Barium cs519

Large scale improvisation of the most subtle nature from Portugal's Isotope Ensemble led by Ernesto Rodrigues, 17 musicians slowly unfolding this beautiful work of consonance and dissonance dedicated to element atomic number 56, recording live at O'Culto da Ajuda in Lisbon with instrumentation including acoustic reeds, strings, brass, percussion, and electronics. (Squidco)

"Barium" is a little short and a little more acoustic, but still phenomenal! The concept is similar: a slow crescendo and then diminuendo of free minimal music with plenty of electronic accent, incredible spacial dimension, and amazing synergy. This time my favorite individual performers are Bruno Parrinha on bass clarinet and Anna Piosik on trumpet. Andre Hencleeday is also worth noticing. 55 minutes of pure delight with a heartbreaking final for a person like me. In fact, for a person like me these albums are among the best examples of the contemporary electro-acoustic music, comparable say to Evan Parker's Electro-Acoustic Ensemble, and so on. Maciej Lewenstein