THE HERMETIC ORGAN, VOL. 13 - BIENNALE MUSICA VENEZIA

The thirteenth volume of the Hermetic Organ series was recorded live at the Biennale Musica Venezia, a festival of contemporary music. The improvisation was performed by Zorn on two antique organs, and much like the twelfth volume of the series, this album sees Zorn walking back and forth between the two instruments, utilizing the extremes of the organs as well as the extremes of his physical and mental capabilities.

The performance lasted a combined 49 minutes and despite being broken up into just two pieces the length is not balanced whatsoever. "Satyricon", the first piece, lasts a whopping forty-two minutes! The second piece, "Epistola", lasts just under seven minutes in comparison, leading to a slightly unbalanced album experience, though it can hardly be imagined that these performances are given with the intention of making any sort of conventional album product, and therefore it is hard to "deduct points" from a scored review for such considerations. I am left wishing, though, that the second piece lasted at least a little longer, as some of the motifs and crescendos sound hurried or hastily abandoned. It would've been nice to hear him develop them over, say, another five to ten minutes.

In comparison to the most recent few installments of the series, Volume 13 boasts a wider range of textures, as Zorn uses the richly aged voices of the horns, reeds, and flutes of the two organs and pits them against each other in a constant clash of pitches and timbres. Structurally, he also changes movements within his improvisations more frequently than on previous performances. While there are certainly still long build-ups, droning chord clusters, and notes held interminably, it seems to my ears that he is leaping motif/development to motif/development and from voice to voice far sooner than usual. This leads to a more tolerable listening experience than his usual hermetic offerings, as there are new things to notice more often. Of course, it is still a long and difficult journey that will test one's ears with extreme dissonances, painfully loud high notes, harsh timbres, and long-windedness.

As always, Zorn provides the listener with a challenging and rewarding experience. One is compelled to hear these performances as a sort of musica esoterica, as they so strangely contravene one's expectations of music. It seems at times we are hearing music from outside the mortal fold, a sort of Chthonic radio transmission our minds can't and shouldn't fully comprehend? yet.

Track Rating: Satyricon (7), Epistola (6).

Overall Rating: 6.5/1o, or, 3 Stars, rounded down.