MATT ULERY - Sifting Stars
Woolgathering Records: WR005
Sifting Stars Orchestra - Matt Ulery: double bass, voice; Rob Clearfield: piano; Michael Caskey: percussion; Grazyna Auguseik, Katie Ernst: voice; Yvonne Lam, Jeff Yang: violins; Aurelius Pederzoli: violas; Nick Photinos: cellos; Michael Maccaderri: clarinets; Nathalie Joachim: flutes; Ben Roidl-Ward: bassoons; Andrew Nogal: oboes and English horns; Liz Deitmeyer: French horns; James Davis, Chad McCullough: trumpets; Steve Duncan, Chris Shuttleworth: trombones.
Axiom Brass – Dorival Puccini, Kris Hammond: trumpets; Melanie Erena Kjellsen: French horn; Mary Tyler: trombone; Kevin Harrison: tuba.
Recorded in 2018 in Chicago
This is a collection of tunes with cinematic sweep and a tale of ‘fantasy and redemption’. The opening three tracks have lyrics (printed in the sleeve), which are delivered with expressive candour by Auguseik (1,2) and Ernst (3). As with some of the other tunes here, their titles suggest a troubled soul (‘The remnant of everything’ [1], ‘Pictures in grey’ [2], ‘I’m so shallow’ [3], ‘The passage of time can be relentless and unforgiving’ [9], ‘I have such a clown face’ [10]). In the liner notes, Ulery says ‘when I reach in to the abstract space of musical possibilities, the tiny bit I can capture, I tend to get these transient melodies / rhythms and subsequent harmonies…’ What he does with the fragments is to construct impressive tapestries of sound that are very atmospheric and make full use of the instruments at Ulery’s disposal, and give each tune a warmth, even with the darkest of lyrics. There is a feeling of French chanson in the ways in which the warmth and darkness combine.
The opening track was commissioned and performed in another context but the subsequent pieces combine into a fully realised cycle of songs for the 16 member Sifting Stars Orchestra (on the first two tracks) and for a reduced ensemble on the last two. Clearfield’s piano emphasises the Romanticism of Ulery’s approach composition, keeping the balance between pathos and drama that the lyrics point to. Following this cycle, there is a six part suite for brass quintet ‘Ida’ (named after the painting ‘and into the world there came a soul called Ida’ by Ivan Albright). This also has had a previous life, as a commission for Axiom Brass, in 2017, who perform it here.
Throughout the two collections presented here, Ulery’s role seems to be very much that of composer, conductor and coordinator; his bass is well in the background, with the occasional arco or plucked accompaniment coming to the fore but mainly allowing the other instruments to create and mark the gently pulsing rhythms of the tunes. The composition and orchestration (for the large ensemble and the quintet) are beautifully worked out and the whole is a very impressive change of musical style for Ulery.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Woolgathering Records: WR005
Sifting Stars Orchestra - Matt Ulery: double bass, voice; Rob Clearfield: piano; Michael Caskey: percussion; Grazyna Auguseik, Katie Ernst: voice; Yvonne Lam, Jeff Yang: violins; Aurelius Pederzoli: violas; Nick Photinos: cellos; Michael Maccaderri: clarinets; Nathalie Joachim: flutes; Ben Roidl-Ward: bassoons; Andrew Nogal: oboes and English horns; Liz Deitmeyer: French horns; James Davis, Chad McCullough: trumpets; Steve Duncan, Chris Shuttleworth: trombones.
Axiom Brass – Dorival Puccini, Kris Hammond: trumpets; Melanie Erena Kjellsen: French horn; Mary Tyler: trombone; Kevin Harrison: tuba.
Recorded in 2018 in Chicago
This is a collection of tunes with cinematic sweep and a tale of ‘fantasy and redemption’. The opening three tracks have lyrics (printed in the sleeve), which are delivered with expressive candour by Auguseik (1,2) and Ernst (3). As with some of the other tunes here, their titles suggest a troubled soul (‘The remnant of everything’ [1], ‘Pictures in grey’ [2], ‘I’m so shallow’ [3], ‘The passage of time can be relentless and unforgiving’ [9], ‘I have such a clown face’ [10]). In the liner notes, Ulery says ‘when I reach in to the abstract space of musical possibilities, the tiny bit I can capture, I tend to get these transient melodies / rhythms and subsequent harmonies…’ What he does with the fragments is to construct impressive tapestries of sound that are very atmospheric and make full use of the instruments at Ulery’s disposal, and give each tune a warmth, even with the darkest of lyrics. There is a feeling of French chanson in the ways in which the warmth and darkness combine.
The opening track was commissioned and performed in another context but the subsequent pieces combine into a fully realised cycle of songs for the 16 member Sifting Stars Orchestra (on the first two tracks) and for a reduced ensemble on the last two. Clearfield’s piano emphasises the Romanticism of Ulery’s approach composition, keeping the balance between pathos and drama that the lyrics point to. Following this cycle, there is a six part suite for brass quintet ‘Ida’ (named after the painting ‘and into the world there came a soul called Ida’ by Ivan Albright). This also has had a previous life, as a commission for Axiom Brass, in 2017, who perform it here.
Throughout the two collections presented here, Ulery’s role seems to be very much that of composer, conductor and coordinator; his bass is well in the background, with the occasional arco or plucked accompaniment coming to the fore but mainly allowing the other instruments to create and mark the gently pulsing rhythms of the tunes. The composition and orchestration (for the large ensemble and the quintet) are beautifully worked out and the whole is a very impressive change of musical style for Ulery.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
