Madness, Love and Mysticism

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Music reviews of Madness, Love and Mysticism

Music Review: rewarding post-modernist classical excellence.
Rating: 5 Stars

_Madness, Love and Mysticism_ is three chamber pieces that will challenge listeners and musicians of all sorts. While others may disagree, I find this to be one of the best discs in my growing Zorn collection (around 20 albums now, I guess). Let me first say that this is *extremely* challenging music. It's not difficult in the way "Cycles du Nord" (his composition for wind machines and acoustic feedback systems) is difficult -- it is difficult a la "Momento Mori" (one of his string quartets) because it is hard to find the right perspective with which to listen to it, and thus hard to get "caught up" in the music. It can be frustrating at first since its depth may appear to be illusory. "What is this, wahhhh!!!" Out of the last 1000 albums I listened to, this is one of the most demanding of the listener. Honestly I'm not always in the proper state of mental preparedness to listen to it without getting lost. It's music you must focus intensely on, but this is difficult because it is so complex and baffling.

The first piece is "Le Mômo", for violin (Jennifer Choi) and piano (Stephen Drury). Zorn says this is some of the "most rigorously organized" he's ever written. It is also some of the most challenging. At first it mostly comes across as an atonal splatter of ideas. The most you listen to it, however, the more you discern repeated tonal themes, although appearing in myriad different ways. It is an extreme test of virtuosity -- the musicians here will have you possessed. This is one of Zorn's most aggressive and difficult works, yet it is proportionally rewarding. The ending will leave you breathless. Right now I think it's my favorite one. "Untitled" is a highly virtuoso piece for solo cello, played by Eric Friedlander. This is a phenomenal composition and performance, and one of my favorite Zorn pieces. He explores the tonal extremes of the instrument with dark beauty and atonal delirium, summoning up an obsessive loneliness cast in stone. "Amour Fou" brings all three performers together for a piece about "obsessive love, mad love, doomed love." If you listen to it with that frame of mind, it's quite fascinating. The violin and cello engage in torrid dialogue and additional emotional subtexts are created by Drury's piano. It is usually chromatic and dissonant and can instill a frightening claustrophobia, but there is some beautiful moments of traditional tonality. There is one part that reminds me of Chopin and a few parts with really celestial-sounding chords based on an interval of a fourth. And, as is usually the case with Zorn, he always seems able to inject some degree of rousing sensuality into his music, no matter WHAT it is (well, not ALL the time... for example, "Rend Fou" by Naked City isn't very sensual -- there's something very frightening about that song).

I'm still trying to piece it all together, but I haven't had it for very long. Having extensive knowledge of music theory would aid in one's enjoyment of this music. However, it is not necessary, since the power of the music can sweep you up by itself if you lose yourself in it. I recommend it, but be aware that it's very formidable.

Description of Madness, Love and Mysticism

Classical CDs

• Music > Styles
• Jazz