Brain Hulse's Pseudosynthesis Album Review
A Composer and Theorist's Take on the Process of Music
Oct 24, 2009
The title of the composer Brian Hulse's album Pseudosynthesis suggests a work about processes. A theorist as well as composer, his musical ideas shift between disjunct moods, playing with concepts and meanings.
"Pseudosynthesis," Hulse suggests, is a process of subterfuge and particularity. Like oil and water that are poured into a glass, shaken and set on the shelf to slowly separate again, any semblance of fully blending together ultimately fades away.
But all that theorizing distracts from enjoying the music for its own sake. Though Hulse provides some guidelines for interpreting his music, the best understanding comes through listening. And Hulse succeeds in giving his pieces personalities: moods, quirks, foibles and all.
Highlights from Pseudosynthesis: Works for Violin, Guitar, Piano and Flute
1. The album starts with a jolt, the discordant chords in "Pinch" seizing the attention like an abrupt poke in the ribs. The pianist Nathanael May infuses an impetuous personality into this piece composed especially for him.
2. The next piece showcases Duo46, a husband-wife ensemble with Beth Ilana Schneider-Gould on violin and Matt Gould on guitar. Given the uniqueness of the violin-guitar combination, the pair has had much of its repertoire built from scratch, performing numerous tailor-made works.
In five movements, "Seastone" is one of these commissions. The passionate Mediterranean-esque guitar patterns (especially prominent in the third movement) are inspired by the couple's own stint as faculty at the Eastern Mediterranean University in Cyprus.
3. "For Rumi" pays homage to the 13th-century Sufi poet Jelaluddin Rumi. The two movements, written for flute and piano, are aptly named "Lush" and "Joyful." Thomas Rozencrantz on piano and Lisa Cella on flute deliver an emotionally evocative performance.
4. "Sweat" is inspired by the works of Zora Neale Hurston. Echoing hints of gospel and blues, the piano and guitar duet is meant to recount Hurston's tale of black poverty in the rural South.
4. Hulse returns to Duo46 and pianist Nathaniel May in the final work on the album. With a rhythmically energetic first movement and a tranquil second movement, "Sunstone" represents two faces of the life-giving sun.
Brian Hulse: Composer, Professor and Theorist
In addition to composing chamber operas, chamber and choral works and film scores, Hulse is Assistant Professor of Music at William and Mary. His contributions to music theory include publications in Perspectives of New Music, the Dutch Journal of Music Theory and GAMUT. His current project is co-editing a book entitled Radical Difference: Deleuzian Perspectives on the Theory and Philosophy of Music.
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