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CD Reviews

Alan Shulman: The Music of Alan Shulman and Stuyvesant Quartet
Bridge Records, 2002; Parnassus Records, 2000

Cellist and composer Alan Shulman, a resident of Kingston and musical contemporary of Morton Gould and Leonard Bernstein, died July 10 at a Hudson nursing home. Two CDs, both produced locally by Shulman’s son Jay, provide two very different glimpses into his dual careers.

The Music of Alan Shulman, Bridge CD 9119, presents Shulman’s compositions as performed by the NBC Symphony Orchestra between 1941 and 1954 (Shulman had been a member of the orchestra from 1937-1942), conducted by Samuel Antek, Bernstein, Frank Black, Guido Cantelli, Don Gillis, and Milton Katims. Included are the premiere performance of his “Theme and Variations for Viola and Orchestra,” which of all his compositions has lingered longest in orchestral repertoires, “A Laurentian Overture,” broadcast from Carnegie Hall, the premiere performance of “Waltzes for Orchestra,” also broadcast from Carnegie Hall, as well as “Rendezvous for Clarinet and Strings,” “A Nocturne for Strings,” “Minuet for Moderns,” “The Bop Gavotte,” and Shulman’s brief arrangement of “Hatikvah”.

Shulman’s orchestral compositions share with Bernstein’s a playful, modern tone that reflects the new life of New York City in the 1940s. Jay Shulman notes that his father “found his voice in the 1940s, and his music reflects his influences”—jazz, French Impressionism, and pop. “He used the orchestra as a tool,” Jay adds. “He loved to play the orchestra and that comes through in his compositions.”

Jay and Alan Shulman listened to the Bridge CD together the day before Alan died.

A second CD, Stuyvesant Quartet, released on the West Saugerties-based Parnassus label (PACD 96026), reveals Shulman in his role as performer, rather than composer. The Stuyvesant, one of many quartets Shulman performed with, was unique in that it also featured Alan’s brother Sylvan Shulman on violin. The performances, recorded between 1947 and 1950, include pieces by Paul Hindemith, Heitor Villa-Lobos and Quincy Porter.

By contrast with Shulman’s orchestral works, his recordings with the Stuyvesant Quartet are more contemplative and, oddly, carry more weight. As Jay Shulman explains, his father and uncle “had a passion for the music of their time,” performing current compositions rather than the tried-and-true quartet repertoire. There was an advantage in this, as the quartet could obtain critiques on their performance from the composers themselves. Hindemith, says Jay Shulman, actually rewrote a portion of his piece for the Stuyvesant Quartet.

It is a tribute to Shulman’s discerning ear that the compositions chosen for the Stuyvesant hold up so well today; the performances are wonderful, and the sound is remarkably clean.

From his early performances with Charles Libove and Nina Lugovoy at the Maverick in the 1960s to his composition of “Quilt” for the Hudson Valley Philharmonic and “Woodstock Waltzes” for the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra in the mid ‘80s, Alan Shulman was an integral part of the Hudson Valley musical landscape. “My father lived the last 22 years of his life in the Hudson Valley, and he loved it here,” says Jay Shulman.

Parnassus Records may be contacted at Box 493, Woodstock, NY 12498, or online at www.parnassusrecords.com. Bridge Records is at 200 Clinton Ave., New Rochelle, NY 10801, or online at www.BridgeRecords.com.

—Todd Paul

Scott Helland: Earthbound
Exotic Aquatic Recordings, 2002

Remember the mid 80s, when the prevailing sound from an electric guitar was that barrage of ringing, anthemic chords from U2’s The Edge and Adam Clayton? Remember how every last group that came out of the 80s stole that sound and ran with it, from Gene Loves Jezebel and beyond? Remember how a signature sound, once potent, quickly dissolved into an omnipresent rock cliché?

The upsurge of roots rock in the late 80s and early 90s, i.e. acoustic and electric twanging, arrived with fortunate timing. It cleansed the rock palate of that gummy guitar sound. Even U2, thankfully, has seen fit to cut back on the arena-rock histrionics which turned them insufferable, and still wins Grammies. (Bono’s ego, his world politicking notwithstanding, seems to be the band’s only Achilles’ heel now.)
Nonetheless, this back-to-basics trend for guitars boded well for the genre. The banner was carried splendidly by a cadre of rock-folkie gals that included Alanis, Melissa, Sarah, Ani, and Sheryl. The return to simplicity also offered a welcome place for regional guitarists who had long ago chosen artistic fretwork over pop theatrics.

Hudson Valley musician Scott Helland has shown a willingness to experiment with genre hybrids. He’s been churning out CDs since 1996. The styles offered on his four previous albums (not heard by this reviewer) are what Helland portentously calls “ambient acoustic instrumental space folk” and “cathartic folk rock.” Another offers “an audio movie”—splices of guitar, bass, and snatches of TV dialogue and telephone conversation. Helland seems to have purged the playfulness from his system, and is coming back to basics himself with his latest CD Earthbound. Don’t be scared off by the murky cover painting, which recalls the worst of high school art class; Earthbound serves up eleven quiet guitar instrumentals. They are fragile sculptures, constructed at various times by his acoustic, electric, and bass. Fleshing them out are chimes, cymbals, handclaps, and, according to the liner notes, “programmable percussion”—all composed and performed by Helland.
There are no jarring differences in tone or content among the eleven tracks, which range in title from the wince-making “Split Pea Personality Soup” to “The Stark Sun” and “Elegant Grasshoppers.” They operate as a seamless suite, and are performed with understated grace. (The longest composition here runs 4:06.) They range in flavor from eastern European to Medieval pastiches. Their overall purpose, it would appear, is a humble one: to add color to the corners of your life. And who can argue with that? Scott Helland’s Earthbound will provide the ideal background music to your next summery Sunday morning, when lying in bed next to your lover (or messing up the covers) is all the ambition you can muster.

Order Earthbound and previous Helland CDs directly via www.scotthelland.com.

—Jay Blotcher