Clarinets in an echoey room. How interesting can that be? You could be forgiven for expecting the musical equivalent of drying paint, and that’s what I’d been prepared for. Thankfully, Buyukberber Variations’ – which sees avant-garde composer Emanuele de Raymondi takes Oĝus Büyükberber’s improvisations on alto and bass clarinet as his material, which he then alters and manipulates with digital technology – is really quite fascinating.
There’s no shortage of variety in terms of tone, texture and mood, despite what may at first appear to be an extremely limited and limiting musical set-up (according to the sleeve notes, Büyükberber’s performances were recorded in a 10 second reverberation room and no additional reverbs or effects were added in the mix, and nor are there any other instruments on the 10 untitled pieces on this album). While there’s a common tendency for albums that explore any one aspect of sound in microcosmic detail to be tedious in the extreme, the sterility and clinicality of the process taking precedence over the listener’s enjoyment, Emanuele de Raymondi has approached the project first and foremost as a composer.
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‘Buyukberber Variations’ takes the listener to a strangle and abstract space. It is unquestionably a cerebral recording, but there’s pleasure to be had from the listening experience too.
Emanuele de Raymondi Online
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