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Guided by the builder's skilled hands, Fool's progress (mapped by an extensive and thoughtful diagram) is an entrancing journey of musical and emotional counterparts.
Using Tibetan iron balls (which chitter like some maddening insectoid invasion), Chinese gongs, and a three-minute sitar interlude, the Prelude serves as a portal into the bazantar's soundworld. Then, arising from its own depths, the awesome sonic behemoth emerges in The Painted Bird. Continually flowing in a miasma of highs and lows, of melancholy and menace, the bazantar's bowed strings are unbelievably rich, accented by a saw-tooth thrum. Without aid of overdubs or other studio processing, Deutsch's nimble efforts release raw emotive powers... a heart-rending pairing of an expressive instrument with an elegant composition of almost 14 minutes.
Similarly unadulterated though lighter in tone, Persival (16:26) is an extended sitar excursion. No hokey "snake-charmer" music here, just enthusiastic plucking, strumming and sympathetically buzzing drones.
Moodier atmospheres hang suspended like The Sword of Damocles, another bazantar piece; elastic basslines lope with some trepidation through a twanging haze.
A radiant mist of high notes cascades as Kundalini Rising shimmers with keening harmonics, demonstrating the upper end of the bazantar's impressive range.
For the next quarter-hour, Avodah affords the opportunity to bask in animated bass strums and gently meandering slides, as if lounging in a particularly golden evening sunset. So peaceful it almost hurts!
The even-more-serene Postlude pieces put a nightcap on the proceedings; sitar sounds twinkle like stars in Chrysanthemums & Orchids, then Lunatic Fringe (1:17) closes the show with a final gong blast reverberating into silence.
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