In an age where the cultural importance of the composer is in great jeopardy, it seems only fitting that the three founders of Bang on a Can–a brand-name group of frontier-crossing New York composers–would write a “baroque” oratorio on the subject of loss. Lost Objects creates a world into which it is easy to disappear; a meditative, misty, uncomfortable place. Here, you can lose yourself–which is the most unsettling loss of all. Taking their cues from baroque music–and from Louis Andriessen, their musical “godfather” who takes all of his cues from baroque music–the three composers created single-focused, self-contained musical “panels”, each with its own particular feeling, and each coming to a complete close. The pensive mood of “I Lost a Sock” never shifts, and is complex in its dark singularity. “Passenger Pigeon” offers a single, unrelenting sound, forcing listeners into the mire of their own thoughts.
The soloists’ performances are all stellar–they sing in a clear, expressive, straight-toned way suited equally well to baroque and contemporary music. Their restraint and lack of surface emotion (read: operatic histrionic self-indulgence) makes the piece work: the heart is given space to break all on its own; the score takes precedence over its executants. When backed by the (sparely and elegantly used) RIAS-Kammerchor, the vocals on this recording manage to envelop but never overpower. Combined with the Concerto Köln and the Bang on a Can Lost Objects ensemble (which together sound like a single unit) the stark nature of the score is rendered with precision, proper distance, and sublimated power under the baton of Roger Epple. There isn’t a word for this kind of music–Bang on a Can patiently awaits its categorical “-ism”. Lost Objects is a shape-of-things-to-come piece, and not just for Lang, Gordon, and Wolfe, but for music in general. As these composers come into their own, they revisit their classical roots (rather than their rock or avant-garde dispositions) with calm reverence and beautiful results.
