HCMF Archive

Cikada, “Live at HCMF” = Works of LIM & NESS – LAWO

by Audiophile Audition | Feb 11, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

Cikada, “Live at HCMF” = LIZA LIM: Winding Bodies: Three Knots; The Heart’s Ear; JON ǾIVIND NESS: Gimilen – Cicada ens. – LAWO Classics LWC1086, 47:24 [Distr. by Naxos] (2/05/16) **1/2: Great performances it seems of these pretty tough works. I have heard the very talented and dedicated Cikada ensemble many times before and never been disappointed in their skill and artistry. That remains true and, frankly, most of what they do is pretty complicated and cerebral stuff that places many demands on the players as well as the audience. This live concert is no exception. Recorded live at the 2014 Huddersfield (England) Contemporary Music Festival, we get three pretty thorny and abstract works by Australian Liza Lim and Norwegian Jon Ǿivind Ness. I was unfamiliar with either until now. The first of the works by Lim is Winding Bodies: Three Knots, a three movement work that depicts or pays homage to an odd Nordic legend of sailors trying to buy favorable winds from some sorcerers. Each “knot” is intended to portray a type of wind condition that old time sailors would contend with. The work features some neat flute lines but also a ‘hardanger fiddle’ – an instrument indigenous […]