Lace Knots
Janet Maguire

Lace Knots

New World Records 80602-2 ; Buy this CD

Spending much of her life in Europe, American composer Janet Maguire maintains a pronounced influence from the Darmstadt school of composers, especially Ligeti and Xenakis, which she seamlessly integrates into her own unique voice. An apt example is Lace Knots, which pairs Maguire's reductive (not minimalist) sense of pacing with a pure investigation into timbre. Whether writing for instruments or voice, the overall sonic atmosphere seems to be the predominant concern, and Maguire's ear for subtlety amplifies the effect. The sparse yet charged piano accompaniment to Cummings Lieder is striking and reveals a distinct tendency to let less be more—perhaps a useful mantra to those reluctant to let Maguire's music wash completely over them.

—RN

Cosi 5:57
Per Acqua 12:11
Lace Knots 6:45

Cummings Lieder
"of evident invisibles" 2:24
"Take for example this:" 3:10
"luminous tendril of celestial wish" 4:27
"now all the fingers of this tree(darling)have" 3:45

Invenzione 7:35
Inno a Dio 6:37
L'Altro Quartetto 7:36