By Deuce

There’s a certain sonic sophistication seen in Aaron Wyanski’s latest offering, SCHOENBERG: Drei Klavierstücke, Op. 11. It could easily be mistaken for desultoriness. The uninitiated might miss it altogether, thinking, perhaps, that the tracks are simply a slew of instruments warming up before a performance and someone decided to record and release them, for kicks.

But this power of perfection, of tone and its dearth (after all, the opus is characterized as an atonal adventure in stereo sound) rears itself in ways that are equally noticeable, if not overwhelming, to those versed in The Music (which many still refer to as jazz).

The sounds produced by the instruments on this outing are decidedly chromatic. Oftentimes, the notes are devised to elicit sentiment and mood, rather than melody or harmonies. Dissonance is certainly at play throughout numbers such as “Mäßige”, with its enigmatic title. And with the two other cuts rounding out the outing entitled “Sehr langsam” and “Bewegte”, the surreptitious, if not esoteric, is out in the open, despite the paradox.

The vibes really set the tone on “Mäßige”. However, as is the case for almost all of the instruments on this number, they only sound in sporadic spurts. The pregnant pauses, empty space, and vacuous appeal of the instruments once they’ve stopped playing is almost as meaningful, if not more so, than when they are playing. The vibes are joined at alternate times by what surely is a sax, a trumpet or two, an upright bass, and perhaps a clarinet, or some other sort of wind instrument.

Occasionally they all sob in unison, with some taking higher or lower notes for added effect. But none of this is easily accessible. It requires a perceptivity of feeling that quickly becomes rewarding for those endowed with such gifts.

Clocking in at over eight minutes, “Sehr langsam” is the longest of the three tunes. It’s also the starkest and, depending on one’s perspective, the darkest of the three. It opens up with midnight bass tones and percussion. There’s a hint of drumming glimmering in the distance. Involving many of the aforementioned instruments, it’s refreshing to hear people playing unplugged music, and instruments—which is indicative of the project as a whole, and of the mechanisms moving in the mind of Wyanski.