textura

Ariel Marx: Luthier
Node Records

Composer Ariel Marx makes good on her recording's title by intensely examining the expressive potential of stringed instruments, not just in terms of timbre but also their vast sonic possibilities. The combination of string and bow offers a seemingly inexhaustible number of textures and effects, and Marx, a violinist herself, is well-qualified to pursue that exploration. Another explanation for the vividness of the release material might have to do with her extensive background in writing for film projects. Her scores have appeared in series for Netflix, HBO, and Amazon and premiered in films at Sundance, TIFF, SXSW, Tribeca, Criterion Channel, and elsewhere.

Luthier largely inhabits an acoustic milieu. Marx wrote the music and contributes violin, cello, and electronics to the arrangements, but the settings are primarily performed by violinists Anna Kondratenko and Vladimir Kostov, violist Bojan Taleski, cellist Hristo Tanev, and double bassist Margarita Kalcheva. Electronics in this case are integrated more subliminally than otherwise. One comes away from the recording reminded of the immense range of sounds a string instrument is capable of giving voice to. In Whitman-esque terms, it contains multitudes.

Marx's interest in acoustics is intimated by track titles such as “cymatics,” “tonewood,” “pitch,” and “diapason”; “mortise and tenon,” on the other hand, references a specific joint that connects two physical objects. However interesting such details are, the listener's experience ultimately more resides in luxuriating in the sonorous combination of the string instruments. Naturally the expressive resonance of the settings is enhanced by the vocal-like quality of the string instrument, especially when the musicians' playing is rich in vibrato and when a glissando can so effectively suggest a human cry.

In the opening “cymatics,” minimalism-styled patterns coalesce into wave-like movements consistent with the track title's meaning. Here and elsewhere, Luthier is elevated by the elegant interweaving of the instruments, with one occasionally assuming prominence as the lead (e.g., cello in the lament “diapason”). Marx's gift for distilling emotion into musical form is well-captured in the poignant settings “interference” and “pitch.” At twenty-three minutes, Luthier is more EP than full-length, but the content of Marx's so-called “love letter to strings” is so substantial it registers as a complete album statement. As much as the term cinematic is overused, there's no denying the evocative character of its eight settings.

January 2021


	Ariel Marx: Luthier Node Records Composer Ariel Marx makes good on her recording's title by intensely examining the expressive potential of stringed instruments, not just in terms of timbre but also their vast sonic possibilities. The combination of string and bow offers a seemingly inexhaustible number of textures and effects, and Marx, a violinist herself, is well-qualified to pursue that exploration. Another explanation for the vividness of the release material might have to do with her extensive background in writing for film projects. Her scores have appeared in series for Netflix, HBO, and Amazon and premiered in films at Sundance, TIFF, SXSW, Tribeca, Criterion Channel, and elsewhere. Luthier largely inhabits an acoustic milieu. Marx wrote the music and contributes violin, cello, and electronics to the arrangements, but the settings are primarily performed by violinists Anna Kondratenko and Vladimir Kostov, violist Bojan Taleski, cellist Hristo Tanev, and double bassist Margarita Kalcheva. Electronics in this case are integrated more subliminally than otherwise. One comes away from the recording reminded of the immense range of sounds a string instrument is capable of giving voice to. In Whitman-esque terms, it contains multitudes. Marx's interest in acoustics is intimated by track titles such as “cymatics,” “tonewood,” “pitch,” and “diapason”; “mortise and tenon,” on the other hand, references a specific joint that connects two physical objects. However interesting such details are, the listener's experience ultimately more resides in luxuriating in the sonorous combination of the string instruments. Naturally the expressive resonance of the settings is enhanced by the vocal-like quality of the string instrument, especially when the musicians' playing is rich in vibrato and when a glissando can so effectively suggest a human cry. In the opening “cymatics,” minimalism-styled patterns coalesce into wave-like movements consistent with the track title's meaning. Here and elsewhere, Luthier is elevated by the elegant interweaving of the instruments, with one occasionally assuming prominence as the lead (e.g., cello in the lament “diapason”). Marx's gift for distilling emotion into musical form is well-captured in the poignant settings “interference” and “pitch.” At twenty-three minutes, Luthier is more EP than full-length, but the content of Marx's so-called “love letter to strings” is so substantial it registers as a complete album statement. As much as the term cinematic is overused, there's no denying the evocative character of its eight settings. January 2021