Danish composer Karl Aage Rasmussen’s music often has a bright, humorous character that many listeners will find quite engaging. Movements on a Moving Line is an eclectic musical journey, rhythmically appealing, peppered with catchy tonal episodes, and very cleverly written for small ensemble. I can’t say exactly why it works so well, but it all holds together and rewards repeated listening through the sheer brilliance of its virtuosic instrumental writing. Sinking Though the Dream Mirror, aside from the meaningless title, is a violin concerto of some ambition. At 34 minutes, the central Passacaglia does meander a bit, but it’s recognizably the work of the same composer as Movements on a Moving Line. There’s one especially delightful episode that will bring a smile to the face of anyone familiar with the second movement of Ives’ Fourth Symphony, where the solo violin plays salon music despite all kinds of funny stuff happening around it.
Finally, there’s no way to tell how much “inside” information Rasmussen wrote into Three Friends, but it’s another enjoyable piece in a style that might best be called the neo-classical avant-garde. It’s very effectively structured (its three movements are marked Toccata, Lamento, and Rondo respectively), and offers more than a few humorous touches, especially in the concluding Rondo dedicated to Per Norgard. Fine performances (how nice to see conductor Ole Schmidt’s name again!) and excellent recorded sound top off a welcome portrait of this characterful composer.
