MUSIC NEWS AND REVIEW: Argument For Strings by Dan Michaelson.

Originally conceived as an impassioned argument in a crowded pub, opinions drunkenly overlapping and allegiances flipping sides with every sip, 'Argument for Strings' is Dan Michaelson’s first work for string quartet, and the first in a series of  "Argument" EP releases. Intentionally lean and with very little breathing space, these 4 tracks of twitchy, nervous violin, viola, cello and double bass are accompanied by piano and the Longformacus bell. 

Though better known for his solo albums of dark, Americana tinged reflection, Dan is no stranger to instrumental music, having spent the last few years creating score for film (Blowin'Up 2018) and television (Detectorists Series 1,2 &3. 2016-2018), whilst gradually moving closer to the orchestral world through his trilogy of albums 'Distance', 'Memory' and 2018’s 'First Light'.

“Whilst working on the orchestral palette of those albums, I fell in love with John Adams, Steve Reich and Caroline Shaw with the same force that I had fallen for The Velvet Underground and Leonard Cohen many years before, and with the same result… the inspiration to investigate a new direction” . On making the decision to take a break from singing and lyric writing, the response was simple “Everyone gets tired of the sound of their own voice sometimes...”.

Working closely with violist and conductor Robert Ames and violinist Galya Bisengalieva to complete 'Argument for Strings', Dan found their way of working to be “very similar to being in a band, just with less wrong notes”, which suited him perfectly and has lead to the completion of an album to be released late 2019 on Village Green Recordings.

Robert Ames: Robert is Co-Artistic Director and Conductor of the London Contemporary Orchestra and is also well known as an innovative programme curator. Robert has worked closely with many leading figures in new music, including Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, Bryce Dessner, Mica Levi, Nico Mulhy, Richard Reed Parry, Terry Riley, Anna Meredith and Steve Reich.  He is also passionate about championing music from the leading composers of his own generation, premiering works by Shiva Feshareki, Claire M Singer, Emilie Levenaise Farroush, Catherine Lamb and Edmund Finnis amongst others.. Recent forays and collaborations have also taken him into the world of pop working with artists such Actress, DJ Shadow, Jonny Greenwood, Thom Yorke, Jamie XX and Frank Ocean.

Galya Bisengalieva: Galya is an award-winning Kazakh/British violinist making her own work as a soloist, improviser and collaborator with artists and composers of varied genres. She has collaborated with composers Steve Reich, Laurie Spiegel, Suzanne Ciani, Terry Riley, Pauline Oliveros as well as commissioning and performing new works by Hildur Guðnadóttir, Sarah Davachi, Shiva Feshareki, Claire M Singer, Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch, Mica Levi, and CHAINES. Galya leads the London Contemporary Orchestra and her violin solos and improvisations can be heard on Lynne Ramsay's Cannes Film Festival Winner 'You Were Never Really Here' (2017), Elizabeth Chomko's film 'What They Had' (2018), Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre's drama 'The Mustang' (2019) and Alma Har'el's Sundance Film Festival Nominee 'Honey Boy" (2019).

Dan Michaelson/ Piano & Longformacus Bell
Ros Acton/ Cello
Arnulf Lindner/ Cello
Viola/ Robert Ames
Viola/ Guillen Calvo Martinez de Albeniz
Violin/ Galya Bisengalieva
Written by Dan Michaelson
Orchestrated by Robert Ames and Ben Corrigan
Engineered by Nick Taylor, assisted by Olly Thompson at Air Edel Studios, London. 2019

..............................................................................................................................................................

REVIEW.....

I’ll confess to some confusion in identifying Dan Michaelson, who is either an extraordinary musical polymath for a contemporary classical composer who shares a name with an alt-rock musician from Northampton, who also happens to have a Wikipedia entry. The Dan Michaelson referred to here is the composer of a work for string quartet, Argument for Strings comprising four non-sequnetiolay numbered movements (2, 5, 3 and 10) that would seem to be of the minimalist school over which Philip Glass casts such a long shadow.

The order of the day in this type of work is repletion: a theme is stated and, rather than developed, it is re-stated in iterations of varying intensity. A good example is the first moment (No.2) in which the strings take up a martial theme which they then proceed to thrash for the next four minutes. And I’m not using the verb ‘’thrash’ in the pejorative sense here, as the demonstration of force would seem to be the composer’s intention.

There is even less variety in the busy second movement (No.5) but again, it’s easy to get caught up in the propulsiveness of the music; much the same goes for the more contemplative third movement (No.3), though my favourite is the meditative final movement (No.10) in which Michaelson’s verges into the lyrical.

This is definitely a work to live in and return to, with depths to explore beneath its somewhat austere surface.

Reviewer - Richard Ely
on - 9/8/19

DAN MICHAELSON

 

'ARGUMENT FOR STRINGS' 

 

HEAR IT ON SPOTIFY AND SOUNDCLOUD