DASHOW Soundings in Pure Duration Nos. 7,1 8,2 9,3 10. ….at other times, the distances • 1Enzo Filippetti (alt sax); 2Nicholas Isherwood (bbar); 3Manuel Zurria (bs fl); electronic sounds • RAVELLO 8063 (DVD Audio: 88:46 )

This audio DVD’s title is James Dashow Soundings In Pure Duration Vol 2. I have not encountered Dashow (b. 1944) before, but his 12 Fanfare Archive entries brim over with unstinting praise from Mike Silverton (“a composer of superior gifts”), Robert Kirzinger, and Colin Clarke (“mesmerizing … the electronics ever beautiful in Dashow’s music”), going back to Fanfare 13:6. Clarke reviewed Volume 1 of Soundings in Pure Duration in 45:5. These “final four” were written from 2014 to 2020.

Throughout the late-20th century, electronic music suffered from one basic problem: It always sounded electronic; attempts to match the sounds of musical instruments invariably fell flat. Dashow breaks the pattern; his electronics can and do (when he wants them to) sound amazingly close to instrumental ensembles: an infinite variety of percussion, large and small, occasional emphases on woodwind color, the feel of deep bells. All of this helps them interact with solo instruments, as they do in two of these pieces (interaction with the human voice is less predictable).

Dashow wields his magic wand with incredible dexterity and virtuosity. The impression received is that he is as capable and as confident in his electronic world as was Berlioz in his instrumental one. It is interesting to compare Dashow’s electronics with Klas Torstensson’s chamber orchestra (reviewed in this issue): Dashow’s sonorities are richer, sweeter; Torstensson’s music is deeper, more rewarding in the long run. Both sound gorgeous on my five-channel surround-sound system. The earlier (1999) ….at other times, the distances is warmer but less atmospheric than the Soundings in Pure Duration.

All the music is presented in two versions: “5.0 surround mixes” (the Soundings mixed down from their original eight channels, ....at other times mixed [up?] from four) and “widened stereo mixdowns.” The listener makes a choice at the start. I was so enraptured by the surround sound that I couldn’t get myself to drop down to mere stereo. One problem I had was trouble following bass-baritone Nicholas Isherwood’s words, even with the (miniscule!) texts; I’m not sure why. James H. North