Gity Razaz: The Strange Highway

by Razaz / All-American Cello Band / Cuellar

Overview

This album collects various works by composer Gity Razaz, born in Tehran and resident in New York. They were written as far back as 2007 and as recently as 2020. BIS' engineers have done a fine job of fusing the diverse sound sources, two of them live (and one a rock music club), into a coherent whole, and it is great to have a group of this composer's works in one place. Razaz's music is rich in hue, rhapsodic, exploring the timbres of stringed instruments, augmented in a couple of cases by electronics. One might call it Neo-Expressionist, for it brings to mind what the young Schoenberg might have written if he had come along a century later (and not gone off into the serialist detour). The music has sharp contrasts between dense, violent passages and more melodic, rhapsodic episodes, and Razaz's personality persists between larger pieces, such as the title work for all-cello ensemble, as well as chamber pieces, and the electronics that appear in two works augment the sound palette rather than introducing a foreign element. The overall effect is perhaps spooky and personal, yet the music seems to fall into a long modern tradition, not just evoking Schoenberg but drawing inspiration from novelist Roberto Bolano (the title work) and Salvador Dali (the concluding Metamorphosis of Narcissus, for chamber orchestra and electronics). This is well worth checking out, and it seems likely to appeal even to listeners who generally avoid contemporary composition. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	08/05/2022
Label:	BIS
UPC:	7318590026342

Tracks

1. The Strange Highway for cello octet  -  All-American Cello Band  - Gity Razaz  - Ryan Streber
2. Duo for violin and piano~I. Variation  - Scott Cuellar  - Gity Razaz  - Ryan Streber  - Andrew Tripp  - Francesca dePasquale
3. Duo for violin and piano~II. Scherzo  - Scott Cuellar  - Gity Razaz  - Ryan Streber  - Andrew Tripp  - Francesca dePasquale
4. Legend of Sigh for cello, pre-recorded cello & electronics~Part One  - Gity Razaz  - Inbal Segev  - Ryan Streber
5. Legend of Sigh for cello, pre-recorded cello & electronics~Part Two  - Gity Razaz  - Inbal Segev  - Ryan Streber
6. Spellbound for solo viola  - Katharina Kang Litton  - Gity Razaz  - Ryan Streber
7. Metamorphosis of Narcissus for chamber orchestra and fixed electronics  - Richie Clarke  - Andrew Cyr  -  Metropolis Ensemble  - Gity Razaz  - Ryan Streber

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Katharina Kang Litton   Viola
All-American Cello Band   Ensemble
Francesca dePasquale   Violin
Gity Razaz   Electronics
Metropolis Ensemble   Ensemble
Andrew Cyr   Conductor
Scott Cuellar   Piano
Inbal Segev   Cello

Technical Credits

Ronald Andrew Schvarztman   Photography
Andrew Tripp   Engineer
Gity Razaz   Liner Notes,Composer
Ryan Streber   Recording Producer,Engineer,Editing,Mixing
Anna Lamberti   Liner Note Translation
Andrew Barnett   Typesetting
Joanna Wyld   Liner Notes
Robert Suff   Executive Producer
Daniel Martin Diaz   Cover Design
Roberto Bolano   Liner Notes
Arlette Lemieux-Chene   Liner Note Translation
Richie Clarke   Engineer