Morton Feldman’s Three Voices for Joan La Barbara, commonly known as just ‘Three Voices’, is an odd piece in contemporary classical music. It’s a standout for many reasons, in part because it has many variations and the odd bridge it made between traditional compositions on normal instrumentation and very elongated vocals. Words are not even spoken until fourteen minutes into the work, and rarely following. An interesting choice on Feldman’s part that’s for sure but it let’s the listener really focus in on the melodies and different patterns.
Arguably a concept piece due to the name being Three Voices and throughout the entire compilation it only has three tracks set at a maximum (no more than three voices are heard at a time). Coming in at almost fifty minutes, the initial listen can be intimidating since it is strictly a vocal performance with no other instruments. It oddly becomes hypnotic by the end, almost dizzying. Feldman doesn’t shy away from using his classically trained skills such as in songs like ‘Whisper’, which is much more rhythm based and tightly put together compared to the vocally focused tracks like ‘Legato’. Interestingly, Feldman dedicated the works to the vocalist you hear, Joan La Barbara known for her beautiful voice. This compilation of songs had a strange coming of existence because Feldman initially composed the pieces with other intentions not knowing he would use only her layered voice in the final execution.
What makes this batch of music shine is how stripped back it is, if you appreciate his compositions and Feldman’s out of the box style of classical music then this is perfect for you. With that said, the compilation could easily be halved in total time. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe some passages on here are truly jaw dropping, such as ‘Snow Falls’, but for the intensity: fifty minutes is unnecessary. Morton Feldman was known for having his long works just like any classical artist, yet this was different and not a traditional piano played composition. Therefore I could easily have equal if not more enjoyment having this condensed to thirty minutes or so.
Sound Check Chuck 