Lines to Infinity

PARMA Recordings artists Peter Greve and Hans Bakker have come together to give us LINES TO INFINITY, a stunning album that revolves around emotive and dramatic scores for primarily piano and flute. The two composers hail from the Netherlands and share a knack for creating thoughtful contemporary chamber works that appeal to the listener’s imagination.

Peter Greve first contributes Sonata for flute and piano, a modal piece that was written in 2005 but has roots in the 1950s, when Greve observed Turkish folk music on a trip through the country. The first and third movements are tonal in their makeup, while the middle section uses an atonal idiom. The third and more modal movement incorporates elements of the Turkish folk music that Greve observed so long ago. It also utilizes asymmetric measure types, with both 10/8 and 13/8 making an appearance. The piano primarily serves as the rhythmic guide of this track, while the flute takes the lead.

Greve’s second composition, Dialogues for narrator, flute, cello, and piano, centers around the idea of human communication, specifically between lovers in a relationship. The two lovers are represented by flute & cello collectively, while the piano represents the various friends & family who are amidst the peripheral of the lovers’ relationship. The piece can be broken into four movements: Discussion, Dispute, Reflection, and Celebration. The flow and tone of the music follows these parameters; the mood starts light until the conversation slowly descends into chaos, moves to contemplation and finally confirmation of the relationship. In the third movement, a poem by the Argentine poet Jorge Bucay is interjected among the music.

Hans Bakker contributes three works to this album. Leys for flute solo draws upon the phenomenon of ley lines for its hymn-like cascading melody. Listeners might remember the melody from Brenne for violin and piano or Leys III for flute, violin, and guitar from Navona Records’ PINNACLE compilation album. Easy Piece for violoncello and piano is a straightforward but efficient duo piece that represents peace, solitude, and hope. Its effectiveness as a work is in its simplicity; it would not be out of place as the main motif in a romantic film.

The centerpiece of Bakker’s contributions is the piece Trio for flute, oboe, and clarinet, a sprawling 11-minute opus split into three movements. In Part I, the instruments each take turns playing 16th note variations, sometimes intersecting playfully within the rhythm. The piece is able to navigate multiple accidentals while still sounding like it’s revolving around one key. Part II features the flute beginning this piece followed then by the oboe taking over the melody, as if in direct response. The theme, though, seems to be the off-beat quarter notes. The three instruments come back together just once in rhythm before the flute takes over again with a more aggressive 16th note melody, which builds in intensity and leads us back to the introductory passage. The coda introduces a new rhythm, the triplet, which makes a few brief appearances before part II ends abruptly. Part III is finally the clarinet’s time to shine, evoking a frolicking and playful finale.