– General Description:
The tárogató is a single reed woodwind instrument (similar to a clarinet) and is originally a folk instrument from the regions of Hungary and Romania whose music has been handed down aurally. Lamneck: “Because of the key structure it is possible to explore glissandi throughout much of the body of the instrument. The structure allows for the exploration of ‘new techniques’ which are not possible to such an extent on the clarinet nor on other woodwind instruments with extensive key mechanisms.” Esther Lamneck has an active career as a soloist and is the director of the Woodwind program at NYU.

Track descriptions from the album:
“The compositions Prelude, Duo, and Concerto (2014) comprise a trilogy of collaborative, impro- visational pieces for tárogató and interactive computer system.”
“Irresistible Flux (2014) was inspired by Hungarian folk music as played by the rich-sounding tárogató which digitally manipulates the source material to create an expanded environment.”
“Con Forze Che Si Svolgono Sferiche [with forces that evolve spherically] is a composition that emphasizes the awareness of the importance of a soul launched in the adventure of life.”
“Construção is a collaborative work involving the composer’s research into machine interactive systems and Esther’s work in compositional improvisation.”
“Enchantment is a collaborative composition for tárogató and computer by Esther Lamneck and Jorge Sosa. The work uses a Max/Msp patch, which contains a fixed back track and a suite of effects that are applied to the tárogató in real time.”
“Quanti di luce e suono is the result of the long standing artistic collaboration which Esther Lamneck and Alfonso Bel ore have enjoyed throughout the years. It is written for the tárogató and for both interactive sound and video.”

– Musicians:
Mara Helmuth, Paola Lopreiato, Sergio Kafejian, Jorge Sosa, Alfonso Bel ore

– FCC Compliant: YES
– Recommended Tracks: 4

1. (6:02) Prelude - slides and fuzzy fast mishmashes trying to escape; like whales calling at times
2. (5:53) Duo - slow melody floating in and out that gets more frantic and animal as it progresses
3. (9:37) Concerto - trying to stop traffic and then be traffic; scary ethereal then fast fluttering then quiets some then builds
4. ***(11:00) Irresisitble Flux - pretty start, sad, haunting and echoey, then becomes disturbed
5. (10:45) Con forze che si svolgono sferiche (with forces that evolve spherically) - creepy slithering tangle of sound, not happy at all
6. (7:20) Construção (Construction) - voice-like, complaining, then very messy mixture of tones
7. *(10:04) Enchantment - spare and sparkly at first, again voice-like harmonic sounds drifting, then very crowded, then spare again
8. (12:16) Quanti di luce e suono (How many of light and sound) - bell-like and squibbling/squawking sounds drifting in and out