Owen Underhill / Quatuor Bozzini - Songs And Quartets [Collection QB]

Put out on the circuit via the ensembles very own Collection QB label on June 27th, 2k25 is "Songs And Quartets", the second full on collaborational release between the famed string quartet that is Quatuor Bozzini and Vancouver-based composer Owen Underhill. Opening with "The Retreat" which is, given its total runtime if nearly 14 minutes, a little more than just a 'song' we're drawn into a fascinating grey area sitting right in between Contemporary Opera, score works and an overall vintage feel on par with classic golden age Broadway performances, pairing ethereal vocal performance with a perfectly balanced string dramaturgy ranging from calm and floating harmonic form to short dramatic outbursts and enchanted playfulness whereas the four sections of "Northern Line - Angel Station (String Quartet No. 2)" speak a deeply caressing and emotionally connected sonic language, relying on mostly sustained, stripped down yet lush and somewhat melancholic string arrangements for the most part despite a few slighty deliberately off-kilter peaks to be found in "Adagio Calmato, Animato". With the second 10 minute+ 'song' named "What is Our Life?" things are getting more lively in a Contemporary Classical vein, with the almost 11 minutes spanning piece covering an entire ark of (e)motions before the final "String Quartet No. 5 - Land And Water" rounds things off with an array of dramatically beautiful string works in parts evoking memories of alpine mountain ranges, unscathed rural forests and simpler, yet not less happy times with the "Holy Isle" even presenting some rather danceable, albeit festive sections. Quite a lovely album not speaking exclusively to a classically trained or at least well versed audience but rather one that can be well enjoyed by the casual fan of Contemporary Classical music and modern composition due to its overall harmonic approach.

Album artwork on Instagram!