Morton Feldman/GBSR Duo with Taylor MacLennan — Trios (CD boxset)

The work of Morton Feldman has always stood apart from that of other modern classical composers. He created drifting, ebbing-and-flowing, at times fluidly rhythmic works based around patterns and fleeting meldioes- feeling more akin to either wound-down uneasy-to-forlorn soundtracking, acoustic ambience, or spaced-out & decidedly moody sound crafting. His work is wholly distinctive and unique- meaning you either get it or you don’t. I sit very much in the former camp- with Feldman being my favourite of all classical composers, so when a release with his name appears I’m always keen to hear it. Trios is a six-CD box set bringing together three works for flute, piano, and percussion, taking in one relatively short piece, one ninety-minute piece, and one lasting four hours & forty minutes.

This set appeared early this year, on the always worthy Another Timbre. The six CD’s each in their own card slips are presented in sparsely abstract art & text lined flip side box. Also featured is a linear note booklet, containing a seven-page write-up about the pieces and the release by George Barton- the percussionist who plays on all the pieces here.

So, disc one opens with the shorter of the three pieces here, “Why Patterns”, which Feldman composed in the year 1978. This version runs at 29.55 and features three players: Taylor MacLennan- flute & alto flute. Siwan Rhys- piano. George Barton- Glockenspiel. It opens up with a forlornly interweaving of barely piping flute, spaced mid-to-high-pitched piano notation, and lulling glockenspiel unease. Initially, it seems the pace is slowing even more, as the elements pull themselves into a decreasing-pace knot, with doomy key tolling and grimly spotting pitches/ hack. But as it progresses, the pace seems to subtly shift, as the percussive detail seemingly gets more active & at times clustered, as the keys dot out their spaced melancholic paths, and the flutes grimly hover and flirt.

At the end of this first disc/ taking up the whole of disc number two, we have 1983’s “Crippled Symmetry”- it runs at 90.47 mark, which I think is one of the longer playing’s I’ve heard of the piece- which normally runs between the seventy and eighty-minute mark. The players for this piece are Taylor MacLennan- flute & alto flute. Siwan Rhys- piano & celesta. George Barton- vibraphone & glockenspiel. After saying this is one of the longer takes, I’ve heard, it certainly seems to start fairly rapidly, almost grimly urgent, and dense- with continuously cascading keys, keenly dating percussion, and simmering/ lightly searing flute tones. But as we get into the piece, things start thin out & pare back- with shifting clusters of different instrumentation, and following the piece title there is a cripped/ seesawing quality to the whole thing, as the sparse rhythmic pattern run, key strikes occurs and pipe darts shift subtly in pace & pattern.

Spread over discs three to six, we have 1984’s "For Philip Guston". This version comes in at around the four-hour and forty-one-minute mark, though there have been versions that have neared the five-hour mark. The players here are Taylor MacLennan- flute, alto flute, & piccolo. Siwan Rhys- piano & Celesta. George Barton- vibraphone, Glockenspiel, marimba, & tubular bells. This piece has always stood as one of my favourite compositions by Feldman, as it starts with such a forlornly darting yet oddly spritely tolling ‘n’ piping series of patterns/ melody, which, over the length of the work, is subtly/ slowly shifted from hazy flute flurries and uneasily descending piano tolling. On to lulling tolling percussive banks and whistling disquiet, then to creepy key tolling and gloomy percussive dissolves.

Each piece here is played with the utmost clarity and care- with each been recording wonderful alive with sonic detail and depth. The perfect place to play this set is in a still/ quiet room- either on a decent stereo, or via some good headphones- so you can both pick-up every detail, and well and truly get involved with the patterns & mood of these pieces.

As you're probably expecting, I was most, most taken by this set- and the extra time I took to replay & really sink in has paid off…as this is music to sit with & let settle in over time. I can’t say that Trios as a box set will convert the Feldman naysayers & cynics, but if you're already a fan of the man's work, you’ll find this a truly spellbinding set. Follow the link above to purchase directly from the label.