William Susman: Collision Point
Belarca Records

American composer William Susman (b. 1960) is well-served by the splendid performances his contemporary classical material receives at the hands of the Rome-based ensemble Piccola Accademia degli Specchi (Little Academy of Mirrors). What's especially interesting about Collision Point is that of the four original works presented (all of them premiere recordings), two stem from 2010 and the others the mid-‘90s. Whether by accident or design, the music therefore offers a fascinating opportunity to assess whatever changes might have transpired in his composing style between then and now. Without wishing to oversimplify matters, the earlier pieces noticeably reflect the influence of American minimalism, whereas the later ones indicate a less derivative style, Susman having absorbed the influence of Glass, Riley, Reich, et al. so thoroughly it's less conspicuous.

Susman has forged over time a distinctive voice that retains ties to the work produced by colleagues and precursors without trying to deny its impact on his own development. He's something of a post-minimalist, then, who's also not averse to letting his affection for Afro-Cuban, jazz, and other forms seep into his creative output. With those non-classical genres factored into the mix, it hardly surprises that Susman's material is rhythmically charged and at times modal-flavoured. Recorded over three days in April 2017 in Rome, Italy and produced by Susman with Matteo Sommacal, the forty-seven-minute recording celebrates a decade-long collaboration between the composer and Piccola Accademia degli Specchi, a chamber outfit comprising flute, alto sax, violin, cello, and two pianos (note that the four works are performed by different groupings of two, three, five, and six players, with the pianists performing in a '4-hands' style for the opening Camille).

Composed for the ensemble, the three-part Camille adheres to a fast-slow-fast format and effectively instantiates Susman's predilection for Afro-Cuban music by working the clave rhythm into each movement. It's the resplendent sound of the ensemble you'll likely remember most, however, especially when their instruments blend into an entrancing polyrhythmic whole. In the opening “Vitality,” pulsations drive Susman's music forward without sacrificing a certain serene quality, and the counterpoint between the woodwinds and strings is arresting. That serene element naturally comes to the fore during the central “Tranquility” episode, where the music's gentle, lulling flow entrances in a different though no less potent way, after which “Triumph” reinstates the vivacity of the opener.

Scored for violin, cello, and piano and presented in seven parts, Clouds and Flames is the release's dominant work, even if it's rivaled by the fourteen-minute closer, 1994's The Starry Dynamo. The titles of the 2010 work, its movements, and the album itself all derive from Colum McCann's acclaimed 2009 novel Let the Great World Spin, whose story uses Philippe Petit's infamous tightrope walk between the World Trade Center towers on August 7, 1974 as a springboard. A lighter-than-air character permeates some of the piece (see “Floating in the Air” and “In a Zone”) that helps one visualize Petit performing his uncanny feat. The Frenchman no doubt experienced a heightened awareness of death and a seeming freezing of time during the walk, things Susman conveys in the work's contemplative sequences. Despite the incredible circumstances of the WTC event, Clouds and Flames, while certainly rhythmically robust, is less vertiginous than one might have anticipated and is often soothing in its effect.

November 2019