Detailed Reviews [Bruno Bavota Ensemble - 2013 - "La Casa Sulla Luna"]

Prolusion. Italian musician Bruno BAVOTA is generally described as a young, promising and talented composer and performer, at the time with three full-length productions to his name. "La Casa Sulla Luna" is the second of these, and was released through the Italian label Lizard Records in 2013.

Analysis. While Lizard Records is best known for releasing music that fits somewhere inside the progressive rock universe, they do apparently make occasional exceptions to this. Bruno Bavota's second CD is such an exception, a production that doesn't have all that much in common with progressive rock as such, perhaps apart from being inspired by some of the same sources. The source in question is classical music, and Bavota is probably best described as a composer and performer, exploring a contemporary variety of this kind of music. While classical music generally brings to mind associations of music that is challenging in one aspect or another, be it technical prowess, compositional structures or the arrangements used, Bavota's take on this music is anything but. Instead, his creations are elegant first and foremost, fairly unobtrusive as well. Which doesn't at all mean that this is music that is bland, boring or cliched, but rather that this is music that focuses deeply on the end listener experience, the compositions creating atmospheres you can sink into without also forcing your mind to think about just how those atmospheres have been created. Bavota has a fine touch when playing, and he does use that expertly to create nerve and tension. He can smoothly shift from frail, careful notes to more dramatic, intense impact notes with ease, and has an equally secure and safe hand when it comes to alterations in pace. He uses those skills too smoothly and often subtly shifts the pace and intensity of a composition multiple times, adding a single frail note amongst more impact ones or vice versa, adding a brief flurry of notes in an otherwise tranquil section (or the opposite way around). Otherwise he skillfully applies a safe touch to carefully and unobtrusively enhance the end listener experience by applying careful touches of that kind. More often than not in compositions that explore a subtly melancholic mood, although there are instances of more uplifting material too, and on the occasions when he is joined by cellist Pescosolido and violinist Sasso, the sometime additions that are the reason for the ensemble in Bruno Bavota Ensemble presumably, the overall mood and atmosphere also oriented towards a more mournful and insistent nature. Just about the only negative I can point towards is the quality of the recording itself, where a low, recurring swishing noise is a feature that should has been eliminated somewhere in the production or post-production phase. The final track, described rather than named Ghost Track, also is a step down technically, more of a lo-fi recording, and due to that not quite as interesting as the rest of this disc.

Conclusion. Bruno Bavota is a fine composer and performer of contemporary classical music, where the piano is the main and often sole instrument, and the songs stay elegant and unobtrusive, yet also compelling, with a solid yet subtle nerve that maintains interest quite nicely. Occasionally with violin and cello given roles to enhance the overall experience, adding a touch of classical chamber music to the proceedings. "La Casa Sulla Luna" is first and foremost a piano album however, and merits a check by those with an affection for productions of that kind, and then in particular if you tend to favor compositions unobtrusive and elegant in nature where careful and subtle touches are used to create and maintain nerve and tension.

OMB=Olav M Bjornsen: Jan 6, 2014
The Rating Room