Professor Releases CD
Albany Records, a label devoted to American Music, releases a CD of music by William & Mary music professor Brian Hulse. The disc titled Pseudosynthesis is the first full-length recording of Hulse's music to appear on the market. Supported in part by a William & Mary faculty research grant, it features chamber works for various combinations of flute, violin, guitar, and piano, performed by some of the best young new music specialists in the United States. Hulse describes the music on the disc as "variously energetic, rhythmic, and sometimes melodious." Stylistically, the music recalls Shostakovich and Bartok, Minimalism, with echoes of Modernism, which he attributes to his studies with composers such as Mario Davidovsky and Morris Rosenzweig. The title of the album, Pseudosynthesis (an obscure word relating to certain chemical reactions) refers to the mixed aesthetic feel of the music. Against notions of unity and organic coherence, Hulse's compositional thought emphasizes the "rogue," "ambulatory," and "inauthentic" aspects of musical expression. Hulse plans future recordings of his operatic works, especially of his opera The Age of Innocence, which he is currently composing.
