Search - Gavin Bryars, Fretwork, Hilliard Ensemble :: Bryars: Cadman Requiem, Adnan Songbook, etc. / Hilliard Ensemble, Fretwork

Gavin Bryars's Cadman Requiem is a somber work, even allowing for its genre. Written for Bill Cadman, a longtime friend of Bryars who died in the 1988 Lockerbie airline bombing, the piece makes miles of thoughtful power out of wavering, long string tones that act as a backdrop for astounding vocals from the Hilliard Ensemble. The slowed physical motions emphasize the piece's gravity, and the strings are scripted just in line with the voices, favoring the low end with bruising effect. There are fearful, almost panic-rich moments, but each recedes into long tenor-range lines that stretch to the sonic horizon. Having written such similarly somber pieces as Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet and The Sinking of the Titanic, Bryars is no stranger to extended works; but here he juxtaposes his Requiem with eight love poems from Etel Adnan. Sung by soprano Valdine Anderson, these works get their force from the casual eroticism and passion of their language as much as from the vocal delivery. Their opulence is unmistakable and strangely in line with the CD's opener. The guitar-framed episodes of "Epilogue from Wonderlawn," which the composer scripted for choreographer Laurie Booth, close out this magnificent collection. What excellent proof it offers that Bryars, who's labeled "difficult" by many, can write for the broadest of audiences and still be meaningful. --Andrew Bartlett