courtesy of Microfest Records
In May of 2019, I wrote about May the Bridges I Burn Light My Way, a two-CD survey of compositions by Jeffrey Holmes, released by MicroFest Records. At the end of last year, MicroFest released a new Holmes album, Rider of Darkness, Path of Light. Amazon.com has only created a Web page for MP3 downloads, but the good news is that the full download includes a PDF file of the booklet prepared to accompany the recording. According to MicroFest’s own Buy Web page, the album is only being released in digital form, which is probably just as well given the potential uncertainties in physical delivery during current pandemic conditions.
In my 2019 article I suggested that, where microtonality is concerned, Holmes’ interest may “have more to do with his Nordic descent than with the sorts of influences that inspired, for example, Lou Harrison’s approach to just intonation.” The booklet for Rider of Darkness, Path of Light includes a biographical statement, which left me wondering in Holmes had read what I had written in 2019. Here is his one-paragraph summary from the booklet:
Jeffrey Holmes composes post-spectral, teleological music incorporating elements of mysticism and lyrical expression. His creative inspiration is rooted in primitive myths, transcendent legends, and dramatic elemental landscapes in their primal and violent natural states. As a traditionalist, he composes music for acoustic orchestral instruments, using standard notational methods; as a formalist, he works within a complex and unique non-octave diatonic, chromatic, and microtonal language; as a transcendentalist, he combines the inherent abstraction of sound with a greater meaning and possibility of interpretation through the use of lyricism and overt expression.
From his own statement I would suggest that Holmes is not afraid to be adventurously eclectic across a wide range of approaches to both compositions and performance.
The new album presents four compositions, each with a title in Old Norse, which is also the language for the two vocal selections, the first and last pieces on the recording. Personally, I have to say that I am drawn primarily to the diversity of sonorities across the entire album. In writing about the 2019 release, I raised the issue of “slimy chromaticism,” which arises when microtones are deployed horizontally, rather than vertically. This continues to be an issue in Holmes’ second album, but I came away feeling that this particular device was not overplayed quite as much. Instead, I found myself drawn to the extent to which the “palette” of sonorities differed from one composition to the next, uncovering new ways to deploy both instrumental and vocal performances.
As a result, I am less inclined to turn to the booklet in order to “decode” Old Norse texts (either sung or in titles) and quite content to follow Holmes journey into explored spaces of sonorities.
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