Album: Stephen Clarke, Giacinto Scelsi: The Piano Works 4 (Mode)

This eighth volume of Mode's ongoing Scelsi Edition once again features the pianist Stephen Clarke, this time performing three pre-war multi-part pieces, "Suites 5 and 6" and "Hispania", described as a triptych for piano. "Hispania" opens with typically Scelsian minimalist tremors on one or two notes, before developing a gait that manages to be both hesitant and energetically exploratory, with flamenco flourishes about the delivery, akin to stamping heels: it's the musical equivalent of dressage, a beautifully-rendered presentation of mannered, equestrian moves. "Suite 5" has a similarly prancing dissonance, while "Suite 6" is fast, rangy and explosive; like "Hispania", it uses repeated single-note motifs.

DOWNLOAD THIS: Hispania; Suite 6