THE WIRE MAGAZINE

"It is not so much the case of choosing more or less appropriate sounds, to decorate the house, as it is a case of 'building new universes with new sounds'. Composer Salvatore Sciarrino comments, without a trace of false modesty, on his role in creating what are sometimes called extended techniques for flute. They were originated by others, he concedes, but are rightly attributed to him because his compositions are a 'legitimisation of such sounds'. Two compositions by this master of modern music appear on Rome based flutist Manuel Zurria' stupendous double album.  Hotel Boltanski is conceptually as well as musically ambitious, its beguiling literary conceit underlying an outstanding selection of contemporary compositions. Again, Zurria presents "apocryphal versions" of pieces appropriated from other instruments. The result is a"a place for the soul, a small museum of wonders, my Wunderkammer". The title references French mixed-media artist Christian Boltanski. These wonders include works by Peter Ablinger, Beat Furrer, Toshio Hosokawa and Laurence Crane, as well as Sciarrino. The latter's "Come vengono...." must be the first known case of laughting flute, while his "Autostrada prima di Babilonia" has a tremulous intensity that rushes like the wind. Ablinger's long, silence-filled "Ohne Titel-Three Flutes" is a study in sound and duration. Other highlights are Hosokawa's violently percussive "Sen I" for bass flute and temple bells, and Furrer's fractured, explosive "Invocation VI" for bass flute with vocalist Giulia Peri. Zurria expands the repertoire for modern flute by his method of appropriation. This amazing release show how much of human life the flute can embrace or emulate.

 

           Andy Hamilton