Gayle Young
As Trees Grow
IRELAND FARPOINT RECORDINGS fp084 CD (2022)
Gayle Young is a Canadian composer, instrument builder and sound artist and has spent many years as Editor of the Canadian New Music magazine Musicworks. Young met pianist Xenia Pestova Bennett and her partner in crime, composer Ed Bennett at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation in 2014, which is where “As Trees Grow” was composed. The work was then premiered at London’s Café OTO by Xenia on piano and Ed on electronic treatments. The idea of Ed Bennett’s electronic treatments appears to be a strategy to enhance the resonant qualities of the piano at strategic points in the compositions. However, no specific detail of the techniques utilized are described which is somewhat frustrating for this listener. Young thinks of these works as text pieces; “…each based on descriptive prose to be pronounced silently as the music is played…” Furthermore, “…the score shows one note with each syllable of the text…reflecting the rise and fall of Young’s imagined voice”. Intriguing. Another disappointing omission is that the text scores themselves are not included in the package, sadly.
This disc contains three distinct pieces, “Ice Creek”, “Forest Ephemerals: Four Flowers” and “As Trees Grow”, making a total of 56 minutes of music. “Ice Creek” prepares the ground for “Forest Ephemerals” as it were, with the full eight-minute version at the head of the CD running order and the “Ice Creek High” and “Ice Creek Low” versions each at four minutes in duration bookending the twenty-minute piece “As Trees Grow” toward the end. It seemed to me though, that the whole CD can be heard as a whole if the listener prefers, as the pieces flow nicely into each other, supported by the consistent high quality of the production. “Ice Creek” has the added sounds of an ice-covered waterfall “recorded through a series of tuned resonators”, with the effect of “amplifying different harmonic registers”. Again, what is the nature of these “resonators”? Physical devices? Software? It would be good to know. In “Forest Ephemerals: Four Flowers”, we are told Young references material by Charles Ives. This piece was written for the pianist Eve Egoyan and the text score for this apparently details spring wildflowers “that grow in forests before tree leaves are formed: violet, trout lily, trillium and jack-in-the-pulpit”, and includes recipes for using foraged plants.
Not everyone will agree with me on this, but I have to say for me, Ed Bennett’s electronic treatments are a little too subtle – they are meant as “enhancements” rather than “instrumental parts” yes, but I think there’s value in allowing electronics to assert themselves in new music from time to time. Also, although this is not necessarily a criticism, I found it hard to distinguish one piece from another sonically – I agree that as it’s a small palette of piano and electronics that is a natural and considered approach by those involved, but to me there’s little or no sonic distinction in the sound of the recordings; something I enjoy hearing – I love the production laminations of John Wall or Rrill Bell for example – but again I’m splitting hairs because a lot of listeners will likely see that as a benefit, I’m sure.
During Lockdown, I attended an online performance/lecture on toy piano by Xenia Pestova Bennett on the recommendation of a mutual friend. Interestingly, Xenia is also fascinated by the possibilities inherent in the toy piano and is an expert technician on the instrument. During this very engaging lecture, she spoke about the history of the toy piano and gave short performances on several vintage examples of the instrument. I believe she performs regularly with toy piano and I’d urge you attend a concert if ever she passes your way.
Ed Bennett is an Irish composer whose work has been commissioned and performed by organisations including the PRSF, BBC, RTE National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Ulster Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Moving On Music, Music Network and others. He directs his own ensemble Decibel.