Band: Chaz Underriner

While most people may go to the orchestra and have an overwhelming urge to scream out requests for the Star Wars theme as if it were Free Bird at a rock show, ”The Secret Inner Life of...“, composed by Chaz Underriner, brings to mind a few other things: such as Liszt, Chopin, and Fred Frith, all sprinkled with a bit of Caspar Brötzmann. Needless to say, music craft of this scale is beyond impressive in its own right. But even more rare is the ability of music of this scale and type to hold one’s attention, at which this succeeds greatly. This is an easy song to get lost in, so be careful when listening to it while driving. It startled me enough that I looked around to see what had hit me. I am impressed.

It’s rare, if ever, that I will actually refer to the musicians’ own insights when personally conceptualizing a song for review. But in the case of ”Meditation on the Wrath of God“, I thought I would make an exception. Often times when dealing with compositions of this magnitude, it is helpful to understand the madness behind the method. So, in the words of Chaz Underriner:
”Musically, the piece is in a loose sonata form. There is a virtuosi solo for piano as well as a cadenza, (a skillful solo passage at a crux of the musical form), for violin. I use techniques of indeterminacy, spatial notation, passages in which the durations are chosen by the performer as well as pitch class sets in organizing the melodic and harmonic composition of the piece. Another inspiration for the piece was my desire to write some music for the brilliant violinist James Song, with whom I worked closely on the piece, especially on the cadenza, and to whom this piece is dedicated.“
--Reviewed by D. Nakers--

The Secret Inner Life of...: Anna Morris (flute), Maryanna Bryant (oboe), Rob True (clarinet), Deanna Brizgys (bass clarinet), Jordan Britt (trumpet), Cody Forrest (horn), Jake Pippen (trombone), Michael Garcia, Jordan Bortner and James Journey (percussion), Ludwig Carrasco (conductor), Chaz Underriner (computer music)

A Meditation on the Wrath of God: James Song (violin), Edward Song (cello), Natasha Sukhina (piano)

Song: Secret Inner life of... This text will be replaced by the flash music player.

Song: A Meditation on the Wrath of God This text will be replaced by the flash music player.

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