Last month, we listened to the first single from Unseen, the newest work of American composer Michael Torke. The piece, scored for orchestra, unfolds in nine brief movements, and continues in the direction of Torke’s recent groove-based chamber works, Being (2020), Psalms and Canticles (2021), and Time (2022). The complete album for Unseen will be released on May 10.
Unseen, No. 5, which came out yesterday, emerges from a single pulsating rhythmic pattern in the strings. The piece develops as a shifting kaleidoscope of conversing instrumental voices. In the final bars, the voices fade away, and the original pattern remains to drift off into the ether. A repeating harmonic progression gently echoes a contemporary pop hook. It cycles through a series of modulations, each of which reveals a new scene. At moments, the pulse becomes delightfully irregular, altering time as a temporarily skipping heartbeat. Simultaneously majestic, spirited, and melancholy, this is the music of long roadtrips and continuously shifting landscapes.
Recordings
- Torke: Unseen, East Coast Chamber Orchestra, Michael Torke Orchestra michaeltorke.com