ELLIOTT CARTER (b.1908): Music of, Vol. 8 - Horn Concerto (Martin Owen [horn]), Wind Rose for Wind Ensemble, Sound Fields for String Orchestra (BBC Symphony Orchestra; Oliver Knussen), On Conversing with Paradise for Baritone and Ensemble (Leigh Melrose [baritone], Birmingham Contemporary Music Group; Knussen), Mad Regales for Chorus (BBC Singers), Tintinnabulation for 6 Percussionists (New England Conservatory Percussion Ensemble; Frank Epstein), Retracing for Bassoon (Peter Kolkay), Clarinet Quintet (Charles Neidich [clarinet], Juilliard String Quartet), Figment V for Marimba (Simon Boyar), La Musique for Soprano (Lucy Shelton), Retracing III for Trumpet (Jon Nelson), Due Duetti for Violin and Cello (Rolf Schulte [violin], Fred Sherry [cello]), Figment III for Double Bass (Donald Palma), Figment IV for Viola (Hsin-Yun Huang), Retracing II for Horn (William Purvis), 9 Poems of Louis Zukofsky (Shelton [soprano], Charles Neidich [clarinet]).

Description: This centennial celebration features 16 compositions, all from the past decade, eloquent testimonial to the undimmed inventiveness and exuberance of the affable genius depicted in a delightful photograph on the cover, beaming at a 100th birthday cake. The horn concerto is typical of Carter's recent music; while vigorously discursive and constantly active, textures are more open, less complex than in former years; there is a notable emphasis on melody amidst a thorough investigation of the horn's technical and expressive capabilities. Tintinnabulation is intriguing: 65 percussion instruments played by six players, excluding instruments of precise pitch (written by a 98-year-old composer!). This challenging concept gives rise to a characteristic Carter score in which the interplay of layers of material - here predominantly timbral in identity - achieves a lively dialogue between distinct 'characters'. The marvelous paired studies for winds and strings respectively, show Carter at 100 still trying new ideas; these restrained 'color field' works rely on timbral contrasts and extracted pitch-groups from within 12-note chords to produce still, calm yet shifting, varied landscapes full of mystery, contemplated in wondering serenity. In recent years the composer has produced numerous little instrumental miniatures, with his characteristic interplay of contrasting layers or voices from one instrument, of which the Figments and Retracings, the latter extracting material from earlier works recast as solo monologues, are typical examples. The clarinet quintet shares the sense of lively dialogue that characterizes the previous year's horn concerto, with a warmly lyrical tone overall. Revisiting his beloved poets in ever new song cycles (some too recent even to be included in this set!) has been another preoccupation of Carter's later years, and we have here superbly characterized, idiomatic settings of widely varied texts by John Asbery, Baudelaire, Pound and Louis Zukovsky, each as different in character as their poetic inspiration. 2 CDs.