Dual Attractor
Claire Edwardes (vibraphone, marimba and drums)
No recording details provided
ABC Classics ABCL0136D [60]
Percussionist Claire Edwardes always presents interesting programmes. Her Coil album on the Tall Poppies label from way back in 2006 (review) was just one of many other solo recordings she has made over the years. She has suggested that Dual Attractor might be her last solo release, though by no means a full stop in her activities as a performer and general force of nature when it comes to contemporary percussion repertoire.
Populated with the work of female composers, the programme opens with Missy Mazzoli’s Orizzonte for vibraphone and electronics. She describes this as consisting of “gently overlapping sinewaves that set the stage for a meditative and introspective live melody.” The subtle pedal tones and harmonics of the electronics create a mysterious and timeless atmosphere, blending elegantly with the sustain and timbre of the vibraphone. The waves of sound in this piece’s final minutes are a beautiful effect, and one is left to wonder at the sounds heard at this work’s premiere in 2004, illustrated by an anecdote you can read if you acquire this album.
Caroline Shaw’s In manus tuas for marimba and voice derives its material from a motet by Thomas Tallis, though we are a couple of minutes in before mellifluous harmonies are embellished with a recognisable melody. This has been arranged from an original with cello, but most of the notes are arpeggiated harmonies on a large marimba with deliciously resonant low tones, the voice emerging with hardly any notes earlier on in the piece and oddly forgotten about for the bulk of the work.
Kate Moore’s Joyful Melodies for vibraphone follows nicely from the previous piece in its contrast of timbre but comparable arpeggio/broken chord harmonic development, the melodies in the title in the upper registers of the texture. Kate’s view on the title is as a reflection on “what it means to be joyful and what the difference is between being joyful and being happy.” This is very approachable tonal music with a refined structural arc and Mozartian virtuosity – the kind where you will instantly hear any imperfections. Moore’s music is often tinged with melancholy, and it will be up to you if sense this piece as joyful or not – it certainly has a joyous surface, but by no means all of the tonalities are in major keys.
Gemma Peacocke’s intriguingly titled I Promise Not to Poison You xoxo for marimba is written in three movements: Nightshade, Hemlock, and Crocus Sativus. Gemma introduces this as “a technically demanding piece that follows three folkloric plants in a feminist riff on poison and pleasure”, and each plant’s medicinal powers are emphasised alongside its more famously harmful effects. This kind of ‘character’ piece is probably best heard without too much stress on trying to interpret where or how each plant is being expressed or described. Part of the commission was an exploration of the marimba’s full expressive range alongside polyrhythms that give a floating feel to some passages. In this regard this is most certainly a success, and another fine piece that should easily become a staple for the solo marimba.
Emberstrike by Natalie Williams is written for vibraphone solo but has been drawn from a percussion concerto called Steeling Fire, “that tells the story of the ‘Women of Steel’ at Port Kempla Steelworks near Wollongong, Australia.” The vibraphone is central to the all-metal percussion instrumentation in the concerto, “its swirling, resonant tones paying homage to the strength and resilience of the Women of Steel.” Intended as an encore and fairly brief at just under five minutes, this piece makes a strong impression, being one of the few here to make significant use of the vibraphone’s sustain pedal, this heightening the instrument’s resonance and expressive weight.
Anna Meredith originally wrote Bumps Per Minute as “an installation piece for bumper cars/dodgems set in the famous courtyard in London’s Somerset House.” Claire Edwardes has made a selection from the soundtracks from this project presumably based on what works best for a vibraphone part over each track, though the original electronics take the foreground in this case. These are fun miniatures with a rhythmic, minimalist feel, the soundtracks clearly made with the kind of bounce and drive that fits with a bumper car dynamic. There is some grunge to go along with the fun, and the last of the four, Tom Cruise Runs has a touch of Mussorgsky in its parallel chords.
The programme closes with its title track, Dual Attractor for drums and electronics. This was originally written by Claire Edwardes and co-composer Paul Mac for a dance work called RECITAL from 2018. This is one of those excitingly driving rhythmic pieces that builds in energy with a gradual crescendo from the electronic sounds and additional layers of beat and intensity from all concerned. If you like a driving beat then this is a fabulous sound, but we’ll all have to make do with our imaginations when it comes to the visual element. I’m a fool for what sounds like pots and pans being used as percussion and will for sure be using this for some exercise sessions, but this is a wide departure from the melodic music that takes up most of this programme.
In short then, a very fine programme of new pieces by a wide-ranging collection of composers, superbly played and very well recorded. The ‘Dual Attractor’ of the title is referred to by Claire Edwardes as two centres of gravity pulling in different directions – these opposing forces being “the relationship between performer and instrument, the distinct pull of the marimba and vibraphone…” For the results of her collaborations and as a catalyst for volumes of new music we can only be grateful, and this recording is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the fruits of “decades of creative work and the unknowns of what comes next.”
Dominy Clements
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Contents
Missy Mazzoli
Orrizonte (2004)
Caroline Shaw (arr. Abby Fisher)
In manus tuas (2009)
Kate Moore
Joyful Melodies (2024)
Gemma Peacocke
I Promise Not to Poison You xoxo (2024)
Natalie Williams
Emberstrike (2024)
Anna Meredith (arr. Jessica Wells)
Bumps Per Minute: from 18 Studies for Dodgems (2021)
Claire Edwardes/Paul Mac
Dual Attractor (2018)
Note
The physical CD can be ordered on the artist’s website.
