Milestones
O/Modernt Chamber Orchestra/Hugo Ticciati
rec. 2021, Immanuelskirche Wuppertal, All Saints Church, Durham Road, London and Mozart-Saal, Kultur- und Kongresszentrum, Liederhalle, Stuttgart.
Signum Records SIGCD980 [70]
Milestones is a cross-genre project by violinist/conductor Hugo Ticciati and the O/Modernt Chamber Orchestra that follows the O/Modernt approach of putting music from different periods together as they previously did with their album From the Ground Up – The Chaconne, also on the Signum label (review).
Bringing together music by Josquin des Prez, Igor Stravinsky, and Miles Davis seems an unlikely combination, but 2021 saw them sharing anniversary years, with Hugo Ticciati’s booklet notes informing us that “the basic idea in encapsulated in our name: O/Modernt, which means ‘Un/Modern’ in Swedish… implies the bringing together of old and new music, with the further implication that sound recognises no borders.” These composers are connected by their “avant-garde energy… [and] perennial newness”, and with the experimental, improvisatory and exploratory nature of the concept and performances this is not the kind of old-fashioned programme that invites comparisons with other versions of the music included. This release stands or falls on its own merits.
With regard to musicianship and performance, this is all at an extremely high standard. Even with moments of ‘free improvisation’ in tracks such as Miles Davis’ Sivad you have the feeling that the players are listening as much as they are contributing, which is as it should be. Referring to pianist Bill Evans’ commentary on the source recording for this piece, A Kind of Blue, this “living moment… [like] Japanese painting or calligraphy, when the artist must spontaneously produce a single perfect stroke”, is the essence of what is sought in this recording – from the composer’s score to the player’s notes into the microphone, “transferring the idea from mind to hand with absolute immediacy.”
The resulting performances and the programme’s contrasts are well balanced here, with Stravinsky’s spiky eclecticism rubbing shoulders with the concertante nature of these Miles Davis jazz arrangements, and Josquin’s vocal music given some delicious special effects from strings and instrumental soloists. Consistency of sonority and approach does have the effect of bringing each genre of music closer than you might expect, though each style remains distinct and well-defined. This immersive kind of listening experience should to my mind be valuable to those who think early music is boring, that Stravinsky only composed The Rite of Spring, and for those that think they have an allergy to jazz. Josquin’s Une mosche de Bischays has gentle swing beat that would go well in something like Sketches of Spain, Davis’ modally composed So What sounds here like something Stravinsky would most certainly have thieved ideas from, and the programme as a whole has a superb, dig-deep performance of the Suite de L’Histoire Du Soldat as a kind of all-embracing tent pole around which you can peg almost anything and give it a sense of connection. With excellent recording quality and deluxe bound-booklet presentation this is a very nice thing to have around or give as a gift to more musically conservative friends.
Dominy Clements
Contents
Josquin des Prez (c.1450-1521)
Ave Maria (arr. Johannes Marmén)
Miles Davis (1926-1991)
Selim (arr. Gwilym Simcock)
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Three Pieces for String Quartet
Josquin des Prez
Mille regretz (arr. Johannes Marmén)
Miles Davis
Sivad (arr. Gwilym Simcock)
Igor Stravinsky
Suite de L’Histoire Du Soldat
Josquin des Prez
Une mosche de Bischays (arr. Johannes Marmén)
So What (arr. Gwilym Simcock) – Miles Davis
Igor Stravinsky
Three Pieces for solo clarinet
Josquin des Prez
La plus de plus (arr. Johannes Marmén)
Miles Davis
All Blues (Arr. Gwilym Simcock)
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