Jordan Bak: Impulse
Bright Shiny Things

It's a bold performer who makes his debut album an almost wholly unaccompanied affair. On Impulse, Jamaican-American violist Jordan Bak has what it takes to pull it off, with some excellent help from South Korean pianist Ji Yung Lee on two pieces. New York Classical Review described his playing as “so constantly involving and impressive that one was drawn to each note and phrase.” Bak's playing on the release shows that such words aren't hyperbole but rather astute: one is riveted by each performance, whether it's him alone or a duet.

Placing “Untitled” by Rebecca Clarke at the outset was a clever move, given the seductive lure of its melodies. After hushed piano chords introduce the music, viola enters to draw one completely into the performance. It's an especially exposing piece for the slowness of its tempo and the fragility of its melodic lines, but Bak never falters when his voicings are delivered so commandingly. While the material's dream-like aura invites comparison to Debussy, the piece is no Impressionism pastiche: Clarke's melodies are explicitly stated and transfixing for being so. Whereas “Untitled” entrances using melody, Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti's gentle meditation kou inoa accomplishes the same effect using the bariolage bowing technique. The rapid alternations between open and stopped strings creates a lulling effect reminiscent of waves lapping, and in place of a baldly stated theme, the one here is more intimated when it crystallizes through the progressive accumulation of patterns. Hushed too is Quinn Mason's In Memory, which he fashioned as a vehicle for nostalgic reflection, the viola in this case acting as a conduit for recalled memories and reflections upon them that extend from peacefulness to turbulence.

Different in tone and concept from them is Tyson Gholston Davis's Tableau XII, a work commissioned by Bak and given its world premiere recording on the album. A plethora of contrasting moods and techniques is presented, with the violist oscillating rapidly between expressions—a piece not as melodically enticing as “Untitled” but gripping nonetheless. With wending, Jeffrey Mumford attempted something similar in crafting the setting so that the extremes of the viola's range would be explored, from the faintest wisps to raw animalistic expressions. Even so, much of the performance is pitched at a carefully calibrated hush. Complementary to their two is the one by Joan Tower, who titled her solo viola piece Wild Purple for the intense energy she wanted to incorporate into the writing and to amplify the instrument's deep resonance and opulent timbres, qualities she associates with the colour. Certainly the scintillating runs Towers threads throughout the work call on Bak's abilities, but he proves himself up to the challenge.

Just as Bak was wise to open with “Untitled,” he was as smart to close with Toru Takemitsu's A String Around Autumn, here presented in a lovely viola-and-piano arrangement by Toshio Hosakawa from the orchestral original. While the duo's performance pushes past eighteen minutes, it captivates for the delicate poetry of the writing and the sensitivity of the rendering. The patience with which the two allow the material to blossom makes the treatment all the more satisfying and allows for an enhance appreciation of Bak's execution. Assuredly the goals he set out for Impulse were resoundingly met. He aimed to create a release that would showcase his instrument's diversity (check) and also showcase a variety of compositional approaches through a considered selection of composers (check again). There is something of a theme in play having to do with time, yet it's hardly a dominating factor; far more salient are the performances themselves and the compelling interpretations Bak brings to the material.

June 2022