Music of Alvin Etler & Iain Hamilton
Liner Notes   Cat. No. NWCRL205     Release Date: 2010-07-01

New York Brass Quintet: Robert Nagel, trumpet; Robert Heinrich, trumpet; Barry Benjamin, horn; John Swallow, trombone; Harvey Phillips, tuba; Paulina Ruvinska, piano; Contemporary Chamber Ensemble: Lewis Kaplan, violin; Robert Sylvester, cello; Samuel Baron, flute; Stanley Walden, clarinet; Arthur Bloom, clarinet; Gilbert Kalish, piano; Arthur Weisberg, Conductor

Of the Quintet for Brass Instruments, Alvin Etler writes as follows:
“The compositional method consisted first in a series of extended confrontations between the composer and some materials which had presented and recommended themselves. Object—mutually sympathetic understanding. There followed a much longer—and I might add, more harrowing--set of daily and nightly combats during which these diverse bits of musical material were invited, cajoled, and sometimes overtly forced to change, grow, follow each other, complement, top, and overlap each other—sometimes to the point of crowding one another out. The aim was to achieve a long (ca. 15 minutes) and consecutive series of sound-forms compatible with the powers of the instruments that would be called upon to reproduce them—sound-forms that would be initially striking and eventually satisfying to the cultivated ear, and ordered in such a way as to produce a total form that might be inadvertently remembered on the day after a twelfth hearing. When the struggles were abandoned at the end of five weeks, the composer and his materials were sufficiently convivial in their attitudes toward each other to arouse hope that it might become contagious for players and listeners as well.”

Writing of the Nocturnes with Cadenzas recorded here, Iain Hamilton notes:

"As in the Sextet written a year earlier, all seven sections of the Nocturnes with Cadenzas have close interrelationships and there are reworkings of certain basic material either in short blocks or in longer sections. In the central cadenza there is repeated rotation of the material. Much exploitation is made of the upper keyboard register, particularly in the opening Nocturne. In the third Nocturne, lyricism of texture predominates, as against the linear lyricism found in the other three."

Concerning the Sextet, Mr. Hamilton tells us:

"The music falls into five sections — Prelude: Andante; Prestissimo; Interlude: Adagio; Prestissimo; Postlude: Lento. The first, third, and fifth are related by way of the same basic material, as are the second and fourth. As with several other works of mine composed in recent years, this element of close interrelationship with continuous reworking of blocks of material separated by cadenza interpolations, is the structural basis for the work as a whole."

This title, originally issued as a vinyl LP on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Liner notes are accessible via the link above.

We have preserved the original CRI LP catalog number for this title, preceded by the prefix NWCRL, to distinguish previously unavailable back catalog titles from those later reissued by CRI on compact disc.

Various Artists

Music of Alvin Etler & Iain Hamilton

MP3/320 $7.99
FLAC $7.99
WAV $7.99
CD-R $7.99
CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print material or jewel case included.
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
   Liner Notes



Track Listing

Quintet for Brass Instruments: I. -
Alvin Etler
Buy
Quintet for Brass Instruments: II. -
Alvin Etler
Buy
Quintet for Brass Instruments: III. -
Alvin Etler
Buy
Quintet for Brass Instruments: IV. -
Alvin Etler
Buy
Nocturnes with Cadenzas: I. Lento - Presto
Iain Hamilton
Buy
Nocturnes with Cadenzas: II. Calmo - sospeso - Fantastico
Iain Hamilton
Buy
Nocturnes with Cadenzas: II. Lento - Presto leggiero
Iain Hamilton
Buy
Nocturnes with Cadenzas: IV. Lento
Iain Hamilton
Buy
Sextet: I. Prelude - Andante
Iain Hamilton
Buy
Sextet: II. Prestissimo
Iain Hamilton
Buy
Sextet: III. Interlude - adagio
Iain Hamilton
Buy
Sextet: IV. Prestissimo
Iain Hamilton
Buy
Sextet: V. Postlude - Lento
Iain Hamilton
Buy