Lavinia Meijer - The Glass Effect: The Music of Philip Glass (2016) CD Rip

An album the majority of whose contents consists of harp arrangements of music by Philip Glass might seem a bit arcane for a major label, but it seems that Sony knows what it is doing here. The Glass Effect double album is one of those releases that succeed on two different levels, an explicit one and one that, although not mentioned, is perhaps even more important. The former level here is the one denoted by the title, as Meijer picks up the rather neglected theme of Philip Glass' influence by offering, on disc two, a group of works by younger composers who follow Glass in varying degrees but who, it's safe to say, wouldn't have the styles they do without Glass having gone before. Much of the album consists of arrangements by Meijer herself, and these include, at the end, a remix of music from Koyaanisqatsi that's delightful and would be spoiled by description. But there's also solo harp music: sample the Suite for Harp by progressive rock musician Bryce Dessner, who certainly seems to have absorbed Glass' style far enough to make it his own. But the strongest thing about Meijer's performance here is the second level, the hidden agenda: the piano etudes by Glass himself, which take up the first CD, work beautifully on the harp. In the hands of a harpist of Meijer's caliber, the instrument takes on the kinds of resonance that makes the music of Glass reach its highest pitch of intensity, and Sony's engineers catch the whole thing in living sonic color. This album is a novelty, certainly, but a highly recommended one. -- James Manheim