Repetition, in many guises, is the theme of this resonant and evocative new recording from the ICOT Chamber Orchestra, which features some of Canada’s finest chamber musicians playing new works by five Canadian composers.
Nature’s pleasing repetition appears in Jordan Nobles’ 30 Crows as recurring motifs float among the players on a shimmering backdrop of sound, like a breeze-blown tree. Keyan Emami’s Kian in Rainbow gleams with colour and texture, interspersing musical ideas effectively with text. The lush sounds combine with a dark edge suited to the tragic event that this work memorializes: the death of a young boy in Iran in the fall of 2022. That darkness pairs with Saman Shahi’s Eroded, the opening track. Dramatic and ominous, Shahi’s piece features extended techniques and uncertain gestures that build into a rhythmic drive, then fade, only to build again.
By contrast, Nicole Lizée’s Blissphemy is funky and fun, filled with her trademark glitches and rhythmic complexities. There’s a lot going on here. It feels like we’re at a fashionable party, evoking the stylishness that inspired Lizée. The final track, Mazdas Hedari’s Arrays, is also a fast-paced and exciting listen. Repeated motifs and interlocking rhythms move into a rich, sonorous middle section, then erupt into excitement again. The work ends with a single thread of ascending string sound pulling out of the rhythmic drive and into something idyllic.
