by Larry and Arlene Dunn
International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) bassoonist Rebekah Heller has released an exciting debut CD on Tundra Records, ICE’s own new label. Heller’s performance on this album affirms her as a leading voice reimagining the role of the bassoon in contemporary music. Leveraging ICE’s practice of collaborative commissions with noteworthy composers, 100 NAMES presents five wildly different works that probe the full range of sounds a bassoon can be coaxed to produce.
Opening with Edgar Guzman’s ∞¿? (2008), loud electronic static noise is paired with Heller’s provocative low blasts and sputtering high staccato notes. As the electronic drone repeats and morphs, Heller wails in a free-jazz riff reminiscent of Sam Rivers or Albert Ayler.
Marcelo Toledo’s Qualia II (2011) is full of the sounds of the Argentine jungle. And the jungle comes alive with the chirps of birds, animals scurrying in the underbrush, and the gurgle of a flowing river. [Read more…]