For the sake of all, I hope that the combined arts (music)/law degree that 21 year old William Gardiner is about to complete at the University of Sydney is followed by a decision to pursue a path in the music field rather than the law field! The world doesn’t need another lawyer, but music this good deserves to be followed by more from the composer.
This debut release is a 20 minute suite in four movements for a chamber group consisting of piano, cello, clarinet, violin, flute and Gardiner’s own electronic manipulations. There are discernible influences from across the broad spectrum of the classical tradition, from delicate romanticism through to enigmatic minimalism. The overall mood is gentle, and Gardiner’s compositions stay within traditional melodic and harmonic structures, but ‘The Loving Bells’ hints at some Second Viennese School atonality while ‘Running’ plays with Reichian repetition in its dominant piano. Gardiner’s electronic manipulations are subtle, but most clearly demonstrated in the opening ‘Reverie’ where hi-pitched violin improvisations are given tails of echoes and mild pitch shifting.
The sweep of the composition is beautiful, with motifs slipping in and out across the four pieces and a strong sense of grand sonic movement. Gardiner has orchestrated an excellent collection which, while obviously formative and with influences still clear, marks out an exciting range of territory for him to explore with future work.
Available via WilliamGardiner.com.
Adrian Elmer
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