Country : United Kingdom Label : Village Green Genres and styles : Contemporary / Minimalist Year : 2020

A Question of Angles

· by Rupert Bottenberg

Earlier this year, Angèle David-Guillou, a French composer and performer based in England, concluded the arc of her Mouvement trilogy. Though initiated well before the first fit of coughing in Wuhan, these works – particularly the concluding Sans Mouvement, an almost hour-long solo organ meditation – provided an excellent reflection of the global lockdown, thick with churning, compressed sentiments and toying with the very idea of time.

It’s unlikely that David-Guillou had insider information about the bug back then, and likewise doubtful that she could have predicted to the week the announcement of a vaccine, a light at the end of the tunnel. Regardless, her timing is again excellent. A Question of Angles is again an ensemble work, like 2017’s En Mouvement, with over a dozen string and saxophone players, supplemented as is seen fit, for instance by a soaring Theremin on the title track, or the choir on the concluding piece, “Quid Pro Quo”. It’s not only a collective effort, it’s also bold, effusive, and extroverted music, a righteous release. This is apparent from the first volley, the forceful “Valley of Detachment”, a piece so martial that the “detachment” in the title might be a military double-entendre.

En Mouvement contained several explicit pastiches, most prominently of Philip Glass and Michael Nyman, and their spirits linger over the entire proceedings of A Question of Angles – David-Guillou makes no effort to obscure that. From Glass she borrows the strident, loping melodic patterns, dramatic valleys and peaks in rapid succession, and from Nyman, the intractable drive, the pugnacity and piercing ache. She has her own voice, though, and like most of us, much to say at this point in the global ordeal.

Latest 360 Content

OCM: Bernstein and his “Side stories” in the spotlight

OCM: Bernstein and his “Side stories” in the spotlight

Abracadabra! Klô Pelgag is Back

Abracadabra! Klô Pelgag is Back

Constantinople – Nordic Lights in Persian Sky

Constantinople – Nordic Lights in Persian Sky

Salin – Rammana

Salin – Rammana

Real Farmer – RF II

Real Farmer – RF II

Syncopation & Synergy: Karneef’s jazz fusion meshes with Rapallo’s corporate yacht pop

Syncopation & Synergy: Karneef’s jazz fusion meshes with Rapallo’s corporate yacht pop

Classica 2025 Presented by Marc Boucher: The Art of The Piano with Serhiy Salov and Jean-Philippe Sylvestre

Classica 2025 Presented by Marc Boucher: The Art of The Piano with Serhiy Salov and Jean-Philippe Sylvestre

Classica 2025 Presented by Marc Boucher: Women’s Cellos

Classica 2025 Presented by Marc Boucher: Women’s Cellos

Classica 2025 presented by Marc Boucher: The Köln Concert String Quartet

Classica 2025 presented by Marc Boucher: The Köln Concert String Quartet

Spółdzielnia Muzyczna Contemporary Ensemble / Zygmunt Krauze – Konteksty

Spółdzielnia Muzyczna Contemporary Ensemble / Zygmunt Krauze – Konteksty

dope.gng – Fiend II

dope.gng – Fiend II

Bells Larsen – Blurring Time

Bells Larsen – Blurring Time

Viagra Boys – viagr aboys

Viagra Boys – viagr aboys

Le Vivier: many skills, few surprises

Le Vivier: many skills, few surprises

SAT’s Substrat Sound Series: IRLʼs soundscapes

SAT’s Substrat Sound Series: IRLʼs soundscapes

Rebekka Karijord – The Bell Tower (Feat Roomfull of Teeth)

Rebekka Karijord – The Bell Tower (Feat Roomfull of Teeth)

Kizaba – Future Village

Kizaba – Future Village

The two voices of Bells Larsen, for the first and last time

The two voices of Bells Larsen, for the first and last time

Karma Glider – Love Bleeds

Karma Glider – Love Bleeds

Salle Bourgie 2025-26: we talk to the artistic director and general manager about the next season

Salle Bourgie 2025-26: we talk to the artistic director and general manager about the next season

Classica 2025 Presented By Marc Boucher: La Fille aux cheveux de lin

Classica 2025 Presented By Marc Boucher: La Fille aux cheveux de lin

Bells Larsen – Blurring Time

Bells Larsen – Blurring Time

Anika – Abyss

Anika – Abyss

Subscribe to our newsletter