Of course John Cage also wrote in this genre but Reynolds’ essay is the longest, most complex work this listener has encountered for solo percussionist with speaking duties. Frederic Rzewski’s “To the Earth” for speaking percussionist playing on clay flower pots comes to mind. Pieces for speaking pianist are getting more common in the last 20 years or so but pieces for speaking percussionist are far less common. The one work that does not fit that category pretty much needs it’s own category. Three of the four works here are “electroacoustic”, meaning that some form of electronics interacts with the performer. And, as mentioned, this beautifully designed set includes a decent set of liner notes to help navigate this voyage. It is not heavily dissonant or overly complex to the listener’s ear but his music presents unique challenges to performers. Much of his work, as is the case with most of this 2 CD set, is electroacoustic. That said, Reynolds’ music produces sounds that might be heard as romantic, expressionist, and even classical at times. His work is rarely easy listening but, even if you don’t get it on first hearing, his compositions tend to reveal weight and substance with repeated listenings. In some ways, Reynolds is unclassifiable but this writer finds him to be the consummate experimentalist and modernist, two aspects that appear to have been in his work from the very beginning. While listeners can certainly appreciate Reynolds’ work without those details, they add a dimension of understanding and provide contexts as well. The booklet jdesign by Karen Reynolds, Stacie Birky Greene, and producer Philip Blackburn is by itself, worth the price of this release. This is one of those gorgeous new music releases that will likely become one of those odd but much sought after collectibles. His studies in music and literature continued to be wide ranging and the fine liner notes by Thomas May in “For a Reason” are extremely useful in grasping the range of inspirations that inform Reynolds’ music. His father was an architect, Roger would go on initially to study engineering and then also encountered some of the new interest in experimental music at the ONCE Festival in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the early 60s. Reynolds has been a prolific composer, writer, and reader. This first encounter was a visceral experience, one of many I would encounter as I heard his subsequent music, and that of his contemporaries. I recall that the sound of this music sent chills up my spine and sent me to a record store to purchase a copy. The disc, released in 1969 on Nonesuch records documented performances of Frederic Myrow’s “Songs from the Japanese” (1964) paired with Reynolds’ “Quick are the Mouths of the Earth” (1965), a work that actually uses the text of the title to derive the music. I first encountered Reynolds’ music when I heard a broadcast of the first commercial recording of his music. And this is but a fraction of his musical works. The present recording is the most recent release documenting Reynolds’ music, now numbering about 30 CDs and DVDs. This prolific American artist’s work is being collected and preserved by the Library of Congress. Roger Reynolds (1934- ) turns 90 next year.
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