8 Sonneurs pour Philip Glass

Breton sonneur Keravec has long taken the bagpipes into new territories; no mean feat for an instrument so ancient. Early forays explored free jazz and improvisation; more recently, he's focused on the rarefied realm of American minimalism. If his take on Terry Riley's In C (reviewed in #196) risked overstaying its welcome, his treatment here of four seminal pieces by Philip Glass, a regular presence in Keravec's discography, is more successful. Four pipers are matched by a quartet of traditional Breton bombards, the former's drone-accented voices glossing Glass’ signature stabbing repetition to hypnotic effect, the latter's octave-lower oboe-like utterances lending discreet commentary and telling contrast. Composed after Glass returned from India in 1969, it's tempting to hear vestigial influences from that trip, and though the originals are laced with a tongue-in-cheek knowingness, here Keravec and company treat them with utter and persuasive respect.