British composer Frank Denyer presents seven beautiful chamber works dating from 1974 to 2018, opening a door to his unique soundworld. Released by Another Timbre in November 2019, The Boundaries of Intimacy features sublime, unexpected pieces of delicate intimacy performed by a variety of artists including Luna String Quartet, Juliet Fraser, Elisabeth Smalt, Jos Zwaanenberg and Nobutaka Yoshizawa.
"Most of the music on this CD is soft, some of it very soft indeed. To achieve the optimal listening level, think of the musicians as being just over the other side of the room in which you are listening, rather than in another grander space. Imagine them performing intimately, without amplification, and often in an under voice in order not to disturb the neighbours."
The album opens with Mother, Child and Violin (2005), featuring Fraser's soprano alongside a child vocalist (Layla) and Janneke van Prooijen's violin. Two Female Singers and Two Flutes (2013) explores delicate vocal and instrumental combinations with Fraser, Sophie Fetokaki, Zwaanenberg and Carlos Anez. Two versions of Piece for Koto (1975) showcase Yoshizawa on the traditional Japanese instrument.
The centerpiece is Denyer's String Quartet (2017/18), performed by Luna String Quartet. The emotional differences between a note being played by a single instrument and the same note played by two similar instruments in unison are significant, changing again with three instruments, and different again with four. All such changes affect the music's tone of voice. Intimacy diminishes in inverse proportion to the number of players. In this string quartet, such perceptions become a major part of the music's dialectic as it delicately carries its single melodic strand through time. A central part of Denyer's recent work has been the exploration of the under voice and the problems of making it manifest, revealing a world beneath the surface with its own ways of articulating time.
Beyond the Boundaries of Intimacy (2015) is a work for flute and electronics performed by Zwaanenberg. The performer does not stand back from the audience but comes as close as practicable. The speakers are placed far apart, invisible to the audience and preferably high up so it is impossible to locate the source of sounds in any particular direction. These other sounds are all pitched and conventionally notated but are so soft they have little recognizable timbre. The dynamic level ranges between ppppppp and ppppp. This piece is unsuitable for large concert halls.
The album closes with Frog (1974), performed by Smalt on the sneh, a bowed stringed instrument designed by Denyer. A bowed instrument with a skin covered belly, the sneh has a timbre Denyer found particularly suited to this music. Living in Kenya at the time, he covered the sound box with monitor lizard skin, which has certain advantages because it does not stretch with humidity and is very long lasting. The instrument was given an extended viola neck so western string players would not find learning it too daunting.
Uncategorizable music of sublime imagination and unusual approaches, The Boundaries of Intimacy requires close, committed listening. Essential for anyone interested in contemporary experimental composition, the exploration of sonic intimacy, and alternative approaches to instrumentation and performance practice.
