Kamran Ince: Passion and Dreams

Founded in 1982 by Kevin Stalheim, Milwaukee’s Present Music has been a champion of new music, working closely with many of the nation’s most exciting and important composers to craft a body of work that grows to 10 albums with the release of Passion and Dreams. It is the award-winning ensemble’s second on innova (after In White) to focus on the work of Turkish-American composer Kamran Ince, with whom the group has had a 23-year relationship, commissioning 10 pieces by him and performing a third of his complete repertoire.

Passion and Dreams opens with “Dreamlines,” commissioned by the Turkish Chamber of Architects for their 100th Anniversary in 2008. It is, fittingly, an architect’s prayer, recited in hushed tones over trembling, irregular unisons in harp, piano and vibraphone. The nine-part “Zamboturfidir” explores diverse sonic spaces from the thump and grind of heavy industry to a soothing chorale that slowly comes unhinged. The album closes with “Two Step Passion,” a relentlessly driving Turkish danse macabre that gets upended by the clatter and bang of metallic percussion.

Throughout, Ince’s compositions continue their work of synthesizing the energy and rawness of Turkish and Balkan folk music, the spirituality of Byzantine and Ottoman court music, and the traditions of European art music and American popular music. The recording sessions of Passion and Dreams were led by Ince himself, and he also supervised the final mixing and editing of the album. A true collaboration between composer and ensemble, Present Music’s latest solidifies their place as one of the country’s foremost new music ensembles.