PITTSBURGH NEW MUSIC ENSEMBLE: Drunken Moon

Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble

Drunken Moon

© 2007 Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble (820360128325)

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Two engaging, imaginative and accessible works are featured on this disk of commissions from our 30th Anniversary Season.

notes

Kieren MacMillan's "Drunken Moon" is the story of two characters: a woman seeking love, and the man she meets (or perhaps invents) in her quest for fulfillment.

Subtitled a monodrama for two voices, this dramatic song cycle explores love's powerful and often contradictory emotions: desire and cruelty, pleasure and pain, ecstasy and melancholy. In the pursuit of her fantasy, the woman inevitably experiences uncertainties, disappointments, and eventually sadness.

"Drunken Moon" was conceived as a companion piece to Arnold Schoenberg's "Pierrot Lunaire," which can be performed immediately after it, without pause. Naturally, then, it borrows instrumentation, formal design, and even certain musical elements from Schoenberg's work. And its emotional arc is designed to conclude precisely where Pierrot's journey begins, the two together perhaps offering something greater than the sum of their parts. But "Drunken Moon" is also intended to stand alone as a complete artistic expression - a testament to the intoxicating power of love in all its forms.


Thomas Albert's "Night Music" is composed in seven movements. The first, fourth and seventh are nocturnes, describing a stillness in which every motion and sound are magnified by their isolation.

The second and sixth movements illustrate the extremes of the Arctic night. "Stolen Night" borrows a little night musical material to limn a world at the summer solstice, when the sun won't set. The unending darkness of the winter solstice frames the waves and streamers of the northern lights in "Aurora."

Denizens of the night inspire the third and sixth movements. "Nightingale" is a playful homage, with recorded and transcribed birdsong laid over a slowly emerging presentation of Joseph Lamb's 1915 "Ragtime Nightingale." A nightmare erupts in "Incubus," with an aggressive thirteen-note ostinato that begins in the lowest octave of the piano and moves through the full range and instrumentation of the ensemble.

reviews

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  • A must for new music lovers
    author: 2manynotes

    Simply put, this disk is beautiful music beautifully performed. Kieren MacMillan's "Drunken Moon" sets a fascinating variety of poems with deep sensitivity and poignancy. Tom Albert's "Night Music" is at times shimmering, unsettling, calm, and humorous; it is always exquisitely crafted and colorful. This disk will please both the new music novice and the serious technician. A compelling union of beauty and craft. Strongly recommended!!

  • Worth it!
    author: Candace Camb

    It has certainly taken a long time to produce, but it was definitely worth the wait! "Drunken Moon" can only be described as "haunting" and Thomas Albert's "Night Music," as "enchanting." I was particularly impressed by the mixing work on this disc. This CD is a great purchase for those just getting into "New Music" as well as long-time listeners of the genre. An excellent addition to any collection.

  • Quality Work!
    author: Sarah Ruff

    What a wonderful collection of music. Different than anything I've heard before, but perfectly consistent with PNME's mission to introduce new pieces to the world. I couldn't take the CD out of my stereo, it's addicting, always making me wonder what's coming next. Each musician performing on this album contributes to the overall harmony it creates. An essential addition to any music library.

  • Factastic!
    author: chris Carmean

    PNME’s recording of Kieran McMillan’s “Drunken Moon” and Thomas Albert’s “Night Music” is fantastic music that is fantastically performed. It is tantamount to a musical ride, a journey through a wonderful world of sounds, colors, textures, and characters. The music, as well as the quality of the recording, are enveloping to the listener, intimate but expansive at the very same time.

  • Ear-Opening and Exciting
    author: Jeanne Goodman

    As non-musicians, our taste in music has been broadened and immensely enriched through the masterfully creative endeavors of PNME. This first recording gives the listener a taste of the massive talent and freedom of professional expression that transports us to exciting new realms of contemporary musical theatre. The recording is a genuine delight, which can open new doors for both the listener and for the artists at PNME. This shining star races brilliantly across the sky. It must be noticed and given full respect for opening a unique dimension in contemporary performance. We only ask for more recordings in PNME’s journey. Jeanne and Doug Goodman

  • Unique and Masterful
    author: Jeanne Goodman

    As non-musicians, our taste in music has been broadened and immensely enriched through the masterfully creative endeavors of PNME. This first recording gives the listener a taste of the massive talent and freedom of professional expression that transports us to exciting new realms of contemporary musical theatre. The recording is a genuine delight, which can open new doors for both the listener and for the artists at PNME. This shining star races brilliantly across the sky. It must be noticed and given full respect for opening a unique dimension in contemporary performance. We only ask for more recordings in PNME’s journey. Jeanne and Doug Goodman

  • Haunting and Beguiling
    author: Courtney Crouse

    MacMillan's Drunken Moon and Albert's Night Music together create an hour of haunting and beguiling music. The opening song "Brown Penny," with its folk-like tenderness, invites you in, and you'll willingly open your heart to this enchanted work. MacMillan's music shimmers and flows and awakens deep feelings. "Larger Darkness" is especially profound, and the transition from the sarabande to "Moon and Sea" stuns. Night Music continues the mood and the shimmering beauty created in Drunken Mood, but the contradiction of emotions is taken even further. The nocturnes sigh and soar; "Nightingale" is a delightful tribute to the Vaudevillian Nightingale; "Incubus" pounds and throbs; "Aurora" pushes and pulls. Night Music is a masterful work. Both composers have easily assimilated many musical genres into a whole that doesn't seem like pastiche, but a new world of their own making. It is clear that PNME has a unique and passionate voice in the world of New Classical Music. I highly recommend this recording.

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