ContaQt/Yaz Lancaster/Evan Ziporyn – ConneQt IV

At less than thirty minutes, ConneQt IV is far too short, which is an advantage if you want to make music lovers want to come back and see you again. Less is more, as the Serbo-Croats say (!). Three works between eight and ten minutes in length are on the program of this almost-EP, all rooted in minimalism but in three different ways. 

The first piece is “Point the Way.” It is based on a stacking of rhythms supporting repetitive melodic formulas, together forming a pulsation typical of the American school (Riley-Glass-Reich). The second, “Connect Four” (no connection with the vertical disc game) is more ethereal and stripped back in terms of instrumentation and writing, taking our ears back to the gently pulsating abstractions of Feldman. “Honey Dew” is a surprising offering. The repetitive side is wrapped up in a rich, even sumptuous and enveloping sound palette, like a soft comforter or unctuous honey for the eardrums. Very, very seductive. 

I’m not mentioning the composers for the simple reason that this is the recording of a hybrid live performance project, bringing together musicians scattered between Ontario, the United States and England to co-write, partly spontaneously, their music by communicating via audio/video means. In the context of purely aural listening, however, the concept remains largely abstract, if not uninteresting. Unlike the music itself, which is attractively crafted and rich enough in its sonic palette to be stimulating just by itself. 

A very fine album of minimalist and post-minimalist music. 

Allison Wiebe, piano

Andrew Noseworthy, guitar, electronics

Jerry Pergolesi, trumpet, percussion, electronics

Mary-Katherine Finch, cello

Sarah Fraser Raff, violin

Yaz Lancaster, violin, voice, effects

Evan Ziporyn, clarinet, keyboards