The simply titled Çedille album Fred features three compositions of expatriate American master
Frederic Rzewski played by Chicago-based contemporary music ensemble
eighth blackbird. Although
Rzewski has never signed a high-profile recording deal, he has managed to place his works with smaller firms going back into the 1960s. As a result, most of his output has been recorded in one way or another, often with top-notch ensembles such as
eighth blackbird. The playing is crisp, accurate, and faithful to the letter of
Rzewski's mixture of specific and open-ended instructions.
The key work on Fred is
Rzewski's Pocket Symphony, "pocket" sized only in respect to the diminutive dimensions of
eighth blackbird, for whom it was written in 2000. Pocket Symphony is a very ensemble-friendly commission, as everyone in the group gets to show off a little.
Rzewski is not afraid to evoke Romantic gestures in order to state his aims, and sometimes the music nods to examples such as
Milhaud and
Stravinsky. The only misstep in the Pocket Symphony is its conclusion, which sputters out in a pointillistic breakdown reminiscent of some student compositions of the 1970s -- oh no, we've run out of music, but there's still some paper left; here's some little doodads one can follow until the finish. The professor awards the work as a whole an "A," but the ending only merits a C minus.
Les Moutons de Panurge is an open score that can be played by any pitched instruments, but it seems best suited to percussion. This realization by
eighth blackbird, with its mixed winds, strings, piano, and single percussionist, cannot help but be a little low voltage. In its live performances, the Percussion Group of Cincinnati were capable of keeping Les Moutons de Panurge going for nearly 20 minutes, but here
eighth blackbird settles for 12. It is not the performers, however, who scuttle
eighth blackbird's realization of Coming Together, but the recording, which does not provide enough presence to the spoken voices to render them truly intelligible. Given that the musical setting is monotonous, the whole thing just becomes annoying after a while.
Despite Fred, we can expect more great things from
eighth blackbird, and even from
Rzewski. This is just one of those instances where the package, performer, composer, and choice of literature all seem ideal, but the result does not yield a reward in keeping with its promise.