Megadisc Launches the Series of Rytis Mažulis' Portrait CDs

Rytis Mažulis. Cum essem parvulus
Canon solus / Sybilla / Cum essem parvulus / ajapajapam
Latvian Radio Chamber Singers, Kaspars Putniņš/cond. (1-4), Chordos String Quartet (4)
Megadisc, MDC 7810, 2004

The Belgian label Megadisc Classics was founded in 1993 as a small company to become the reference label for less known or recorded Eastern, Central European and Flemish composers, such as Galina Ustvolskaya, Valentin Silvestrov, Avet Terterian, Lepo Sumera, Karel Goeyvaerts, Wim Hendrickx, and many other prominent names. Currently run by the composer and former producer with Megadisc, Patrick De Clerck, who began talent scouting in Lithuania a few years ago, the company finally chose the music of Rytis Mažulis to be released in three portrait editions from 2004 to 2006.

First CD of Mažulis' vocal works, "Cum essem parvulus", is due to appear this October. The pieces for this release were thoroughly selected and recorded to reflect the whole evolution of the composer's style - from Canon solus reminiscent of a mediaeval hymn to ajapajapam, a timeless meditation on a single sound. While listening to this CD, one gets absorbed into a utopian sound world of one of the most radical Lithuanian composers, built from intricate poly-temporal structures and imperceptible microtones taken to the extreme. Though this may seem impossible to execute by human beings, the Latvian Radio Chamber Singers met this challenge with brilliance.

Patrick De Clerck will present the first CD in the series during the Gaida Festival on October 26. The next two releases - "Twittering Machine" consisting of Mažulis' computer pieces, and "Palindrome" with his microtonal works - are planned for 2005 and 2006.

Lithuanian Music Link No. 9