Originally released in 1987, this remastered version of Notturno remains an eerily compelling collection of cavernous expanses shaded by irregular electronic hatching and invested with streams of illogically spilled notes, and skittering percussion. As something of a lubricant, Tietchens high intensity breathes out a sinuous fluency that his technical breadth and stylistic versatility takes in as it generates fascinating patterns of overtones.
Tietchens limits each track to a four-minute lifespan – thus forcing the procession of surreally elongating and distorting gestures to exhibit a certain command of form and development in order for the material to remain striking. This is often does, as queasy percussion resonances and rasping piano notes stand out in awkward stillness, pass through stretches of searing hiss undulation, and eventually collapse into lugubrious grumblings.
Tietchens proves himself to be a tempestuous player, maintaining a steadiness throughout this volatile workout. As a result, many works are able to combine muscularity and lyricism. Pieces never boil over but, in a confident and whole-hearted manner, they do shift into pulses of austere electronics and billows of sound, two elements that made this a bold non-commercial recording when it was initially released. Even now, the works sufficiently convincing coherence, and ability to incorporate rough edges and rawness as a part of the overarching design makes this a ruggedly exhilarating effort.
Max Schaefer
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