Lior Navok: Meditations Over Shore

The Spanish Songs, for soprano, bassoon and chamber orchestra - After two poems by Antonio Machado (1998) (a)

V5 - Quintet for Vibraphone and Strings (1994) (b)

The Sea of Sunset - After a poem by Emily Dickinson (1995) (c)

Rememberances of Jerusalem - Prelude and Variations for Guitar (1995) (d)

Meditations Over Shore - for solo quartet, double chamber chorus, large double chorus, harmonica, percussion and piano (1997) (e)

Monica Garcia-Albea, soprano, Minako Taguchi, bassoon, Lior Navok, conductor (a) -- Mathew Masie, vibraphone, Miguel Pérez-Espejo, violin, Ayako Gamo, violin, Katherine Vincent, viola, Damien Ventula, cello (b) -- Jennifer Ashe, soprano, Tucker Dulin, trombone, Michael Bullock, double bass, Lior Navok, piano (c) -- William Riley, guitar (d) -- Sun Ae Ko, soprano,, Jayne Flores, alto, Michael McCown, tenor, David Howse, bass, Mike Turk, harmonica, Eliko Akahori, piano, Jessica Cooper & Timur Rubinshteyn, percussion, New England Conservatory Chorus and Chamber Singers, Tamara Brooks, conductor (e)

2001. NLP Records / Lior Navok

It is high time to deviate a bit from the path of well-established repertoire in these pages. And in the realm slightly off the classical music highway, an album worthy of closer inspection is composer Lior Navok's (born 1971) Meditations Over Shore. Navok, a new name in composition for most, myself included, has commited a group of highly fascinating and diverse works onto disc, and the result is deserving of wide attention and praise. The composer, a student of John Harbison, recently received his doctor degree from the New England Conservatory - and has been in the receiving end of numerous awards, prizes and commisions. The talent he is displaying for different musical expressions and formats on this disc, is realized with dedication by the recording musicians.

The Spanish Songs are musical settings on two poems by Antonio Machado, forming the entrance to a disc where the elusive, dreamlike and contemplative play an integral part. The orchestral songs are interestingly enough scored for soprano and bassoon. The support of a lead instrument for the solo voice is well established, I need only mention Strauss in his Beim Schlafengehen or Bach in his Erbarme Dich Mein Gott from the St. Matthew's Passion. In both instances the instrument of choice comes from the strings department, but Navok's choice of the bassoon is not only original, it is very fitting along side Monica Garcia-Albea's soprano. Her's is a performance I can only admire. Her soprano is wonderfully clear and conveys the words and overall mood of the poetry to perfection with such sensitive phrasing.

The two Spanish Songs are alltogether truly enjoyable, as is Navok's setting of Emily Dickinson's The Sea of Sunset. Soprano Jennifer Ashe's sensual manner of singing takes delight in the very sounding of the words making music of the lyrics themselves. Navok's talent for setting music to words is manifested by his suggestive abilities, not narrowing the meaning or potential of the words themselves.

There is also present, a set of variations on a prelude for sologuitar played with a fine sense of rythmic variation and articulation by William Riley, and a larger choral piece, lending its name to the record. Meditations Over Shore is an etheric one movement work that made me dig out a recording of Ligeti's Lux Aeterna. The works are hardly close relatives, but the transparency of the choruses, and the interwoven solovoices, depicting something in flux yet constant, are to be found also in Tamara Brooks' realization of Navok's piece. Meditations Over Shore is however anchored in this world like a daydream in the garden, by a pianovoice and also a harmonica, bringing us back from the climax quite sympathetically. My favorite piece on the disc would still be the V5 - Quintet for Vibraphone and Stringquartet. The opening bars of the lingering transparent first part are sublime. The weaving of the voices from the individual strings and the vibraphone throughout a finely composed landscape of calm and more temperamental parts is impressive, bringing out some fine playing by the musicians both through their individual instruments and as a tight and precise ensemble.

All in all this disc has left a favorable impression, and has at its best, in the songs and the quintet qualities deserving acclaim and wide attention. Lior Navok is clearly a composer of genuine talent, and I shall look forward to future encounters be it in the concerthall or on record.

- The images are taken from the CD-booklet and the composer's website

© 2001 arne.mork@yahoo.com