Bakker / Perttu / Desalvo / Bubenickova / Kaucka - Pinnacle [CD]

A compilation of contemporary chamber works by composers Daniel Perttu, Hans Bakker, Steven Block, Peter Greve, and Kevin M. Walczyk that highlight the melodic, emotive, and dramatic styles offered by some of today's chamber music. Daniel Perttu's work The Storr of Trotternish is a musical reaction inspired by the dramatic scenery of the rocky peaks on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. Hans Bakker offers three works: Brenne for piano and violin introduces a musical mantra in a repeated hymn-like melody, while Leys III for flute, violin and guitar also uses a short hymn-like melody yet in a different setting and style than the former work. Hortus Conclusus, meaning "enclosed garden," is, as the composer states, a "metaphor for the innermost self of every human being" in which a key to the enclosure is hidden inside. Steven Block's 5 Plainchants for Clarinet delivers meditative pieces that are freely derived from Byzantine Rite tradition of the late 19th century, allowing the passages to flow in a manner that emulates the cantorial practice in which chanting imitates speech and song rhythms. Peter Greve's Trio for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano is written in memoriam of a friend and illustrates the different aspects of her outgoing personality, celebrating her love for nature, philosophy, and altruism. A Goodbye Too Soon by Kevin M. Walczyk takes it's name and inspiration from a poem written by Dr. Paul Baxter that laments the death of a friend, and whose formal structure, expression, and empathetic meaning guides the composer's iteration. Daniel Perttu's music has been performed in Europe, Asia, South America, and throughout the United States.