Lubomyr Melnyk - Illirion, album review

overandoverandoverandoverandover

These acoustic piano pieces of repeating phrases by Ukrainian-born Lubomyr Melnyk are written and performed in the spirit of Terry Riley and similar – for example modern electronic and programmed repetitions – and their impact is made through the hypnotic effect of their playing/performance, though I found these solo piano patternings seemed to have more nuances of sound within the repetitions, perhaps to do with actual physical touch, and this itself to do with variations within an otherwise set pace. I don’t know. I’m sure many could find it simply going on and on [to express it negatively, as those hearing it this way would], but I found it soothing overall. Most are like opener Beyond Romance at 16 minutes of the recurrence of its rise and fall pattern, hitting a single piano-distinct clink at each height, this varying as a note, but the chord sequence [left hand work] varying slightly too. The briefest Sunset is three and a half minutes and is the quickest and loudest and less soothing but nonetheless dramatic, rounding each time – speedily – on a lower bass note compared with the opening track. But this expression isn’t a fine art of aural observation because they all do coalesce in the reiterations. Or

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