{"product_id":"ice-and-fire-2","title":"Ice and Fire","description":"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eS. SCOTT \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eAfternoon of a Fire\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eNew York Drones. Vocalise on “In a Silent Way”\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eAurora Ficta. “La Guitarra”\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eBaltic Sketches \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Bowed Piano Ens; \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eSaraiya Ruano (native American fl); \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eVictoria Hansen (sop) \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e NAVONA 5937 (51:30) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eSad to say, this may be the final recording released by the Colorado-based Bowed Piano Ensemble, as Stephen Scott, its founder, director, and in-house composer, will be retiring this year, and no one is in line waiting to fill his shoes. A performance by this ensemble looks something like a team of doctors performing open heart surgery on a grand piano. Up to 10 musicians simultaneously brush, pluck, or strike its strings (or other parts of the piano), or bow its strings using nylon filaments or other implements. In fact, the only way in which the piano is \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003enot\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e played is by means of its 88 keys! This is not a stunt, however. The results are musically viable, thanks to Scott’s strengths as a composer—he has been influenced both by Steve Reich and by jazz—and to the nearly orchestral range of sounds the Ensemble produces. Electric and acoustic guitars, harpsichords, violins, violas, cellos, double basses, percussion instruments, synthesizer-like effects, even eerie approximations of the human voice all live within the Ensemble’s piano. The Ensemble was founded in 1977. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThis CD, which goes by the title \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eFire \u0026amp; Ice\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, in an excellent introduction to the Ensemble’s work, even as it brings its output to a close. The most recent work, \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eAfternoon of a Fire\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, was inspired by a devastating fire that occurred in Waldo Canyon, just outside of Colorado Springs, in the summer of 2012. Scott’s eight-minute composition is, to a degree, illustrative, but it is more a reaction to the fire than a description of it. Three passages for native American flute complement the music, and are an allusion to Ute Indian tribe, which had been associated with the area. There are several passages that are reminiscent of Reich (who is specifically honored in \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eNew York Drones\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, the following work on the CD). The oldest work, \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eBaltic Sketches\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, is a continuous set of five short pieces that Scott composed for Estonian and Lithuanian musicians in 1997. Much of Scott’s music for the Bowed Piano Ensemble tends to unfold slowly, perhaps because of his interest in jazz, but the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eBaltic Sketches\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e are precise and immediately effective. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eTwo of the works include Scott’s wife, soprano Victoria Hansen. In \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eVocalise on “In a Silent Way,”\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e she sings several wordless phrases from the Weather Report composition to the Ensemble’s accompaniment, before the Ensemble itself takes up the melody. In \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003e“La Guitarra,”\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e she adopts a flamenco-like singing style to produce an earthier effect. These works demonstrate how well the Ensemble can play both starring and supporting roles. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eAurora Ficta\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e is the “false dawn,” an astronomical phenomenon also known as zodiacal light, in which light from the sun reflects off dust particles, and a dim triangle of light rises above the horizon, although it is still night. Scott reserves some of his strangest and most interesting sounds for this work, which is a true and uncanny tone poem. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eIt’s sad to think that there will be no more releases from the Bowed Piano Ensemble, but perhaps someone will step into Scott’s position after all, or perhaps a similar ensemble will be founded somewhere else. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eFire \u0026amp; Ice\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e makes an excellent case for the worth of what Scott and his Ensemble have been doing for almost four decades. One might approach their work with skepticism, but one responds to it with amazement. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: Raymond Tuttle \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Navona","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49709806354712,"sku":"896931001373","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/2369012.jpg?v=1777539366","url":"https:\/\/hbdirect.com\/products\/ice-and-fire-2","provider":"HBDirect","version":"1.0","type":"link"}