CD – 12K

Here we find sweet and iterated melodies and rarefied envelopes of contemporary chamber music. Kenneth Kirschner is an artist well-known for his unusual elegance and the epic length of his compositions, which in this case extends beyond the usual format of the compact disk (Compressions) and includes a supplementary five hours of music as a digital download (Rarefactions). Also included is a booklet with essays about Kirschner’s music produced by Marc Weidenbaum, Simon Cummings, Mike Lazarev and Kysa Johnson, visual artists that, together with Taylor Deupree, are responsible for the fine artwork. The title of the track implies a connection with the physics of sound. Pressure waves, which need air as a physical medium for transmission, are here perceived as enduring different degrees of density and distribution, a juxtaposition of extreme contrasts. The soundscapes evoked are very intense in their microtonality, which is constantly changing and melodious. This microtonality is the result of digital manipulations; with acoustic instruments it would not be possible to obtain certain infinitesimal intonations. Tuned percussion (bells, glockenspiel and xylophone), layers of overlapping sounds, harmonic complexity and polyphony, silence and more tense sequences, the kindness of a viola: these are all part of a masterful work by an artist that can be considered one of the gurus of a new classical blueprint, continuing the tradition of composers of the 20th century and pushing beyond its own limits. Time is the master of things and for Kirschner these are particular temporal elements that succeed each other in mysteriously evocative and alluring ways, marking another resplendent success for 12K Records.

 

12K | Kenneth Kirschner – Compressions & Rarefactions