Album

Russian-born Israeli composer Boris Yoffe, who developed his career in Germany, established the discipline of writing about a minute of music for string quartet almost every day. On his website he summarizes responses the quartet fragments have elicited from listeners: "The pieces are perceived quite differently by different listeners: 'boring exercises,' 'Each piece is a miracle,' 'abstract,' 'warm and passionate,' 'depressive and dark'... Some say the pieces resemble each other too closely. Others are as fascinated by the similarity’s revelation of a vivid presence of eternity as I am myself." That pretty well sums up the kinds of reactions the music inspires; it's like a Rorschach test onto which the listener could project any number of meanings. The five pieces presented on this recording, some of which add a mens' vocal quartet to the string quartet, are made up by conjoining a number of the brief sketches, and the results do in fact resemble each other pretty closely. The majority of them are spare and melancholy, written within a narrow dynamic range, without much use of extremes of register, the sections joined without apparent concern for developmental continuity. The Hilliard Ensemble and Rosamunde Quartett bring their top-notch skills and musicality to the pieces. ECM's sound is characteristically immaculate and warm.

© Stephen Eddins, Rovi

CD 1
Boris Yoffe Composer I sought him but I found him not, for 4 voices and string quartet Work Hilliard Ensemble Vocal Ensemble, Rosamunde Quartett String Quartet
1	I sought him but I found him not, for 4 voices and string quartet	12:29			$1.99
Boris Yoffe Composer My own vineyard I did not keep, for 4 voices and string quartet Work Hilliard Ensemble Vocal Ensemble, Rosamunde Quartett String Quartet
2	My own vineyard I did not keep, for 4 voices and string quartet	4:21			$0.99
Boris Yoffe Composer I sleep, but my heart waketh, for 4 voices and string quartet Work Hilliard Ensemble Vocal Ensemble, Rosamunde Quartett String Quartet
3	I sleep, but my heart waketh, for 4 voices and string quartet	13:56			$2.49
Boris Yoffe Composer My head is filled with dew, my locks with drops of the night, for 4 voices and string quartet Work Hilliard Ensemble Vocal Ensemble, Rosamunde Quartett String Quartet
4	My head is filled with dew, my locks with drops of the night, for 4 voices and string quartet	11:05			$1.99
Boris Yoffe Composer My soul went forth when he spoke, for string quartet Work Rosamunde Quartett String Quartet
5	My soul went forth when he spoke, for string quartet	9:59			$1.49