Self-voicing

The chords that follow each other so regularly seem familiar and yet they are not, especially not in their sequence. They go through the minutes, changing constantly, sometimes more, sometimes less, but not for the sake of complacent nuance. Sometimes the sounds get stuck in time, sometimes they surprise us with twists and turns, then they remain constant again; meandering and moving forward are no longer opposites. Et cetera. Something similar could be said about many pieces by Aarau composer Jürg Frey, such as the second album of piano music recorded by Dutch pianist Reinier van Houdt (Composer, alone; Elsewhere Music, 3 CDs).

But the human voice adds a different quality: something warm, slightly unstable, more lively. The brilliant London vocal ensemble Exaudi, founded in 2002 and specializing in new music, has now recorded six of Frey's works. Most of them date from the past decade and yet, despite their stylistic uniformity, they show diversity. For example in the choice of texts, which range from a poem of his own to Far Eastern poetry and Emily Dickinson. The harmonic and vocal color changes with each piece. Some movements are as bright as day, others shadowy, even allowing for a certain dimness. Sometimes they are sounds that seep only faintly into the ear, but unfold their gentle brilliance there. A minimum of emphasis, which rarely arises, has a great effect. Yes, even a certain spirituality can be felt at times, as a focus on a point outside. And incidentally, it becomes clear how far these outwardly inconspicuous sounds have come: They are not only heard in London, but also in Montreal, New York, Tokyo and wherever else: the lowly, solitary, solitary becomes - once again - cosmopolitan.

Jürg Frey: Voices. Exaudi Vocal Ensemble; conducted by James Weeks. New Records