The two works recorded here depart from the sound usually associated with the music of John Luther Adams, best known for his vast sonic landscapes, frequently alluding to or incorporating sounds of the natural world. Four Thousand Holes (2010), whose title refers to a John Lennon quote: "And though the holes were very small, They had to count them all," from "A Day in the Life." Scored for piano, vibraphone, and orchestral bells, plus an electronic "aura" provided by the composer, the piece has an uncharacteristically ...
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The two works recorded here depart from the sound usually associated with the music of John Luther Adams, best known for his vast sonic landscapes, frequently alluding to or incorporating sounds of the natural world. Four Thousand Holes (2010), whose title refers to a John Lennon quote: "And though the holes were very small, They had to count them all," from "A Day in the Life." Scored for piano, vibraphone, and orchestral bells, plus an electronic "aura" provided by the composer, the piece has an uncharacteristically bright, sparkling, occasionally brittle sound. Adams uses only major and minor thirds as the harmonic building blocks for the piece, although they are heard in a variety of keys. There are areas whose dreamy, cloudlike unfoldings make the piece recognizable as Adams', but some of its blockier, more exuberant sections disconcertingly call to mind the vivid brashness of the other John Adams' Grand Pianola Music and The Chairman Dances. ...and bells remembered... (2005) for a percussion...
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