Pulse Works by John Adams, Craig Armstrong, Cage, Eastman, Philip Glass, Luke Howard, Jarrett, M Monk, Terry Riley et al Shani Diluka (piano) Warner Classics 5419730264 79:44 mins
Mixtapes – homemade compilations, progressing from cassette to CD – are an intimate art form, marking many a blossoming friendship. The format has recently been eclipsed by automated playlists, but technology cannot (yet) replace thoughtful curation. Hence this eclectic collection from Shani Diluka of pieces mainly for solo piano. The music is loosely themed by a reliance on the titular pulse; Philip Glass, Terry Riley and John Adams are there, naturally, alongside Craig Armstrong, Meredith Monk, Daft Punk and others. There’s also a piece – Shimmers – by Diluka, which twinkles with repetition, fitting well with its album counterparts.
Glass is a touchstone and his works are sprinkled throughout the programme. Diluka’s rubato in Metamorphosis One is effective, as is the impressionistic touch in the Opening from Glassworks. Chineke! Orchestra features on Julius Eastman’s The Holy Presence of Joan d’Arc, originally intended for multiple cellos and adapted here by Abel Saint Bris. It’s a dramatic rendering; Diluka pounds the rhythmic ostinato; the strings scrape theirs. Further adaptation comes with an imaginative version of Glass’s Etude No. 5 overlaid with the poem Paths That Cross (Patti Smith/Fred Smith) spoken by the pianist.
Claire Jackson