Bad luck for those
who have already bought John Metcalfe’s
Inner Line CD because it comes
as a "free" bonus with this
one.
Scorching Bay
is the name of a beach in New Zealand
that Metcalfe used to visit during his
childhood. This information is about
the limit of that provided in the leaflet
apart from the track titles (there are
twelve pieces) and the credits. There
are a few lines on the musical procedures
involved ... which is useful. We are
told that, "the composition involved
limiting the amount of thematic material
and using it in each track with as little
incidental music as possible".
This means that, in theory at least,
the whole disc could be regarded as
musically homogeneous. I suspect though,
that most listeners will hear the music
as a series of easy-listening pieces
that chug along in a pleasant enough
way employing an impressive array of
textures and sound effects. Metcalfe’s
music has been described as "genre-defying",
and although I would like to think of
that description as a virtue, it made
me speculate that their may be no such
thing. To make sense of new music we
probably need to pigeon-hole it simply
to get our bearings in order to navigate
through it. In my case I have to say
that my (admittedly trite) description
of the style would be "popular
minimalist". By that I mean that
some of the principles of the likes
of Steve Reich are employed but the
music is made more widely accessible
in a way that is closer to John Adams
and Philip Glass and more obviously
to Michael Nyman. But there are many
other influences that drag the music
away from the minimalist tag including
pop styles going back twenty years or
so and jazz references that go back
further to the Modern Jazz Quartet.
It is the music’s eclecticism
that make it "genre–defying".
In this respect, John Metcalfe has impeccable
credentials. Classically trained, he
has an impressive record of non-classical
arrangements to his credit including
those for Morrissey and George Michael.
I cannot be sure but
I dare say that what Metcalfe is hoping
to offer is a whole, rich accumulative
experience, though I fear that the subtly
altering patterns that recur through
the pieces will not, in themselves provide
that. The impression left is of a series
of mesmerising rhythmic sounds (in the
minimalist tradition) that do not add
up to very much. The trouble, it seems
to me, is the lack of musical events
– a lack of narrative, both overall
and within the pieces. The one I liked
most was track 4, First Major Upset
of the Tournament, which I thought
did have a sense of developing drama,
skilfully contrived with exciting contrast
between percussion and strings and then
a slow lyrical section that moves on
to integrate with the previous ideas,
building to a climax. It does have a
certain economic rigour to it.
A range of chamber
forces are imaginatively used by the
composer and the music is played with
great conviction. Metcalfe does most
of his own engineering and the recorded
sound is impressive.
The bonus disc, Inner
Line, was the first album produced
of Metcalfe’s music as composer and
it has already been reviewed on this
site (http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2002/Nov02/metcalfe.htm).
I generally agree with Michael Cookson’s
verdict on the music which would also
apply to Scorching Bay.
If you purchase this
double package which comes in a smart
box, you cannot go wrong with a bargain
that will allow you to taste the fruits
of John Metcalfe’s wide-ranging musicianly
skills.
John Leeman
John
Metcalfe - violin, viola, guitar and piano 
