Morton Feldman/The California E.A.R. Uni — Crippled Symmetry
Crippled Symmetry was composed in 1983, just four years before Feldman’s untimely death in 1987. The is work for three players, and for this version the line-up is: Dorothy Stone- flute & bass flute, Arthur Jarvinen- vibraphone & glockenspiel, and Vicki Ray- piano & celeste.
According to discogs there has been five recordings/ versions of this piece released thus far, and the most recent of these was from 2012(of a 2000 recording) by The Feldman Soloists(who Feldman wrote the piece for). And the most bizarre versions is a 6.24(version/ tribute) by New York beat poet Steve Dalachinsky and French art-rock band The Snobs. Most of the versions come in between the 70 & 80 min runtime, and the version I’m reviewing comes in at 87.27 minutes, with the piece runtime split equally between the two CD’s.
The CD’s come a in a slim-line double & clear jewel case. This takes in a 16 page inlay book that features an eight page write-up about Feldman & this piece. As well as a write-up about the California E.A.R. Unit players involved in the playing of this piece.
Like most of Feldman’s compositions Crippled Symmetry is based around a series of subtle shifting & adjusting patterns. These are played out in an often fragile & skeletal manner- with the instruments either playing out their own patterns, or at times following each other. The resulting work is a wonderful haunting, delicate, quiet and melancholic work, which really has more in common with ambience & minimalism, than straight modern classical composition. The work opens in quite an urgent, even, and consistent manner following a consistent weave of flute, piano, glockenspiel notation…but with-in less than a minute the joint weave has broken down, as each of the instruments takes their own subtle different path. As the piece progresses we move though a series of patterns- which go from the occasional joint & focused weaves, onto the more common fragile & subtlety different layers of patterns. With the sound picture moving from sparse & haunted, onto very quiet & spaced-out, though to angular & melancholically ornate.
I’ve only heard one other version of this work, and that was the previously mentioned The Feldman Soloists recording from 2000. And I have to say that this California E.A.R. Unit version is more defined & clear in both its recording & separation of instrumentalist. The Feldman Soloists version seems more blended & angular dreamy, where this version feels sharper in its layers. But this is not meant as a criticism of The Feldman Soloists playing of it, but just a purely an observation- as both version have their own qualities.
So in conclusion if you are a fan of Feldman’s work, and you’ve not heard this version of Crippled Symmetry it’s well worth picking up, as the California E.A.R. Unit do have their own particular way of playing Feldman’s work, and while your at it (if you don’t already have it) pick their version For Philip Guston( also on Bridge) - as this four disc set still stands as one of my favoret versions of Feldman’s works.