David Bedford - Star's End (1974)

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David Bedford - Star's End (1974)

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It's safe to say that most people who become cognizant of this very obscure album's existence will do so through a Mike Oldfield discography. David Bedford conducted the choir and strings on Oldfield's Hergest Ridge album, and Oldfield returns the favor by guesting as the soloist on this 45-minute Bedford orchestral work, recorded the same year (1974). That being said, the potential purchaser is warned that this is not a guitar concerto, nor a "in-all-but-name" Oldfield album in spite of his significant contribution. With Vernon Handley conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Stars End is a major avant-garde masterpiece that is both modernistic and experimental, yet imminently very accessible and enjoyable if the listener is willing to put in the time.

So what is it like? A simple starting point (that does not adequately do the work full justice) would be the orchestral textures that Andrew Powell added to the early Alan Parsons Project albums married to the rhythms of Stravinsky, the long lines of Mahler, and the convention-defying gestures of composers such as Prokofiev and Messiaen. There are no big hummable melodies, but little fragments are quite catchy and will implant themselves into your musical memory. With a title like Stars End (presumably borrowed from Asimov) that practically begs for visual interpretation, there is actually very little here that is descriptive or pictorial, although the quieter moments will undoubtably elicit images of "vast interstellar spaces".

Both halves open with the offbeat rhythms, swirling textures, glissando slides, staccato punctuation, and the generally wild effects that cause many listeners and reviewers to blanch. A definitive pulse is ultimately discernible beneath the long, slow crescendos (crescendi?). Oldfield's guitar (right channel) and bass guitar (left channel) are used primarily as rhythm instruments over tiny thematic fragments; his stop-and-start soloing is heard all too briefly but a fascinating call-and-response between the two instruments closes the first half. Just when it seems a fughetta, a chorale, or an "almost" tune is beginning to establish itself, everything disintegrates with sudden interruptions or an orchestral build-up of explosive discord. Other highlights include a hypnotic portamento section, whistling strings over static pedal points, and a reprise of the call-and-response that leads to the long-awaited mysterious ending: four final acscending notes.

Vernon Handley (who would go on in 1988 to conduct the awe-inspiring premier recording of Robert Simpson's Symphony #9 - another reference point) is to be greatly commended for holding together what must have been a very difficult work to record. While not everyone (even Oldfield fans) will "get it", Stars End has very much repaid this listener's investment of time, and will always be returned to with increasing fascination. If you ever find yourself reading about Bayta, Toran, and the Mule on a rainy winter's night by the fireside, no finer musical consummation could possibly be suggested.

By Steve Wyzard, amazon

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David Bedford - Star's End (1974)

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David Bedford - Star's End (1974)

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David Bedford - Star's End (1974)

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