JAVS Fall 2022

Recording Reviews

In developing this project, Bak stated, “I wanted to create a work of art that not only showcases the diverse range of sounds of the viola, but the diverse compositional languages and backgrounds of amazing artists that write for the viola as well.” The performers on this album fully succeed in highlighting the deep complexity of the viola, found through the compositional artistry in these seven works. The album’s opening track, Rebecca Clarke’s Untitled , is played with humor and excitement. Bak gives Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti’s work Kòu Inoa a warm and meditative reading and offers an enlivened performance in the premier recording of Tableau XII , by Tyson Gholston Davis. Pure technique is on display in Joan Tower’s Wild Purple , which is followed by nuanced and reflective playing in Quinn Mason’s In Memory . The album is rounded out with passionate and delicate performances of Jeffrey Mumford’s wending and Tōru Takemitsu’s A String Around Autumn. Without a doubt, Impulse by Jordan Bak is necessary listening for violists interested in contemporary music, and this record displays the tremendous technique and beautiful tone of an artist who is trailblazing an international career.

Impulse Bright Shiny Things Jordan Bak, viola Ji Yung Lee, piano

“Untitled,” by Rebecca Clarke ko`u inoa, by Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti Tableau XII for solo viola, by Tyson Gholston Davis Wild Purple, by Joan Tower In Memory, by Quinn Mason wending, by Jeffrey Mumford A String Around Autumn, by Tōru Takemitsu, arr. Toshio Hosokawa Presented by the Bright Shiny Things label, Jordan Bak’s debut album Impulse , offers striking and beautiful performances of five unaccompanied works for solo viola, and two duo compositions with pianist Ji Yung Lee. Hailed as a rising star, the Jamaican-American viola player Jordan Bak is a contemporary music-championing alum of both the Juilliard School and the New England Conservatory. His first album displays both Bak’s extreme versatility and virtuosity in works by Rebecca Clarke, Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti, Tyson Gholston Davis, Joan Tower, Quinn Mason, Jeffrey Mumford, and Tōru Takemitsu.

-Lanson Wells

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Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 38, No. 2, Fall 2022