Dip Your Ears, No. 38 (Rostropovich in Knaifel)

A.Knaifel, Amieta Sole, M.Rostropovich et al. ECM

Alexander Knaifel's Psalm 51 (50) is an austere, spheric, single-instrument pursuit of a musical line that has the meditative, solitary quality of Orthodox church music. The instrument is the cello, and it's played by none other than "Slava," Mstislav Rostropovich. It's almost unbearable in its static monotony, but then that may just be its point. The title piece, Amieta Sole (“Clothed with the Sun”), is similar, but the voices of boys' choir, solo soprano, other assorted throats, and orchestra give it colors that easily sustain interest over its thirty-some minutes. Its subtitle “for soloist (female) of soloists” invites to ponder – the music should appeal to those who like Paert, Silvestri, Kancheli, and the like.

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