The Arts Desk

It’s all in the name: the six volumes of Bartók’s Mikrokosmos were indeed the model for Afrikosmos, a sequence of 75 short pieces by South African composer Michael Blake (b. 1951). As with the Bartók, Blake’s epic work is a six-volume compendium of studies, dances and character pieces in ascending order of technical difficulty, Blake seeking to explore “the range of traditional music in sub-Saharan Africa”.

Each of the three discs in this set can be listened to as a discrete hour-long programme, Blake further categorising the pieces into groups which include birdsong, work and domestic songs, ‘Experiments, Signposts and Places’ and what he describes as “musical nuts and bolts.”

Blake’s lucid, detailed sleeve notes are fascinating, but I’d suggest just diving in and listening. Begin listing your favourite numbers and you’ll need several sheets of paper. Homages to Grieg and Percy Grainger on the first disc are delightful, Blake later paying tribute to figures as diverse as Bach, Puccini and Kurtag. “The Diary of a Dung Beetle: is a propulsive nod to Bartók’s own “From the Diary of a Fly”, pianist Antony Gray whistling half way though.

The four pieces based on popular music which appear early on the second disc are fun, their business and energy in stark contrast to the sparseness of numbers like “Distant Cowbells”. Blake is fascinated by rhythmic and harmonic patterns, “Weave” sounding exactly like someone absent-mindedly fiddling with a thumb piano. The third disc includes tributes to Satie and Henry Cowell and several fascinating studies based on modes and differing intervals, the set closing with variations on a South African protest song.

It’s all marvellous, and if any pieces really catch your ear, you can inspect, buy and download the sheet music from Blake’s website. Gray is a persuasive advocate, and Divine Art’s engineering has atmosphere and impact.

—Graham Rickson