ALBRECHT IMBESCHEID (b.1950): Farben der Stille, KAIJA SAARIAHO (b.1952): Nymphea, MORTON FELDMAN (1926-1987): For Frank O'Hara, TORU TAKEMITSU (1930-1996): Rain Spell, SCOTT ROLLER (b.1959): Serraval.

Description: The title of the CD "Colours of silence" is a bit misleading, as only one piece - the Feldman - really explores the nuances of the 'flat surface with a minimum of contrast' best exemplified in music by Cage's 4'33". Roller's brief character pieces range between the contemplative aand the vigorously dramatic, while Takemitsu's work, part of a series concerned with water, has a flow and constantly changing texture; there is plenty of color, as usual with this composer, but never silence. Saariaho's exquisite electroacoustic work expands the nuances of string sounds through live electronic manipulation; fragments of melody blend with one-dimensional laters of textured sound to create a complex web of constantly shifting sonority. Imbescheid's piece begins with a shock, the reverberations of which seem to permeate the remainder of the work's six movements, which range from the inward-looking to the uneasy stillness of pent-up potential energy, to overt action, even violence. Inventive instrumentation and explicit tonal referents within a predominantly modern idion add to the work's forceful sense of drama. Ensemble Gelber Klang. SACD hybrid.