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Rating:
THE REVIEW
Like the breath of the sleeping.
Like the sea jagged with short waves. Vibrations of the strings crashing like a splash of tiny sonic sprays, breaking in the Minotaur's labyrinth of the ear, getting lost swarming in the cochlea.
Microtonality.
Eight pieces for strings only, in this new, precious chamber music collection by Giacinto Scelsi. A stubborn experimenter and ascetic of sounds, a furious aristocrat and mystic of avant-garde sonority, Scelsi is one of the most enigmatic and cryptic figures in twentieth-century Italian music.
Precipice music, music vast and boundless like the sea, deserts of wavy dunes. Listening to the eleven strings moaning in "Ohoi" feels like running on that acrobat's rope which is the horizon between the sky and the sea. Columns of Hercules of the soul. Music without a reason like a parable without teachings, except that of living.
Solipsisms and vertigo of solitude. Epilepsies of the soul drunk with nothingness. Sound of footsteps on leaves, dried leaves that were once buds.
But "Natura Renovatur".
Marvelous is the interpretation of the Dutch cellist Frances-Marie Uitti of the three moments into which "Ygghur" is divided. The strings scratch shrilly, cat's claws gouging into flesh, and which now glance slyly. Light caresses, lulled by purring notes.
Pastoral purity, Gregorian asceticism, mute prayer of those who cannot speak are "Alleluja" and "Ave Maria", unshakeable tonality and melody forged in the forge of silence. Lullabies of faith.
Screeching of blades that wound, musical caves plunging into atonality, glimmering sonic gold mines in the splendid "Anâgâmin", an enigmatic and enchanting piece, lascivious and innocently mystic.
Purity of sounds, candor, in "Natura Renovatur". A long, oceanic chorale for eleven strings over twelve minutes. Where every instrument is like a winter sky, silent and sullen. Every note is as cold and perfect as snowflakes, gusts of quiet storm settling, light and layered, in the heart.
It is all white, pure, in this musical winter night. Cold, bright, and static.
For now.
Because "Natura Renovatur".
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Summary by Bot
This review praises Giacinto Scelsi's Natura Renovatur as a mystical and enigmatic chamber album featuring innovative microtonal string compositions. The music evokes deep spiritual and emotional experiences, described as vast, boundless, and pure. The interpretation by cellist Frances-Marie Uitti is highlighted as especially compelling. Overall, the album is portrayed as a profound and beautifully static sonic landscape.Tracklist
Giacinto Scelsi
Giacinto Scelsi (1905–1988) was an Italian composer noted for explorations of single tones, microtonal variation and mystical, ritual-inflected sonorities in mid-20th-century avant-garde music.02 Reviews
