Sounds of Transparence
The Tribukait/Pettersson/Berg Trio
Catherina PALMÉR (b. 1953)
Sounds of Transparence, for flute, percussion and organ (2005) [10:03]
Miklós MAROS (b. 1943)
Gorg, for marimba and organ (2001) [6:52]
Staffan STORM (b. 1964)
Tre canti dal giardino in rovina. for flute, marimba and organ (2003) [13:43]
Frank MARTIN (1890–1974)
Sonata da Chiesa, for flute and organ (1938/1941) [13:34]
Ole LÜTZOW-HOLM (b. 1954)
Rhyme and Pairs, for marimba (2002) [4:51]
Barry GUY (b. 1942)
Whistle and Flute for flutes and 8-track tape (1985) [9:55]
Victoria BORISOVA-OLLAS (b. 1969)
Serenade for Twins, for piano (2004) [3:10]
Henrik STRINDBERG (b. 1954)
Model 2, for flute, marimba and piano (2004) [4:07]
Remigijus SILEIKA (b. 1950)
Trio, for flute, vibraphone/marimba and piano (2004) [9:18]
Bengt Tribukait (organ and piano); Michael Pettersson (flutes), Daniel Berg (marimba and percussion)
rec. 11-14 January 2006, Dala-Järna church, Dalarne, Sweden, 5-6 June 2006, Vara-konserthus
MUSICA REDIVIVA MRCD102
[76:45]

The title of Catherina Palmér’s composition as well as the album title is apt since this is music one can see through. This doesn’t imply that it is lightweight. It isn’t, but it comes as a blessing after having listened to some newly written music where layer upon layer of compact sounds threaten to suffocate the listener. This music breathes.

Ironically the work that came closest to giving a feeling of strangulation was the oldest piece: Frank Martin’s Sonata da Chiesa. This is so intense that there is hardly any resting point. The flute etches the notes relentlessly into the listener’s brain. But even here there is transparency.

Palmér’s composition opens with a phrase in the organ that recalls the first prelude from Bach’s Das wohltemperierte Klavier. It is repeated and sometimes developed and returns again at the end of the composition. The work is both melodious and colourful and grows to a dramatic climax with a long-held organ tone and then follows a kind of meditation.

Hungarian-born Miklós Maros, who has lived in Sweden since 1968, has been one of the most important advocates for modern music, not least through the Maros Ensemble which has frequently championed newly-written music. Gorg, was originally for guitar and organ, hence the name, but here it is played on marimba. There is also a version for guitar and accordion. After a slow opening the middle section is rhythmic, boogie-woogie inspired, until it concludes as it started.

Staffan Storm’s Tre canti opens rhythmically while the second movement is more meditative. Is it a night scene or do we hear birds?

Ole Lützow-Holm is a colleague of Daniel Berg and was asked if he could write something for marimba. He did but not as a finished piece. Over a period of three years he dropped small musical fragments into Daniel’s letter-box and these fragments can be played in any order, or repeated, or omitted, which means that there are innumerable permutations in performance.

The recording of the marimba is superb and the version played here is immensely fascinating. During a number of bars I got the impression that was hearing Milt Jackson improvising on vibraphone.

Barry Guy is a bassist and founder of the London Jazz Composers’ Orchestra and Whistle and Flute was commissioned by flutist Rachael Brown who is also heard on the eight-track tape that is the backdrop for Michael Pettersson’s solo. This is an impressionist work with shimmering sounds and fascinating counterpoint. This is music I have returned to on more than one occasion. Victoria Borisova-Ollas wrote Serenade for Twins as a tribute to Bengt Tribukait and his brother Arne on their 40^th birthday. It is a miniature - a kind of impromptu.

Henrik Strindberg’s Model 2 was created as a model for composition technique. It has distinct jazz flavour. The concluding piece, Trio, by the Lithuanian composer Remigijus Sileika, was written for the Tribukait/Pettersson/Berg Trio and is dynamic, vital and inspiring.

“Vital” and “inspiring” are two words to apply to the disc as a whole. This should be an ideal introduction to people who are fighting shy of contemporary music, showing that there is accessible modern music that is still honest and professional. The liner-notes, in English and Japanese, are very helpful.

Göran Forsling

 

 

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