Michael Byron - Halcyon Days (2023) [Hi-Res]

Michael Byron’s “Halcyon Days” is unique percussion (marimbas, xylophones, vibraphones, glockenspiels, tubular bells, maracas) and keyboard music that’s both wild and pensive, played by an all-star group of new-music performers that includes William Winant, the William Winant Percussion Group (Winant, Tony Gennaro, Michael Jones, and Scott Siler), Lisa Moore, Vicki Ray, and Aron Kallay. Except for the final track (a piano solo written in 2016), these pieces are from a previously under-documented period of Byron’s work—the mid-’70s, when he composed unique and remarkable minimalist-styled music. This album treats us to clangorous clouds of polyrhythms and simple, direct, quiet works, both of which explore rich harmonies and bespeak a sense of transcendent motionlessness.

Tracklist:
1.01 - William Winant - Drifting Music (6:17)
1.02 - William Winant - Music of Every Night (9:17)
1.03 - William Winant Percussion Group - I. — (11:51)
1.04 - William Winant Percussion Group - II. — (9:01)
1.05 - William Winant Percussion Group - III. — (12:39)
1.06 - Vicki Ray - Starfields (7:57)
1.07 - Lisa Moore - Tender, Infinitely Tender (11:00)