The conceit of improvisations, duo or more, separated by space and time, with no direct communication, has been increasingly utilized in the past couple of decades, to greater or lesser effect. The idea behind Turba's 'the gift' bears some comparison with Keith Rowe's conception for the MIMEO ensemble, sight, wherein each member was instructed to create about five minutes of sounds within a bracket of one hour with the crucial "rule" that they perform their music as if they were together with the group. Here, the parameters are more open ended, the piece being set for "two musicians, or more", but still a central instruction is that "each musician should think about the other", offering "gifts", generally of a quiet nature, with minimally repeated sounds, and with a duration of approximately five minutes. Neither musician will hear what the other has created, their offerings being simply layered onto each other (as was the case with 'sight'), resulting in the final recording.
Necessarily, given the nature of the work, it's the listener's mind which forms patterns and the appearance of interaction, made more conducive by the sensitivity of the contributions. We hear thirteen realizations of 'the gift', with Turba on amplified objects, electronics and recordings and Saeki using voice, viola and objects. While all the pieces are at a relatively low volume, there's a great deal of variety in play, from the softly grating viola strokes on the opening piece, to gently swooping electronic washes, to whispered vocals and much, much more. Exterior sounds enter, traffic, children; some "standard" viola practicing, some isolated, muted plucks, rubbed objects...the sounds seem endless, sometimes tonal, often not, always delicate and almost deferential.
The overall effect is, as I think was intended, that of a deep, sincere conversation and, of course, of an exchange of gifts. One can imagine the sense of surprise on the part of the participants as their gifts were "unwrapped". A lovely recording, perfect for establishing a warm, gently prickly atmosphere.
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