Release Date: February 10, 2017
Catalog #: NV6083
Format: Digital
21st Century
Chamber
String Quartet

String Quartet No. 1 The Music of Erich Zann

Based On The Story By H.P. Lovecraft

Michael J. Evans composer
Sirius Quartet

Composer Michael J. Evans’ THE MUSIC OF ERICH ZANN is a startling and surreal musical interpretation of H.P. Lovecraft’s 1922 tale of the eponymous violist –  a mysterious old man who seemingly protects himself from dark, magical forces by playing the viol.

Evans is a gifted melodist, and his other PARMA Recordings and Navona albums showcase his predilections for the rich textures and harmonic language of late European Romanticism. In the THE MUSIC OF ERICH ZANN, however, Evans departs from these tendencies, to an extent, in order to convey a clear, taut, and compelling musical narrative full of exotic sounds that capture the mysticism and drama of Lovecraft’s story.

Evans sets an ominous stage for the piece in its first movement, which alternates between slow, dark counterpoint in the cello and violin and rhythmic interjections of col legno battuto – a technique that calls for string players to play their instruments by hitting them with the wood of their bows. In this introduction, the quartet strains and creaks, embodying the ghostly, derelict boarding house that serves as the setting of Lovecraft’s story.

The tale is told retrospectively through the eyes of a university student who happens upon the tenement in an unnamed European city. The story’s narrator seems not to be represented by a specific theme in Evans’ interpretation, but he clearly marks the otherworldly musical performances of his elderly neighbor by adding electronic delay and other sounds to the quartet’s performance.

This special effect is the most extreme in Evans’ aforementioned palette of evocative and unusual sounds, which also includes glissandi, harmonics, and, most powerfully, a variety of sophisticated rhythmic textures that suggest the paranormal characteristics of Lovecraft’s boarding house. Evans also uses these sonic markers with irreproachable skill to build dramatic tension and lead the listener into the story’s climactic scene, the apex of which is made more frightening by a human scream.

Here, the dark stakes of Lovecraft’s story violate the abstraction of Evans’ purely musical setting and seemingly become real. The moment is jarring and visceral – a tremendously effective aural expression of the confrontation that takes place between evil forces and Lovecraft’s main characters. Evans’ piece ends almost exactly as it began, which invites the listener to wonder the same thing as Lovecraft’s narrator who, after years of searching, cannot find the mysterious boarding house: ‘was this all a dream?’.

Listen

Hear the full album on YouTube

Stream/Buy

Choose your platform

Artist Information

Michael J. Evans

Composer

Michael J. Evans is an American composer based in Washington DC He has recorded with pianist Karolin Rojahn, Sirius Quartet, St Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, Millennium Symphony Orchestra, Kiev Philharmonic, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Moravian Philharmonic and Janaček Philharmonic.

Sirius Quartet

Ensemble

Internationally acclaimed veterans of contemporary music, Sirius Quartet combines exhilarating repertoire with unequalled improvisational fire. These conservatory-trained performer-composers shine with precision, soul and a raw energy rarely witnessed on stage, championing a forward-thinking, genre-defying approach that makes labels like 'New Music' sound tame.