Frank Horvat: More Rivers
Navona Records

More Rivers, the seven-movement solo piano suite composed by Frank Horvat and performed by its commissioner Christina Petrowska Quilico, is many things. It's a work, first of all, its creator dedicated to the spirit of Canadian composer Ann Southam and her seminal Rivers; by his own admission, the work she did in the field of minimalist composition has loomed large in his life, and that the esteemed Canadian pianist Quilico worked with Southam to help midwife the original Rivers into being makes this creation for him all the more special. To be clear, More Rivers is less a sequel or successor to Southam's piece than a tribute or ode to it. As Horvat himself performed some of her Rivers pieces alongside his own at solo piano concerts, her material has seeped so much into his being he feels comfortable describing More Rivers as possessing a musical and spiritual lineage to her composition. No one's more qualified to perform the work than Petrowska Quilico, who befriended and collaborated with Southam for more than thirty years and with her produced seven albums. For the work she's done, the pianist has been recognized many times over and was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2020 and two years later the Order of Ontario.

Recorded on June 19, 2024 at Toronto's Imagine Sound Studios and with producer David Jaeger overseeing the session, the sixty-five-minute recording isn't presented chronologically as it begins with the fifth in the series and ends with the first, which is considerably longer than the others at twenty-four minutes. It's interesting that it's sequenced last, however, when many of its themes re-emerge as foundations for the other parts of the suite, and interesting too is the fact that each part has a different tonal centre, beginning with C for the first, D for the second, and leading up to B for the seventh.

True to the spirit of minimalism, looping patterns effectively evoke the fluid flow of water. Yet while the parts share that aspect, each registers as a distinct statement when variations in tempo, dynamics, and tone are utilized; as Horvat states, “After all, some rivers are long, some are short, some have rapids, and some have calm water.” As Heraclitus famously stated, it's ever-changing (other Pre-Socratic philosophers noted the flux of reality too), yet at the same time consistent rhythm patterns emerge. However seamlessly More Rivers aligns itself to the minimalism genre, it's no Glass or Reich imitation; in fact, aside from its looping structures and pulsation, the material sidesteps such simple categorizing when its melodic, textural, and tonal reach is so rich. Even so, the gestures of minimalism pair naturally with the work's concept when the experience of being immersed in water can induce a meditative, even consciousness-altering state akin to the general effect of classical minimalism.

Each part ebbs and flows in its own way and in accordance with its own nature. Sunlight patterns seem to glint off the water's lilting surface as the suite gets underway with “More Rivers 5,” upper notes sparkling incandescently as lower accents establish counterpoint. The music's motion grows relaxing as one surrenders to its push and pull; testifying to its mercurial nature, a coda shifts the presentation into a higher velocity and alters the patterns between the hands. Hypnotic too is the subsequent “More Rivers 4” for the pairing of its triplet-and single note combinations above and its spidery pattern-making below. “More Rivers 3” separates itself from the opening parts in deploying patterns that flutter like butterflies and nimbly dance; similar to the first part, a dramatic change occurs midway through when animation gives way to lyrical languor, even if the energized attack quickly reinstates itself every time it happens.

“More Rivers 2” chimes sweetly, though a strain of plaintive melancholy infuses it with brooding; it's also long enough at twelve minutes to accommodate gradual transformations, with the music sweeping in density and volume here and pivoting to oceanic clusters there. The shorter sixth and seventh parts let one catch one's breath before the odyssey that is “More Rivers 1” arrives. Carrying a “for Ann” dedication, the movement is a long-form rhapsody that advances through a series of modulations and contrasts in dynamics, the material unfolding in a tender hush at one moment and resounding grandly at another. A heartfelt quality permeates this expressive performance that conveys the pianist's depth of feeling for Southam and Horvat's sincere affection for his late colleague. With the music slowing and growing ever more gentle, the closing minutes of the performance are particularly exquisite.

January 2025