Prism Quartet

"Concerto Grosso" (2000) by William Bolcom is sure to be a concert hall crowd pleaser. With Gershwin-esque lines perfumed with sumptuous Americana and propelled by sections of Broadway danceability, the four-movement work exudes a feeling of gentle familiarity, while once in a while inducing eerie, hair-standing-on-end/"what was that voicing?" orchestrations. And as with their previous recording of composer William Albright's music for saxophones, the Prism Quartet display the virtuosic command of tonal colour that brings out the breadth and depth of shapes and shadings in the material on this CD. Further out than "Concerto Grosso," Steven Mackey's "Animal, Vegetable, Mineral" uses multi-phonics and antiphonal cross-rhythms to sculpt solid, muscular forms. In part inspired by downhill skiing, the three-movement piece uses descending motifs that move with sinewy physicality. While not pure program music, Mackey's work does elicit Sendak-ian echoes of Where the Wild Things Are, as the saxophones honk and bleat with animalistic abandon. This is enchanting music lovingly realized.