{"id":16232,"date":"2014-03-06T12:08:10","date_gmt":"2014-03-06T16:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musicalamerica.com\/mablogs\/?p=16232"},"modified":"2014-03-23T20:39:22","modified_gmt":"2014-03-24T00:39:22","slug":"ice-clarinetist-rubins-new-recording","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.musicalamerica.com\/mablogs\/?p=16232","title":{"rendered":"ICE Clarinetist Rubin’s New Recording"},"content":{"rendered":"

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There Never is No Light<\/p>\n

Joshua Rubin<\/p>\n

Tundra TUN 002 CD<\/p>\n

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On There Never is No Light,\u00a0<\/em>International Contemporary Ensemble\u2019s clarinetist Joshua Rubin presents a program of new music for clarinet, bass clarinet, and electronics by a diverse group of composers, both elder statesman and those of the thirty\/forty-something generation. The Soul is the Are<\/em>na, a piece for bass clarinet and electronics by Mario Diaz de Leon, crackles with incendiary energy, its synthetic photon bursts offset by growling multiphonics and Eric Dolphy style wails. Rubin also nets the premiere recording of Mario Davidovsky\u2019s Synchronism No. 1<\/em>2, for clarinet and synthesized sounds. As with all of Davidovsky\u2019s Synchronisms, coordination is key. Rubin\u2019s rhythms are spot-on and his responsive playing creates an animated colloquy with the electronics.<\/p>\n

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Suzanne Farrin\u2019s Ma Dentro Dove<\/em>, for clarinet and resonating body, is a reverberant meditation rife with trills, repeated notes, and angular melody. Salto Cu\u00e1ntico<\/em>, a work by Ignacio Baca Lobera for prepared clarinet and electronics, juxtaposes bumptious riffs and altissimo cries with percussive interjections and cascading crescendos of electronic sound. Cory Smythe\u2019s Toast<\/em> includes piano as well as electronics and has an avant-jazz cast that alternates with Webernian post-tonal melodies. Upon hearing it, one is impressed with Rubin\u2019s seamless maneuvering between styles and playing demeanors.<\/p>\n

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The album closes with Olly Wilson\u2019s 1974 work Echoes<\/em>. While very much a period piece, technologically speaking, it is nearly as successful as the Synchronisms at providing the illusion of a dialogue between the tape and performer. Rubin again provides an animated performance that furthers this impression. Excellently performed and thoughtfully curated, There Never is No Light<\/em> is a fine recording.<\/p>\n