Fanfare Magazine, Issue 39:3 January/February 2016

This short-length disc is the first in PnOVA's American Composers series, all of which are scheduled to be performed by respected UK pianist Martin Jones, well known for his recordings on Nimbus (he has recorded on a number of other labels as well, including Metronome and Lyrita).

Bruce Mahin is professor of music at Radford University. The 12 pieces here explore what the composer calls “bi-quartal harmonies,” in which harmonies are made using two layers: three perfect fourths in the upper stratum, two notes a fourth apart in the lower. The interval relationships between upper and lower strata set up the levels of consonance or dissonance. Like Bach, Chopin, and Debussy before him (so say the booklet notes), Mahin uses the form of the prelude to explore new harmonies. These harmonies can be remarkably jazz-like (as in the case of No. 2), while others can refer to the French Impressionists. Mahin's pieces seem perfectly to live up to the description of “Prelude,” in that they are concise (the longest is No. 11, but even that is less than four minutes) and essentially non-developmental. There is a particular poignancy to some of the Préludes: No. 5 springs to mind, with its deep-bass tolling, cantus firmus-like idea against registrally separated activity in the right hand, while the more jazz-oriented harmonies of No. 10 conjure up more autumnal spaces.

Only four of the Préludes have tempo indicators faster than Moderato (there are in fact five preludes marked Moderato), and one of those is split between Largo and Vivace (No. 12). This is reflective music, but music that is exploratory too.

At only 2:43, Prélude No. 7 punches way above its weight, speaking of vast spaces while invoking something of a Debussian sound-world, while the final prelude seems to seek to sum up the cycle as a whole. Martin Jones is the ideal interpreter. There is never any sense of less than total involvement in the music on hand, and throughout the impression of total concentration is palpable.

My copy is marked “357 of 500” and is signed by the composer, but there is nothing in the accompanying documentation or anything on the web I can find that indicates this is a limited run. Fascinating.

Colin Clarke