 | Label: DG Released: 09 Aug 1999 RRP: Average Rating:  |
I'm converted.
Wandering in a record store in Nottingham my partner picked this CD up & I asked him what it was. "I've not heard any of his stuff but...". I looked at the cover - it struck me as intriguing. I read some of the notes inside. Some mutterings about driving through the American mid-west & hearing "Tabula Rasa" on the radio.
"Lets go into the listening room..." I suggested.
We listened to part of "Tabula Rasa" first. Within a couple of bars I could feel the chill down my spine - then a glow of utter contentment.
When we got home we played it three times - the whole CD & "Tabula Rasa" a couple more than that.
The orchestration & performances captured on this CD are amongst the most heart-felt I have heard in a long time. Gil Shaham's violin playing reaches new heights of excellence here. As a whole the experience of the CD is one of sublime delight.
Listennig to "Tabula Rasa" especiallly I could totallly relate to the remarks on the CD cover. Close your eyes & imagine yourself, at night, driving through the Arizona desert - you know the scene, the mountain rock formations either side of the road. Nothing but stars & moon to light your journey. Keep your eyes closed - that sense of drifting. And listen, reallly listen, to the tender, simple structures that Part has written. Its a magical feeling, an almost spiritual one.
As I rushed around to find out more about Part, he clicked into place with other 20th century composers such Gorecki. For those who believe that classical music stops well before the 1950s, this might just change their minds in the way that Gorecki has so many others. Part's style is almost mystical in flavour - & certainly in effect on the listener.
If you want to feel moved - truly moved - by music in a way that you thought was no longer possible, buy this CD. Sit in a darkened room & give in to its sublime & awesome beauty.
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