Canadian ensemble Quatuor Bozzini are out with thew album Owen Underhill: Songs and Quartets, and it is the classical music legacy that this production revolves around. I presume that chamber music will be the specific category of choice here, and the compositions here are creation that to my mind at least blend aspects of old traditions with more contemporary oriented details. The string section is obviously in the limelight here, with two four part instrumental compositions providing ample space and room for the instrumentalists to play around with conventional movements as well as subtly dissonant and off kilter sounds and surges, and with a recurring use of what might be described as a drone like string section combination that adds a different vibe to these constructions. We also get two compositions that revolve a bit more around vocal displays, and here the strings are bit more toned down as well as being used in more of a careful and light toned manner, and combined with the controlled, careful and at times borderline ethereal vocals this creates a more sacral or religious mood and atmosphere for these two works. An album to seek out if classical music revolving around the string sections and a more contemporary and experimental take on the chamber music tradition is a kind of material you tend to enjoy.
