Kastning, Kevin/Sándor Szabó: Invocation

If you are a regular reader of this site chances are you have come across the pairing of Kevin Kastning and Sándor Szabó. Invocation is the duo's latest offering.

For those not in the know Kastning is a guitar player but not in the traditional sense. He plays contraguitars of his own design for which he must be congratulated. He makes some of the most uncompromising music I have heard and his work is completely noncommercial, almost to a fault. Let's just say the hooks are few and far between. Szabó is a classical guitarist with a similar musical outlook.

The music is spread between fourteen improvised pieces mostly moving at a slow dreamlike pace. The chords and notes sound random at times creating a dissonant palette of sounds while in other moments meld together in a more seamless fashion. This music will require your full concentration and isn't something that will be easily absorbed. The music is quite difficult to distinguish from one song to the next so you can almost think of this as one long seventy-nine minute piece. That may be good or bad depending on your perspective.

There is no doubting the talent of these players. Whether you find this disc palatable will be a matter of personal taste. Just remember the duo doesn't shift gears all that often and it tends to get a little brooding after a while. That said, the talent is certainly there and if you enjoy guitar structures venturing into dreamy dissonance you should likely check this out.

The players:
Kevin Kastning (36-string Double Contraguitar, 30-string Contra-Alto guitar, 15-string Extended Classical guitar)
Sándor Szabó (16-string Classical guitar)

Track Listing:
1. Akathist (5:33)
2. Psalm (5:20)
3. Antiphon I (6:38)
4. Vobiscum (5:15)
5. Chant (4:23)
6. Antiphon II (5:07)
7. Vigil I (7:12)
8. Consecration (4:37)
9. Litany I (8:02)
10. Vigil II (6:50)
11. Orison (5:05)
12. Hymn (5:13)
13. Litany II (6:20)
14. Benedictus (3:53)

Added: November 10th 2017
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Label's Official Site
Hits: 1338
Language: english

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