TOMAS BRUTTGER (b.1954): Light, Reflection, Zyma, Monolith, Effervescence, Twilight, Recherche, Identity and Difference, Prisma, Zerklüftete Landschaft - mit "Zwielicht".

Description: These ensemble works, spanning a decade and a half, employ an evolving compendium of resources, culminating in the incorporation of spectrally-derived timbres in the most recent, large-ensemble works, Light, Reflection, and Twilight. The fruits of his earlier studies with Xenakis are apparent throughout in the dense, highly structured textures, though Bruttger's blocks of sound are lighter, shimmering intersecting planes rather than the violently colliding tectonic blocks frequently preferred by the older composer. The references to light in several titles is important; the reflection and refraction of light finds many analogous processes in Bruttger's music, and spatial disposition of sound sources, and their interaction with room acoustics, as in the kaleidoscopic Zyma with its separated percussion ensembles surrounding the piano, have obvious parallels in the behavior of reflected light. Monolith has the most Xenakis-like textures and processes; the ensemble follows the example of Varèse's Octandre, another apparent influence on Bruttger. The earliest piece here, Recherche shows the composer seeking a personal language by exploring various organizational and timbral parameters in each of the work's five movements; the material is revisited ten years later in the rhapsodic wind trio, with greater emphasis on melodic structures and a far fuller exploration of overtone-based timbres. The string quartet Prisma is the 'light' piece par excellence, with material built from filtered sound spectra and reflective patters organizing the piece's structure and organization of material. 2 CDs. Ensemble Aventure.