CD: Aisha Orazbayeva - The Hand Gallery | reviews, news & interviews
CD: Aisha Orazbayeva - The Hand Gallery
CD: Aisha Orazbayeva - The Hand Gallery
Elvis, Reich and John Cale - natural bedfellows?
It seems that the gradual leakage of avant-garde-post-classical-call-it-what-you-will music from the rarefied environment of concert halls and into the spaces traditionally inhabited by alternative and club music is now inexorable. And violinist Aisha Orazbayeva is one of the instrumental (pun intended) figures in this move from trickle to flood.
A similar process takes place on this record. The PRAH label, an offshoot of leftfield pop imprint Moshi Moshi, is focused on boundary breaking, and following killer albums of drone (Bryce Hackford) and cello (Oliver Coates) experiments, they let Orazbayeva demonstrate the cultural range of her voice and instrument. The opening shot is perfect – 16 minutes of the multitracked repetitions of Steve Reich's “Violin Phase” die away, then comes a performance of Elvis Presley's “Harbour Lights” entirely for voice and pizzicato. There's no dramatic conceit to the juxtaposition, no post-modern smirk, just a musician's ear for how an album should be programmed to keep the listener's interest.
So it goes on. Two parts of Morton Feldman's “For Aaron Copland” are made up of single, isolated, stroked or scraped notes – yet with a subdued and intimate romanticism to them. A vocal solo of John Cale's “Baby You Know,” showing off a fine soul-pop voice, goes into the mechanical drone abstraction of “Aloise,” then returns to an instrumental version of the Cale song to end the album – and again, it makes sense, not for the outlandishness of the combination but for the absolute naturalness of it. We should be thankful to instrumentalists and curator like Orazbayeva for constantly pushing home the fact that disciplined playing and fierce intellect are no barriers to music that works on a very basic, pleasurable level.
Overleaf: Hang Out With Aisha Orazbayeva and see her play "For Aaron Copland"
rating
Share this article
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
Add comment