Composer John Zorn has been writing "classical" scores since his earliest days, although those fans who know him only from his post-modern jump cutting projects like Naked City and his early game pieces like Cobra may not be entirely familiar with his more "traditional" oriented work. Zorn's influences span time and genre and he is no stranger to the classics. These three new compositions find Zorn bouncing between time periods and stylistic genres only to come full circle to embrace his own singular sound.

Although each of the pieces here qualify as a miniature, none is less than nine minutes long. The first is a variation on a famous Debussy chamber piece, updated with subtle electronics and added instrumentation. Delicate flute passages are interspersed with chiming harpsichord, understated strings and washes of crackling electronics. At once ethereal and sublime, the next minute grating and harsh, it is classic Zorn, but arranged for the concert hall. The second is an all-female vocal motet, borrowing from Greek scales and ancient music. It is truly one of the most subdued and beautiful pieces the maestro has ever lent his pen to. More akin to the vocal work of Meredith Monk, it is a truly unique piece in Zorn's catalog. The final composition is more typical of Zorn's recent forays into the genre, a string trio with conceptual foundations in witchcraft, it is a modern semi-atonal exploration of sound dynamics.

Listening to the album as a whole, one is struck with Zorn's innate dependence on his rootlessness in regards to stylistic clarity and limitations. Although the pieces never sound at odds with each other, they do encompass the sort of democratic worldview that could only be the by-product of a 20th century mind. Perhaps our finest contemporary example of the potential for the continued relevance of concert music in a new century, Zorn has a profoundly important job ahead of him. Mysterium is one more weapon in his arsenal.

Troy Collins
November 27, 2005