Gavin Bryars - Hommages

Les Disques Du Crépuscule - LP

Belgium, 1981

After all these years avidly scrutinizing Les Disques Du Crépuscule's catalogue, delving into every modern classical-looking record I met along the way, how could I missed this one album by legend Gavin Bryars? Released shortly after his series of majestic recordings for Brian Eno's Obscure, Hommages, is slightly more lyrical and less brainy than "The Sinking of The Titanic" and "Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet". It's more tongue-in-cheek also, perfectly at home on the Belgian label, with track titles recalling those of Dominique Lawalrée. And like Dominique Lawalrée's music, it's tailor-made for late Sunday afternoons, after a soggy walk in Parc Royal. 

Three long and  slowly moving pieces - plus a short interlude - for marimba, vibraphone and an occasional tuba, led by Gavin Bryars deep piano chords, that reminds me of Janet Sherbourne's fantastic static piano epic Slower Than Molasses. Modal modern classical, I'd say. Gavin Bryars, who's known for his musical tours de force (the 40 sec clip of a man singing in the streets of New York City, used as the basis of the 24 min long "Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet"), here finds a perfect balance between the meticulously composed nature of the pieces and the offhandedness of the interpretation. 

The tunes are disarmingly simple but devastatingly evocative, blurring line between sadness and joy, pleasure and pain, carpe diem and memento mori, like still lives do. And that's probably what these four tunes are, musical still lives. (VG+ / VG+)