Some musical artists work best within the confines of a concept. This estimation is particularly true of instrumental music that tends to offer mere hints of action and consequences. Alex Izraev’s “Laboratory” aims to be the soundtrack piece of a painting but ends up delivering something imbued with a heightened sense of drama.
The ardent students of classical music might be excused for thinking that pop music has ruined our imagination. With the words always spelling out the meaning, what’s the point of listening closely or treasuring the artistry involved in virtuoso playing? Perhaps most of us have been trained to listen to music just waiting for the vocal hook.
Alex Izraev’s “Laboratory” might challenge this. Following an intro that presents the piece as the description of some kind of life-threatening disaster, we are greeted with the melancholy of “Act I: The Descent.” It’s a mournful piece, the kind that could accompany a news report about terrible flooding or relentless forest fires.
“Act II: Feral Assistance” uses a pan flute as the lead instrument and allows resonant synth chords and drums to add colour to the piece. The lead guitar provides a sense of relief to this prog-rock-like piece.
“Act III: Reconstruction” adds some hopefulness to the work. The repetitive guitar arpeggios and the tricky might suggest that the dark clouds are about to be replaced by clearer skies.
Finally, like an ambitious prog-rock and classical hybrid, “Act IV: The Ascent” is built on lyrical, highly melodic lead guitar motifs. There’s a bittersweet sense of hope to the final notes of the song here.
Did it sound like it did in your mind when you first viewed the painting? Does visual art suggest these kinds of complex musical arrangements to you? Alex Izraev dares you to consider these things and by giving his imagination a workout to encourage you to do the same.
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