Oscar BettisonO Death – Oscar Bettison – Compact Disc

So much more than just a CD! Includes detailed booklet with: liner notes by Alex Rose; a Q&A with the composer; photographs; multiple score samples and biographies.

Oscar Bettison (1975) works within and outside the confines of concert music, frequently combining traditional with invented and re-imagined instruments. O Death mixes saxophones, trombone, banjo and piano with jaw’s harps, harmonicas, recorders, melodica, flower pots and prepared wrenches. This seven-movement requiem masque assembles a broad range of traditions, including blues and other American folk music, exploring the theme of death and transcendence. O Death presents a dream of life from the perspective of the timeless dead and a premonition of death from the vantage of the clock-bound living.

Reviews:
CD Pick of the Week: “an unconventional lyricism and a menacing beauty” (WNYC radio, Soundcheck, 16 April 2010)

“an ever-developing swirl of swarming, syncopated horns” “feverish interplay” “the keening penultimate movement telegraphing terror in its descending scales before the inevitable lulling finale, nailed shut by a thudding drum.” (Baltimore City Paper, 21 April 2010)

5-stars: “a theatrical atmosphere, building in intensity. From a lazy funereal blues via dissonant, relentlessly pulsating blocks of energy it arrives at an uneasy close.” (NRC Handelsblad, 21 May 2010)
credits
released April 6, 2010

Heiko Geerts, reeds, jaw’s harp & recorders
Erik-Jan de With, reeds, jaw’s harp & recorders
Anton van Houten, trombone, recorders, jaw’s harp & melodica
Joey Marijs, percussion & harmonica
Pete Harden, guitars, banjo & jaw’s harp
Saskia Lankhoorn, piano & harmonica
Tom Gelissen, live electronics & sound

Mixed and produced by Tom Gelissen
Artistic direction, Pete Harden
Design by Duel (www.studioduel.nl)

Recorded live, 19-20 May 2009 in the Korzo Theater, The Hague

This cd was made possible with financial support from Société Gavigniès.

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