London-born musician and composer Frank Denyer enjoys a reputation that is belied by his relatively sparse discography, Whispers being only his fifth album since the millennium and his first since Silenced Voices (Mode, 2008). Whispers and Silenced Voices make fitting titles for Denyer compositions and albums, as he has displayed an increasing affection for quieter compositions. On the current album, the composition "Whispers" dominates, consisting of seventeen short vocal pieces, with a total duration of less than twenty-one minutes; performed quietly by Denyer with his sustained wordless tones only being accompanied by occasional spoken words, whistling or tapping from himself, or muted violin courtesy from Elisabeth Smalt, at times the overall effect can feel like eavesdropping on a séance. Denyer sounds extremely vulnerable, and the most immediate reaction to this may be one of embarrassment at intruding on a very personal, private experience. Nonetheless, with repeated listenings, over time the piece's fragile, delicate atmosphere becomes compellingly listenable and very memorable.
The remainder of the album, recorded between 2009 and 2013, revisits other aspects of Denyer's music. His only previous album on Another Timbre was 2007's Music for Shakuhachi , featuring Yoshikazu Iwamoto playing shakuhachi on nine tracks recorded between 1984 and 1999. His work with Yoshikazu was important in Denyer's musical development and, on the current album, "Woman with Jinashi Shakuhachi" (dating from 2011) is a welcome reminder of that music while building upon it. On the piece, in a fresh approach to the instrument, Kiku Day combines it with her voice and percussion to create a coherent soundscape that is both charming and engaging. The following track, "Riverine Delusions" features The Barton Workshop, the (usually) seven-piece group founded by Denyer in 1990 to perform his music and that of other composers. Although, in recent years, they have released more albums of other composers (Wolff, Lucier, Cage, Feldman...) than of Denyer, he remains an occasional member, playing piano or, as here, percussion. The instrumental line-up of bass flute, bass clarinet, bass trombone, bass drum, muted violin, muted cello and percussion gives a good idea of the soundscape, but it cannot hint at how integrated and comfortable the players sound with one another, the result of much time playing together. Impressive.
The dramatically titled "Two Voices with Axe" combines the voices of Denyer and Juliet Fraser with an axe wielded by Denyer's long-time producer and writer of sleeve notes Bob Gilmore, all accompanied by a small ensemble conducted by Jamie Man. The delicacy of the voices and accompaniment is effectively contrasted with the intermittent noisy interjections from the axe, creating a dynamic tension between the two. (Sadly, Gilmore passed away in 2015, so the CD is dedicated to him.) The album closes with a track that almost takes us full circle; on "A Woman Singing", Juliet Fraser sings alone, unaccompanied, at times sounding almost as exposed as Denyer did on "Whispers". Established Denyer aficionados will find Whispers well up to Denyer's usual high standards, while the uninitiated or curious can start here with confidence.
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