Review of Sea to Sea in The Globe and Mail
01/02/11 08:58 Filed in: Press
Sea to Sea
St. Lawrence String Quartet (Centrediscs)
In Sea to Sea, the St. Lawrence String Quartet (currently the resident string quartet at Stanford University in California) acknowledges its roots with six new compositions by Canadian composers. These tend to acknowledge their roots, too, referencing Canadian fiddle tunes and birdsong, Inuit folk songs and throat singers. This risks a certain provincialism – it’s a bit like sewing a Canadian flag on the back of one’s jacket – although at their best the allusions serve as mere points of departure, soon enough obscured. Derek Charke’s smeared lines and quivering textures have an immediate appeal; Brian Current’s Rounds is more bracingly abstract; Marcus Goddard contrasts whip-snapping exchanges with a delicate lyricism. The SLSQ plays with its trademark commitment, precision and fantasy, giving all the pieces a cosmopolitan polish.
© By Elissa Poole Link
St. Lawrence String Quartet (Centrediscs)
In Sea to Sea, the St. Lawrence String Quartet (currently the resident string quartet at Stanford University in California) acknowledges its roots with six new compositions by Canadian composers. These tend to acknowledge their roots, too, referencing Canadian fiddle tunes and birdsong, Inuit folk songs and throat singers. This risks a certain provincialism – it’s a bit like sewing a Canadian flag on the back of one’s jacket – although at their best the allusions serve as mere points of departure, soon enough obscured. Derek Charke’s smeared lines and quivering textures have an immediate appeal; Brian Current’s Rounds is more bracingly abstract; Marcus Goddard contrasts whip-snapping exchanges with a delicate lyricism. The SLSQ plays with its trademark commitment, precision and fantasy, giving all the pieces a cosmopolitan polish.
© By Elissa Poole Link
