CRI.(Review)

Ludger Brummer: CRI

Compact disc, 1996, Akademie der Kunste/Production Sender Freies Berlin, edel 0014522TLR; available from Akademie der Kunste, Hanseatenweg 10, D-10557 Berlin-Tiergarten, Germany; telephone +30 390-76-0; electronic mail info@adk.de; World Wide Web www.adk.de

CRI was produced at the studios of the Berlin Akademie der Kunste (commissioner of the piece) in 1995. It includes a dexterous use of samples of children screaming and playing. A phase vocoder was utilized to change the spectra. One interesting aspect of the piece consists of long, tension-creating crescendi which are then dissipated by the use of sudden accents. The sonorities are rich and striking. The extended crescendo after the initial pause is enticing and magical. It gives the impression of whale sounds, submerged tones like mating calls in suspended animation. The suspense is abruptly broken after four minutes, the sounds now grinding and caressing at the same time. The second part develops these haunting sounds, teasing in the upper spectrum. Remote voices are embedded within trembling tones. The last part presents a low rumble, almost at the threshold of hearing. A good start for an impressive, climactic ending, the voices still calling ("crying") from inside dense textures. This is sample-based musique concrete at its best.

The Gates of H. was created at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), Stanford University, in 1993. It was derived from a 120-msec sample of a folk song performed by a female choir. This piece has a completely different sonic atmosphere from CRI, with a highly contrasted dynamic profile. Particularly appealing is the initial hypnotic quasi-breathing rhythm, ...