Harvey, J: Timepieces

20th April 2008

“These are some of Harvey’s most ambitious and imposing orchestral pieces, two of them, Body Mandala and ...Towards a Pure Land, written for Volkov and the BBCSSO, whose composer-in-association he was from 2005 to 2007. They are parts of a Buddhist trilogy whose centrepiece is forthcoming, and are well contrasted, the first predominantly fast and loud and full of rough-edged exotic sonority that mimics music in Tibetan monasteries, the second more typically Harveyesque in its meditativeness. The mysteriously static Tranquil Abiding is an extreme case of the latter approach. The three-movement Timepieces explores the nature of time, and clocks, with a complexity calling for a second conductor (Stefan Solyom).”

September 2008

“Jonathan Harvey's music juxtaposes moments of disarming simplicity, of naivety almost, with others of considerable sophistication and intricacy. …all but one of these pieces explore different facets of spirituality… Perhaps the most immediately involving is White as Jasmine, based on texts by a 12th-century Hindu saint. Here, soprano Anu Komsi delivers a superbly controlled performance of great vocal beauty.”

2010

“There is so much to praise about the works on this CD that it's hard to know where to begin.
Jonathan Harvey's music juxtaposes moments of disarming simplicity, of naivety almost, with others of considerable sophistication and intricacy.
Often these are held in fine balance, the former giving the listener an accessible entrypoint or anchor, and allowing the latter considerable scope for development within an audibly logical discourse. The opening premise of both Tranquil Abiding and Body Mandala are cases in point: in the first, an alternation of two sonorities carries the piece forwards inexorably to its conclusion. By contrast, the arc structure of …towards a Pure Land engenders considerable discontinuity.
Each piece inhabits its own space.
The virtuosity of Harvey's orchestration is breathtaking at times (try the conclusion of the second of the three Timepieces, for example), but it is virtuosity in the service of deeply intelligent musical argument; there's nothing merely flashy or self-serving.
Not surprisingly to those familiar with Harvey's concerns, all but one of these pieces explore different facets of spirituality, particularly those drawn from Eastern religions. Perhaps the most immediately involving is White asJasmine, based on texts by a 12th-century Hindu saint. Here, soprano Anu Komsi delivers a superbly controlled performance of great vocal beauty. In her first entry, she is virtually indistinguishable from the surrounding instruments (and it's satisfying, by the way, to hear singing in which each pitch can be clearly discerned, vibrato notwithstanding). But the musicianship here transcends questions of technique: all the participants deserve equal credit for their involvement in a richly rewarding project. A worthy winner of a Gramophone Award for Contemporary music.”