David Owens: Sky Legends: Music of David Owens
Albany Records

Consistent with a cover that shows him alone, Sky Legends is very much composer David Owens' release. As integral, however, to its impact are the performers, none more so than pianist Victor Cayres, who appears on all four pieces, as recital partner to cellist Hyun-Ji Kwon on two and with fellow pianist Heeyeon Chi, on the set's dominant work, Sky Legends – Twelve Miniatures on the Signs of the Zodiac. A major reason why Owens' work leaves the mark it does is attributable to the distinguished treatments the instrumentalists bring to it.

As things often do, the writing and recording aspects of the project came about naturally. After attending a recital that featured Cayres presenting one of the composer's works, Owens was introduced to Kwon, a frequent chamber partner of the pianist's, and Cayres' wife, Chi, with whom he often partners as a piano-four-hand-duo team. Their entreaty to Owens to write new compositions for piano duo and cello-and-piano resulted in material featured on the hour-long release (though it was recorded in April and May 2018, it's only now seeing the light of day).

Whereas the writing of the Sonata for Cello and Piano was relatively straightforward in hewing to a conventional fast-slow-fast design, the concept for the piano four-hands took a little longer to crystallize. But once Owens hit on the idea of fashioning the work around the ancient Greek constellations of the zodiac and sequencing its twelve parts in standard zodiac order, the work's development transpired smoothly. With every part drawing from dramatic mythological tales, Owens, who studied composition at the Eastman School of Music and piano at the Manhattan School, was able to use them as springboards for his creative imagination, the result a dozen evocative miniatures. Rounding out the release are two of the eight Soliloquies Owens has created to date, with the former scored for cello and piano and the latter piano only.

The sonata's active from the first moment, its “Agitato” marking apt for a movement so turbulent and restless. Kwon and Cayres interlock smoothly as their lines entwine and criss-cross. As aggressive as the movement generally is, a restrained episode at the centre offers a respite from the agitation. Tinged with foreboding, the haunted central movement's grounded in counterpoint, the instruments' lines once again intertwining sinuously. The pace naturally quickens for the concluding allegro, with Kwon's rapid bowing riding the acrobatic waves of her partner's. While Owens notes that “menacing” is one of the performance directions in the score for the movement, the material more suggests a breathless charge to an imaginary finish line.

It's fascinating to review the stories associated with the twelve parts of Sky Legends, but the impact of the work wouldn't suffer greatly in the absence of the background info. The dramatic contrasts in tone, dynamics, and tempo between the sections make for engaging listening, and concision (most are in the two-minute vicinity) also ensures listening attention never strays. We begin ponderously with “Aries – Ram” and the saga of the Golden Fleece; of greater import, perhaps, is the magnificent four-hands playing of Cayres and Chi, which shows their remarkable sensitivity and connection. The pronounced difference in tone between the muscularity of “Taurus – Bull” and the gentle lyricism of “Gemini – Twins” (even if the latter does swell in agitation) is indicative of the work in general. The cryptic “Cancer – Crab” crawls, suitably enough, in a crab-like manner, while “Scorpio – Scorpion” exhibits a similar kind of stealth in its creeping movements. Like “Taurus – Bull,” “Leo – Lion” exemplifies strength and an unbounded nature, and in some cases a faint trace of jazz elegance seeps into the material, such that it wouldn't be impossible to visualize, say, a Bill Evans or Keith Jarrett essaying the ruminative twists and turns of “Virgo – Virgin,” “Capricorn – Goat (Goat's Horn),” and “Aquarius – Water Bearer.” “Pisces – Fishes,” a roller-coaster ride of sorts, brings the work to a high-energy resolution, after which the mood turns introspective for the two Soliloquies, Kwon partnering expressively with Cayres for the poignant second, and the pianist alone for the wistful, reverie-like seventh.

March 2025