Tigue - Robert Honstein: Lost and Found (2023)

Robert Honstein is a New York City-based composer whose output ranges from chamber and orchestral works to vocal and film music. Lost and Found is devoted to his music for percussion. The album notes by Doyle Armbrust resonate with themes of childhood, early parenting, and the timeless animated films of Hayao Miyazaki.

Honstein is a master of process and mood, building and releasing tension in multiple layers. His taut formal clarity balances a slow, organic approach to development; extended sections of complex patterns can suddenly cut to silence or new material, and return later. He counterpoints larger, more virtuosic movements with understated, repeating interludes that outline the structure of each work.

The album opens with An Index of Possibility. “Repose 1” lilts like a sweet, sleepy afternoon, a relaxing bell-like drift of tuned pipes shaded by the breath of a scraped flower pot. “Flicker” is a bright awakening, bells and tuned pipes in constant motion. This texture is accompanied by sharp strikes of a log drum, and initially their relationship is unclear. As the timbres change, the drum strikes open up longer and longer interruptions in the rolls. Five stele of sound, articulated by sharp accents, end the movement with imposing authority. “Flow” begins with a ritual-like gesture — listen for the beautifully strange decays of the sawblade and school bell. It is a stream of energy, driven by an unrelenting quintuplet pattern, shot through with color from layers of quintuplets sliding under and over. A wonderfully lanky assemblage of drums and bells makes a cameo appearance. “Repose 2” is interrupted by the fizz of bells that begins the hugely entertaining “Burst”, a hair-raising ride on a devilish machine built from ever-changing time signatures, unpredictable repetitions, and perpetual motion. “Repose 3” brings the piece to an introspective close. The last we hear is a solemn, mysterious drum roll.