Jennifer Bellor: Reflections at Dusk
Innova
Words like panoramic, crepuscular, and resplendent spring to mind as the six chamber works on Jennifer Bellor's Reflections at Dusk fill the room. This superb collection casts the Nevada-based composer in a most attractive light, though credit for the impression must extend to the musicians who bring her material so vividly to life. Bellor, who earned her PhD in music composition at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York and is on the music composition faculty at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, benefits mightily from the sympathetic renderings by the performers, associates of Bellor's at the university.
Even a cursory scan of the set-list conveys some indication of the material's character, with titles such as Cerulean Twilight, Amethyst Sunset, and Indigo Nocturne hinting at Bellor's propensity for evocation. Living where she does, it makes sense that the pieces would reflect in some measure the stirring sunsets in the Las Vegas area. Different combinations of players and instruments perform on the album, which makes for a constantly shifting sound design: whereas saxophone is the focal point on one piece, vibraphones, marimba, wind chimes, and harp distinguish others with lustrous sonorities.
Mystery and anticipation permeate Cerulean Twilight, with the animation generated by mallet instruments offset by lyrical expressions from the violin and cello. For eight engrossing minutes, a sinuous interweave of string melodies flows gracefully across a percussive base, their interlacings punctuated by drum rolls, harp strums, and wind chime flourishes. Accompanying that mesmerizing opener are pieces that captivate in different ways. Amethyst Sunset arrests the ear by accenting interlocking patterns from two pianos with bowed vibraphone and other percussive instruments, the result a sparkling, stately dynamo. The combination of alto saxophone, harp, and electric vibraphone distinguishes Indigo Nocturne, but as noteworthy is the yearning quality Shawna Pennock conveys in her towering sax performance. As dramatic is High Resolution, which in this performance couples harp and vibraphone with impassioned outpourings by the Clark High School Symphonic Strings.
In a noticeable departure from the other pieces, Bellor's haunting Skylark Lullaby focuses on a single instrument only, even if it's a collection of saxophones under the direction of Chien-Kwan Lin. Regardless, the Eastman Saxophone Project executes Bellor's material with immense feeling (see the magnificent climax it swells to at the eight-minute mark) and generates an enveloping textural mass from its soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone horns. At album's end, Reflections at Dusk caps the recording with another stirring blend of vibraphones, marimba, and harp.
As the album plays, an appreciation for Bellor's talents grows. Neither a serialist nor a minimalist, she's fashioned a personal style that's easy to embrace; she's also that rare composer whose music manages to be instantly listenable and emotionally resonant without any compromise to its sophistication. Tucked into the fold-out package's inner sleeve is a “Thank you” to Michael Torke, one of three individuals credited with providing feedback to mixes. Without wishing to make too much of the detail, it's worth mentioning for drawing attention to qualities Bellor's music shares with Torke's, melodicism, lyricism, and accessibility among them.March 2020