Jean Hasse - Pocket Pieces
Selected reviews of the kinkh CD that mention the Pocket Pieces:
International Record Review, June 2000
Is there a musical equivalent of Cucumber with Jam? What sort of music might be inspired by Scrambled Eggs on Butter, Green Peas, or a piece of (presumably irresistible) Never Fail Fudge? And is the music of such encounters likely to sound any more gustatory than that of Tired Eyes, Across the Room, or You Said You Would Call?
The invitation to ask such questions is among the pleasures of Jean
Hasse's compositions presented on this disc. A fascination with
articulating that space in our souls between language and music that is
so elusive (in composer John Williams' description of her) is clearly
one of the main sources of her work.
Born in 1958, Hasse grew up in the USA and has lived
in England since 1994; this CD offers recordings of music she wrote
between 1985 and 1999, almost all of it for solo piano (marvellously
played here by Hasse herself). Characteristically, this is music of
hard edges: exact, etched with precision and drawn to the possibilities
of carrying melody within thick, often block-like textures. Hasse's
rich, confident harmonic writing is what sustains these textures, and
what, indeed, makes them one of the principal areas of interest: though
her harmonic style is dense, each harmonic moment is precisely
weighted, and successive moments release shifting colours of great
clarity and definition. As an approach to the instrument - to its
capabilities and associated repertory of gestures - this is piano
writing of a conservative cast. Yet within these restrictions the
pieces offer considerable diversity; and the music's lucidity, combined
with the range of its references (which often include jazz), its
improvisatory flair and its sheer quirkiness, make it a source of
continual surprise.
Most of the compositions here are tiny. From the collection that constitutes the Pocket Pieces,
35 are presented, and most last less then a minute. Many of these are
hardly more than fragments, inasmuch as they end just when one wishes
they would go on; when heard in relation to their titles, however, the
curtailments usually make at least some kind of programmatic sense. In
truth, these pieces are less for the stage than the home and the piano
teacher's studio. Hasse has arranged them into graded volumes, with
both children and adults in mind; she plans to complete the series by
writing another 40 more such pieces.
According to the helpful booklet notes, Hasse herself believes the Pocket Pieces
are the main reason for the CD's existence. That may be too narrow. But
I do think the disc will be of interest primarily to pianists -
especially students and non-professionals - looking for new music for
the instrument that is fresh, lively and attractive, and yet not
impossibly difficult to make sense of or to play. In both Jean Hasse's
compositions and performances, they are likely to find a rewarding
harvest.
- Christopher Ballantine, Professor of Music, University of Natal
BBC Music Magazine, March 2000
The short pieces which complete the disc range in
length from just eight seconds to no more than two and a half minutes.
According to the booklet notes, they are to be published in a series of
graded volumes for children and adults: an excellent prospect, as their
variety of approaches and quirky titles will be enjoyed and there is an
unquenchable need for high-quality material for this market.
- Jessica Duchen
Musical Opinion, Summer 2000
This is the first CD devoted to Jean Hasse’s music,
and a fascinating compendium it is. The first thing to say about her
music is that it is immediately communicative;
she possesses a clarity of expression which is rare in modern music ...
All in all this is one of those rare records - unusual pieces from an
original and musical mind.
- Robert Matthew-Walker
The Guardian, 15 September 2000
Hasse, an American composer based in England, has
used the relatively affordable medium of a solo piano album to present
a rewarding compilation of her work over the past 15 years. Hasse's
musical language owes something to the US minimalists, but there's
another sensibility at work that equips the best pieces with melody,
grace and a steely foundation. Tremolo Piece and As seen from the sky are reminiscent of Somei Satoh's Incarnation II; Never Fail Fudge and Maybe are consonant piano miniatures with an intelligent twist.
- John L Waters
Village Voice, New York, 29 May 2001
Remember Hans Otte's Book of Sounds? If you liked that, you might also like Hasse's slightly jazzier, less dryly conceptual Pocket Pieces
for piano. She's fortyish, American, living in England, and her
post-minimalism is dreamy but not without backbone; she ups the tension
before you can settle into anything. …. Most of the disc is small,
thoughtful piano pieces of often Satie-esque melancholy.
- Kyle Gann
Women in Music Now magazine, August/September 2001
... Hasse dips into many different styles - jazz,
impressionism, contemporary classical – and does it all with such
originality and verve that I would like to hear more extended pieces…
- Diana Harris
