HYMNS FOR PRIVATE USE | BRUTAL NEW MUSIC REVIEWS
Akropolis Reed Quintet - "Hymns for Private Use" album review
Not enough can be said for the superb quality of sound and musicality Akropolis Reed Quintet achieves on all of their releases, and Hymns for Private Use is no exception. As an ensemble, they have single-handedly propelled forward the genre of the reed quintet in classical music, and strive to continually expand the repertoire with stellar recordings of new works. Hymns for Private Use, released on Bright Shiny Things, combines Akropolis' ensemble sound with singer Shara Nova, known across both popular and classical genres. The album is composed of two multi-movement works by composers Nico Muhly and Annika Socolofsky.
As the titular work, Muhly's five Hymns for Private Use for reed quintet and soprano start off the album. Hymns presents devotional Christian texts selected across several centuries. Muhly successfully connects the text through simplistic and traditional-sounding vocal melodies, perfecting fitting for Nova's voice. Musically however, the Hymns come across as an uncertain composer playing it safe. The writing for the reeds is convincing only because of Akropolis' dedication to detail in how their ensemble blends. Muhly provides little space for musicality. The resulting sound is pretty, but with a lacking of meaning. Out of the five Hymns, the fourth movement, "An Autumnal Song", is the most interesting. It opens with Nova's solo floating voice seemingly mocking the traditional doxology, soon to be interrupted by noisy rips in the bass clarinet and bassoon.
The second, and more engaging work on the album, is Socolofsky's so much more. The five-movements supplement the reed quintet with a fixed media track created by the composer. Socolofsky recorded over seven hours of interviews from seven small business owners focused on community to create this emotionally-charged material. so much more is also presented as a multi-media work, in collaboration with filmmaker XUAN (watch the music video here). Socolofsky does an incredible job using the interview material in a musical manner. It is amazing how well the track blends the sounds of the quintet with the pre-recorded speech. She finds a way to create implied pitches and melodies out of the interviews and still enable the intimate text to be understood.
Their fifth album, Hymns for Private Use continues to showcase Akropolis' elegant playing while reflecting on music's role in the community. Hymns also introduces the potential the reed quintet has for collaboration with soloists, composers, and electronics .The two works depict insights into individuality and devotion across very different eras of human history.