While the disc's title may be misleading given that, of the two works performed here, "For Samuel Beckett" encompasses some 51 minutes and "The Turfan Fragments" only 27, don't let that put you off; it's a splendid recording by the vaunted S.E.M. Ensemble under the direction of Peter Kotik.
As has been mentioned by other commentators, "For Samuel Beckett", one of Feldman's last compositions, seems to have existed prior to one's first perception of its sounds, as though one has opened a door onto a pre-existent scene, a breathing, organic thing that has been pulsing and throbbing for quite some time. The piece has a wholeness, a singularity of being that's unusual and mightily impressive. The chamber orchestra, by virtue of its limited palette, eliminates any chance of ponderousness, instead treading rather lightly, imparting a certain degree of airiness into the work, as though the creature, though large and imposing, is capable of flotation. This recording has a somewhat more ethereal quality than that of the Ensemble Moderne conducted by Arthur Tamayo on hat ART; whether one prefers that disc's relative richness to Kotik's version is a matter of taste. Both are excellent.
"The Turfan Fragments" (1980), based on ancient manuscripts found in that region of southwest China, is indeed composed of a series of short sections. The mood is somewhat more agitated than one normally encounters in late Feldman, strings lightly and rhythmically squawking in their upper registers, little sense of any underlying matrix out of which the sounds emerge, none of the "wooliness" of the preceding track. Its scattered nature makes for less luxuriant listening than one might expect, but its individual elements are often fascinating (occasionally with a surprising nod toward Minimalism), creating a kind of patchwork , as though Feldman thought there was some entirety to portray, but in all honesty could only limn it partially, in fragments, leaving its fullness for the listener to imagine.
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