Thomas Simaku Solo – Soliloquys Nos 7-9; Catenas Nos 2 & 3 Soloists of Ensemble Contemporain NMC NMC D278 75:24 mins
These works from the last four years are played by their dedicatees, who completely inhabit the music, technically and musically. In Soliloquy VII, clarinettist Jérôme Comte uses multiphonics, slap-tonguing, half-tones and virtuoso curlicues in the service of a powerful musical imagination, which shines throughout the album.
Pianist Dimitri Vassilakis has two works: Catena II, where the six sections reflect different rhythmic, melodic and gestural preoccupations, coming together in the final movement; and Catena III, written in response to the pandemic. Hints of Messiaen in the opening gesture recur throughout, but the form is fractured, and the alternation between the melodic, the tentative and the irruptive reflect the uncertainty felt in those times. Simaku’s musical language is not tonal, but there are always signposts and anchor points to guide the ear.
Most attractive in terms of sheer sound is Soliloquy VIII, where Aurélien Gignoux’s marimba, either struck or bowed, is the main protagonist. There’s great beauty in the reflective middle section when other percussion instruments – notably the vibraphone – are introduced and the texture blossoms. Soliloquy IX, like Berio’s Trumpet Sequenza, uses piano resonance to create an aura around the instrument, with its long melodic lines exquisitely shaped by Clément Saunier.
Martin Cotton