Devil's Music
Tomo Suzuki, Nicolas Collins · Computer Music Journal · 1988
A La Mode (1984) is an extremely eclectic work scored for synthesizers (Casio CZ101, Yamaha DX7, and TX7) and eight instruments performed here by the Philadelphiabased contemporary music group Relache. Within its 20 min, one is treated to a somewhat bumpy and, at times, incongruous tour of no less than five completely different musical idioms ranging from minimalism (in the style of Glass, Reich, et al.), to passages with a distinctly Baroque character. This attempt to embrace such a wide variety of disparate styles makes me recall the work Sinfonia (1968) by Luciano Berio. However, unlike that piece, which successfully captures a stream-ofconsciousness, parallel flowing of multiple melodic themes and forms, Rolnick's work is somehow lacking in essential lubricants that would permit all of the thematic elements to coexist, interweave, and transform seamlessly one into another. Instead, the overall result is a disjointed effect.