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The Clarinet

Features and Formations is a celebration of the works and compositional techniques of British composer Gwyn Pritchard (b. 1948), and performed by Ensemble ö!, a Swiss based contemporary music ensemble. Pritchard combines planning and spontaneity quite beautifully, while often composing using an algorithmic sequence generator to lay the foundation for musical creativity and exploration.

Pritchard’s 2018 clarinet quintet Realms Apart is the first on the album, and features Manfred Spitaler, the ensemble’s clarinetist, along with principal conductor Francesc Prat. Unlike most clarinet quintets, this work is performed with the clarinet and the string quartet facing each other with over six feet between them. The work begins with a cluster of low string chords followed by intense, speedy altissimo by Spitaler. This conversation continues throughout the piece, with Spitaler using the entire range of the clarinet while the strings explore the vast possibilities of technical and timbral techniques available to them. Calling, written for pianist Asia Ahmetjanova, similarly showcases animated spurts of energy eventually giving way to a luscious, soft landscape. These two characters come and go throughout, “calling” each other, and taking the listener on a dense journey ending on just one, quick, note. Features and Formations composed for solo violin, flute, and clarinet, with cello accompaniment was inspired by Contours, an earlier work of Pritchard. Contours explored his fascination of maps and musical landscapes, taking the listener on a journey through auditory mountains, valleys, cliffs, and more. Features and Formations continues this same journey and advances each of these geographical musical ideas.

Pianist Asia Ahmetjanova returns to perform From Time to Time, the first piece to use the algorithmic sequence generator. Two main characters emerge, one of fast, thick, chunked runs and the other of soft, resonant highs and lows. The remaining tracks on the album come full circle—combining different groupings of instruments together that form this fantastic ensemble, showcasing the technical and lyrical extremes that these instruments are capable of.