbling, or swirling, with moments of pitch warping/stretching occurring.  It all feels akin to trying to make through a slow morphing and strange landscape, which is all tarry blacks, pus-bound greys, and murky yellows- sometimes you become almost engulfed up to your neck, at others you're just skimming the surface.

Chaya Czernowin's sonic world is extremely unpredictable and tonally uneasy, so this is not an album you’d put on to either relax or zone out to. But if you're after something to challenge/ unbalance you, then I’m sure you’ll find something in Seltene Erde & Atara.