Reinhold Friedl - KRAFFT [Zeitkratzer Productioons - 2020]KRAFFT is an example of modern orchestration, at it’s most malevolently punishing & unrelentingly thick. The piece brings together the joint power of two-chamber orchestra German collective Zeitkratzer and French Ensemble 2e2m, with a total of eighteen musicians taking part in the piece. This release comes in the form of a CD, packaged in a rather innocent-looking black, grey, blue and black striped digipak. The piece was written by Berlin-based composer Reinhold Friedl- who you will probably know if your into the more intense & noise bound side of modern composition, as since the early 2000’s he’s been keenly connected with form- both doing covers( with Zeitkratzer) of the likes of infamous British PE project Whitehouse & Lou Reeds Metal Machine Music, as well as his own compositions
The work was composed with the help of computer program- Textural Transformation Machine, with all the instruments playing in both rhythmic unison & the same metric structure.
The piece runs, I guess at a fairly short thirty-one minutes, but really that’s about the right length, as its extreme searing & densely churning in its attack. The work is a blend of mid-range, short & repetitive note slices- which are topped with whistling & baying higher tones. The whole thing creates a wonderful punishing & searingly intense wall of sound, which unlike most orchestral work offers zero harmonic or soothing relief- this is trapped & tense modern classic music at it’s most unforgiving- if there was ever a soundtrack for the final moments of the end time, this would be it.
The thirty-two-minute composition is broken into four tracks, but these are purely handy index/ escape routes- as the work remains pretty much the same, save for higher tone shifts, with zero let-ups or breather anywhere in sight.
With KRAFFT Reinhold Friedl has truly crafted the most nerve searingly & tense examples of modern chamber compositions ever. Certainly not a recording for every occasion, but if you looking for a dense & intense modern classical work-out this will fit that need. Roger Batty
|