London Sinfonietta, "Warp Works & Twentieth Century Masters"

Recorded over three performances, this double album “best of” twentieth century music paired with orchestral versions of some of the better parts of the Warp catalogue is a treat. The interpretations of Aphex Twin and Squarepusher aren’t as exciting as expected but the interpretations of Cage, Reich, Ligeti, Stockhausen and Varese are better than I imagined.

 

Warp
 
Aphex Twin’s two pieces for prepared piano do away with Cage’s original intention of having an entire range of percussion sounds available to a single piano player. Instead of using a number of different items with different sonic properties as tradition dictates, Mr. Twin lashes a chain across all the piano strings. The result is not the dramatic crash and thunder of Cage’s prepared piano pieces but a pair of quieter melodic pieces with a metallic flavour from the chains. The first of these two pieces, “Prepared Piano Piece 1,” (which is actually “Jynweythek” from drukqs) is the better of the two. The second piece is lacklustre and a let down after such a strong start. When Cage’s prepared piano pieces make their appearance later in the album, it is obvious that Cage is still far ahead of the pack. Even when a mediocre player tackles these pieces they still sound impressive and the renditions found here are far from mediocre. Rolf Hind captures the often overlooked playfulness of Cage’s sonatas; his playing here is most enjoyable.

The best pieces found on Warp Works & Twentieth Century Masters come from Steve Reich. His “Violin Phase” is simply beautiful; the violins spin off each other and interfere with each others’ sound in a dizzying display of phasing. However the gem in the centre of this album’s crown is Reich’s “Six Marimbas” which is absolutely dazzling. The layered rhythms make it hard to pick out any details in the playing but there is a slow change in texture as the piece progresses. The sound of all the bass notes being played blend into each other to make a constant shimmering hum, it sounds completely electronic but it’s not.

The juxtaposition of these heavyweight composers with the finest Warp has to offer didn’t result in the reaction in me that I imagine those involved wanted. The way the album is presented suggests that Aphex Twin and Squarepusher are the logical continuation of Cage, Reich and Ligeti. By pairing all these artists on the same bill and playing their music through the same medium (that of an orchestra) I noticed that when stripped of all the volume and electronic gizmos, the young turks really haven’t progressed far from where the masters had left off. Maybe if I was an academically trained musician I could understand what makes these Warp artists so much more special than what I feel they are but as a layman I don’t see how they’re in the same league as the composers found here. Granted the music of Aphex Twin and Squarepusher is frequently amazing and they both sound fascinating transferred to a “serious” musical setting but their place is on the stereo or in the club.

As an introduction to 20th century compositions Warp Works & Twentieth Century Masters is excellent. The performance given by the London Sinfonietta is exceptional; many renditions of these pieces can be stuffy and overly serious and here that is not the case. The London Sinfonietta tackles the pieces as music and not exercises in academic chin stroking. Surprisingly given the almost light hearted attitude to such heavy music, the Warp parts of the discs leave a little to be desired. These sound somewhat forced as if the Sinfonietta are trying to prove that it’s serious music. One or two of the pieces I’ll return to but I’d be more likely to go back to the original versions of these pieces.

samples:

• Prepared Piano Piece 1 (Aphex Twin)
• Six Marimbas (Reich)
• Chamber Concerto: Calmo, Sostenuto (Ligeti)