|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
review by Bill Binkelman Stephen Van Handel, an electronic keyboard artist last heard from in the early '90s, has recently resurfaced and re-released his three albums from that period (while working on new material). This recording is one of them. Chiaroscuro is a term which (according to The American Heritage Dictionary) means "the technique of using light and shade in pictorial representation." You'll frequently see the term used in photography or cinematography critiques/analyses. Here, Van Handel's use of it indicates that this music has a certain duality to it, that of light and dark. Chiaroscuro is a remarkable musical achievement which doesn't show its age at all. If you didn't look at the year of release on the CD, you'd be hard-pressed to discern this as anything but a current era album. It's also a rather unique album, as it melds many classical music motifs, themes, and textures (and a few non-classical elements) into a one-of-a-kind musical statement. Instrumentation is frequently orchestral in nature, such as flutes, woodwinds, brass, strings, harp, percussion and piano. In fact, more than once, I thought to myself "Is that a real orchestra playing?" Listen to the tension-filled opening track, "The Calling" and tell me that, at times, you don't have the same reaction. As a result, fans of classical music will find a lot more here to their liking than, for example, EM lovers or ambient-philes. This is not a knock on the recording in the least, just a statement that Van Handel's music entertains sounds, instruments, and compositional similarities to classical miniatures, chamber music pieces, and even more dramatic forms in that genre. That said, I enjoyed the album the more I played it, as it revealed the artist's depth of feeling, his broad composing talent as he juxtaposed high drama with subtlety and nuance, and his unique way of layering his keyboards and integrating traditional sounding instruments with non-traditional ones. Opening with the haunting "The Calling" (orchestral strings, solo flute, and exquisite tension in the refrain), the album moves on to "Only Orange Skies," a tender slice of melancholy, again dominated by a solo flute line, this time accompanied by a delicate plucked harp strings. Later, the flute dances playfully in the upper registers, almost as if it were taunting the strings, and the darker mood is lifted in concert with the emergence of a solo violin. "Chanson and Incidental" unites piano and violins, along with synth bells and a sampled concertina. The piece evokes the sensation of walking down a Parisian street. As the track picks up pace, Van Handel begins to demonstrate the ability to combine all sorts of sounds and textures - the concertina, hand claps, harp, bells - to craft a "whole" that is both dramatic and joyful. This piece is also superbly mixed. "Mystagogue" opens delicately but moves into more forceful terrain with rapid tempo percussion on assorted hand drums, along with vaguely Spanish-flavored modalities in the melodic elements. And that's barely the first third of the album, folks! There's an appropriately mournful and elegiac "Adagio" played on ultra-realistic strings samples. The title track, the longest one at eleven-plus minutes, begins amidst dark fanfare, march-like snare drum beats, pounding timpani, and powerful horn crescendos, but eventually moves into shadowy territory. Van Handel shows he can compose without the use of "traditional" instruments as well, here working with somber washes of keyboards and funeral church bell tones. "World Says,..." offers up dramatic world fusion soundscapes and rhythms, driven by pulsing African/Middle Eastern hand percussion and brief high speed melodic runs on assorted instruments, notably lower register piano (along with, I swear, the same instrument that was used in the soundtrack to Altered States which sounds like an eerie tribal wind instrument of some sort). 'nuff said. Chiaroscuro may not be to everyone's taste, although it's not in the least bit inaccessible, harsh, experimental or avant garde in any overt way. Yes, it is not traditional "pop music" in the use of verse/verse/chorus/bridge. And it is not merely electronic "traditional" classical music, a la the recording Tristesse from Paul Sauvanet, since it (i.e. Chiaroscuro) hews closer to 20th century neo-classical (you may hear echoes of Philip Glass on the closing song, "Prestissimo") as well as containing non-classical musical elements . However, the artist liberally uses refrain and theme throughout the CD. Tonalities are both major and minor, although I'd say it tends to the latter. By turns dramatic and sweeping, haunting and beautiful, and sprightly and playful, what this album excels at is faultless engineering, incredible depth of feeling, remarkable use of realistic orchestral sounds, and enough variety to keep you interested through God only knows how many playings (I'm probably on my twentieth by now). Stephen Van Handel is, arguably, one of the most unique artists in any genre. Recommended. |
|
