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Scott Ordway likes to tell stories with his music. A previous ACIS release featured his gorgeous song cycle, Girl in the Snow, which honors the lieder cycles of Schubert in its narrative eloquence. This latest work, The Clearing and the Forest, resembles a chamber opera, with instrumentalists inhabiting the characters. The story line is as old as humanity; catastrophe, a forced diaspora, and a new life in a new world. Ordway employs climate change as the impetus for flight, but any number of contemporary disasters could fit, such as fleeing a pandemic, or escaping from an evil military invasion. The music is performed by a quartet consisting of clarinet, cello, piano, and violin. During the 15 sections of the work, the ensemble is heard both as a whole and in various combinations. There are also solo takes, including a clarinet melody that evokes the poignancy of Messiaen. Ordway’s voice is lyrical and tuneful, but often doleful and at times minimalist, recalling the austere beauty of Arvo Pärt’s work. The yawning, Mahlerian resolution of the tale is at once hopeful and wistful. ACIS recordings are excellent. Here, the acoustics of a small hall are replicated, with the listener sitting about ten seats from the stage.
By Peter Burwasser
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