• Steve Reich: Three Tales
  Beryl Korot, video
  The Steve Reich Ensemble / Synergy Vocals
  Bradley Lubman, conductor
  Nonesuch 79662-2
  I picked this one up with some trepidation. I think Reich's creativity has been waning in the past few years. His Triple Quartet was okay, but was outclassed by the new recording of an older work (Music for Large Ensemble) on the same disc. Moreover, the other Reich work this one most closely resembles is The Cave, which I didn't care for at all (though I'm willing to admit it's probably better when you're experiencing the entire "multimedia event" rather than just listening to the CD). I'm glad I gave Reich the benefit of the doubt, because this was a worthy purchase not so much for the music itself (which is good but nothing spectacular) but because included with the CD is a great DVD of Beryl Korot's video, which raises the music to heights it can't achieve on its own. The DVD contains Dolby 5.1, DTS, and Dolby Stereo tracks. I don't have surround sound, but I would imagine the music sounds fantastic that way. Also included are an outtake from the first "tale," a great video of Brad Lubman conducting the work at a Berlin concert, and a text presentation of the exact same Reich/Korot interview printed in the inserts. The DVD's only flaw is probably that depsite the fact that Korot's video appears to be about 1.78 or 1.85, the video is NOT anamorphic. I don't have a widescreen TV, so it doesn't bother me specifically, but I know some people are going to be (rightfully) upset about it.
  Oh, and a question for Nonesuch... Do you have to release every CD with its own extraneous little cardboard box?
  
• Michael Nyman: Noises, Sounds, & Sweet Airs
  Ensemble Instrumental de Basse-Normandie
  Dominique Debart, conductor
  Argo 440 842-2
  I know every time I discover a new Nyman piece I sound hyperbolic, but confound it all, I LOVE the man's music. NS&SA is sort of an oratorio for three voices (soprano, alto, and tenor) and small orchestra. The CD says it's derived from the score for La Princesse de Milan, an "opera-ballet" based on Shakespeare's The Tempest. You couldn't really call NS&SA an opera, I think: it isn't "staged" in any way other than having performers on a stage singing, and despite much of the text being taken from Shakespeare's play, it has no real narrative. Also of note is that no characters are assigned to the three singers. Any (or all) three sing for any given character at any given time, so it's not like you could follow it even if it was staged. Still, the works it most closely resembles are Nyman's other operas, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and the inestimable Facing Goya, and anyway who liked those should like this as well. There's a wealth of great music here, and I think I have to listen to it a few more times to appreciate it fully. There are times when the work erupts into sheer genius and immense beauty, but (as in Goya) most of these moments are fleeting, and part of the trick is recognizing them when they show up again, either slightly altered or (at first listen) wholly unrecognizable. This disc is highly recommended for all Nyman fans...newcomers should look elsewhere, as this is probably too much Nyman to dive into for the uninitiated. The disc is out of print (of course) but is probably not too hard to find yet. Amazon, for one, has several copies available.
  
• Michael Nyman: And Do They Doo / Zoo Caprices
  The Michael Nyman Band
  Alexander Balanescu (who else?), solo violin
  Jay 1322
  Okay, the hyperbole ends here. This is a good disc, but nothing to get terribly excited about. And Do They Do is a short little romp for the Band in the same style as the Greenaway scores. It's very, very enjoyable, of course, but doesn't leave much of a lasting mark. It would do quite well on a compilation with the Greenaway scores. The rhythmic phrase that forms the basis of the first movement would later find itself in the last region of MGV. Zoo Caprices, the second piece on this disc, is more interesting. It takes several selections from Nyman's score to Greenaway's A Zed and Two Noughts and gives them to Nyman's faithful bandleader Alexander Balanescu to perform all by himself on solo violin. The result is suprisingly multi-layered and textured. I imagine it would be fascinating to see this performed live, because I honestly can't figure out how Balanescu manages to do some of the things he does here. I guess I don't know enough about the violin, but there are times where you could swear you were listening to a string trio, at least. Nevertheless, this disc still feels like a couple of filler works in search of something more substantial to accompany. Recommended to Nyman fans and diehard violin lovers.
  

That's all for me for a while...I have to save up some money for concerts this fall.