The Hermes Experiment is a chamber music ensemble, an experiment to be sure, consisting of soprano, harp, clarinet, and double bass. Given that makeup, the group is virtually compelled to commission new works, even beyond any desire to support contemporary composition. A corollary of this is that the composers involved are challenged to imagine music with a unique sonority, frequently with delightful results. This works best in the shorter works as composers forge discrete textures that balance these four disparate sounds. Listen to Emily Hall's opening I Am Happy Living Simply, a tonal but in absolutely no way derivative work, of anything at all. Its music reflects its artless lyric memorably. Oliver Leith's Uh Huh, Yeah, and Anna Meredith's Fin Like a Flower are other economical, unique standouts. There are also longer works that fit more easily into modern schools, but there isn't a dull moment. The performers are terrific. Soprano Héloïse Werner is very expressive within a circumscribed dynamic range, and clarinetist Oliver Pashley accomplishes the suggestion of electronic textures that some of the pieces seem to carry. This is recommended especially for listeners who want to try something completely new but are fearful of unfamiliarity: everything here is transparent.
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