iyatra Quartet
Break the Dawn
Self-produced
★★★

MADE UP of musicians playing clarinet(s), violin, cello and a small militia of percussion, the iyatra Quartet have self-released new album Break the Dawn, which blends curious knick-knacks of British history with more distant influences, including Arabic love songs and Indian ragas.

Traditionally, this album would fall into the “world music” bracket, but this term is slightly redundant, so it would almost be better described as “classical” music, since traditions such as ragas are as old (if not older) than most European musical institutions. The material is handled with care, but one still feels that it is treated with a certain distance.

It is positive to find artists drawing on a wealth of influences, but one would appreciate a more probing investigation of such traditions. One feels that they have only dipped a toe into the deep ocean of music from aroud the globe.

Various Artists
Between Music and Ritual
Lithuanian Music Information Centre
★★★★★

THE Baltic holds a very special place in my heart, and this album is a very good summation of many of the reasons it is so firmly planted there.

As the title suggests, Between Music and Ritual explores the Lithuanian fascination with ritual, specifically those unique to that country which can be traced back to the ancient Balts and Jotvingians.

The father of this contemporary trend, the late Bronius Kutavicius, features his evocative From the Yotvingian Stone, an imagined ritual based on ancient texts of the lost Jotvingian peoples. Following this paternal figure, we are treated to six other composers who in their own way explore this idea.

My personal highlights are Juste Janulyte‘s The Colour of Water and Justina Repeckaite‘s Designation and Expulsion, music from two figures who are gaining huge international attention. The best suprise comes from the young Jura Elena Sedyte with her inspired Nekrosius Knus (music for headphones).
 
 

 
Yannick Nezet-Seguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra
Florence Price: Symphonies 1 and 3
Deutsche Grammophon
★★★★★

E

FLORENCE PRICE is finally seeing a revival. It seems a recently as 2018 that she was a figure who had essentially been forgotten, but thanks to the noble efforts of many wishing to promote the work of women composers and black composers, there has been renewed interest in the composer.

The album focuses on her first and third symphonies, a choice that shows a significant amount about the composer (though her other works are worth investigation and are a continuing treat for the ears).

The Philadelphia Orchestra handles the symphony with great care and one feels she is as much of a household name as Aaron Copland. The ensemble’s familiarity with it is an endearing quality that is hard to create and shows the enthusiasm of the members to show off these masterpieces. One can only hope that this effort to revive the composer makes her a permanent fixture.