Review by Szabolcs Molnár presented in Bartok Radio’s ’Új Zenei Újság’ (New Music Journal) programme, 11 July 2021.
For me the most interesting, the most exciting composition of the concert was the piece titled Komm from Balázs Kecskés D. Not only because I have never heard it in this form before – the extended ensemble [as a chamber choir and a string quartet] revealed a slightly different side of this composition. Hearing it for the third or fourth time, I am getting more and more certain that it is worth paying a special attention to Balázs Kecskés D.’s endeavour to create some kind of a balance between very simple and complex materials within his compositions, as he is getting more and more beautiful results by this intention.
What do I mean by that? This piece is sometimes simple, [the composer] works with – I am using this expression that could even sound a bit pejorative – trivial elements. He is directing parts in unison, repeating a single quart motive, or nota bene makes a clear triad played – the piece has such elements. However, these elements always connect to a different complexity. For example, when a single voice is played by the string quartet, it is the rhythmics that is particularly exciting – as quintuplets clash with triplets, eighths, and quarters. Some kind of an excitement, and a rich texture appears, while the composition is simple in respect of pitch-range. When the sound clears up into consonant triads, they appear as particular events, since there can even be sound surfaces formed by quarter-tone shifts in their immediate environment. When for example a triad in D minor is played, I do not feel that this is a retrograde [gesture], or a consonance forced in the spirit of eclecticism or postmodernism, but I can associate the sound with some kind of a new taste. These moments are sometimes much more remarkable in the composition than the dissonant elements rather accepted in contemporary music.
It is undoubtedly a very talented and well-structured piece. It is remarkably philosophical, Balázs Kecskés D. himself composed the lyrics from the writings of various authors. The lyrics are imbued with a unique, profane spirituality, through which the audience can transubstantiate, and be part of a to a true sacral experience. Undoubtedly, it is a composition that deserves to be returned to again and again, and the attempt to be played newly by various performers.
