Delicate Balance
CD release Jan. 2010

To order copies of this CD, please go to Aucourant Records

• “F. Gerard Errante has been at the forefront of new music exploration with electronics and mixed media for some 40 years, bringing new music to diverse audiences worldwide and inspiring scores of composers to create works for clarinet and various media...
  These works are all about pacing, and Gerry Errante understands pacing in the world of live electronics like few other performers. If the digital sound worlds in this CD seem to take on more analog/human qualities than you thought possible, it is because of Gerry Errante’s soulful expressiveness and consummate sensitivity, and his ability to boldly traverse that tightrope between the two worlds, thus bringing them together in a way few artists can; a delicate balance indeed. ” The Clarinet
• “Errante’s clarinet completes the mood music, with a perfect tone and control for the long legato phrases and is eloquent and communicative. ...The CD meets its objective in balancing ambience and interest, with both an immediate accessibility and the detail within the texture to satisfy repeated listening.” Clarinet & Saxophone
• “Errante floats through the melodic material, showing off the clarity and beauty of his timbre...
  Errante effortlessly delivers a number of graceful flutter tongue passages as well, including a gentleness that at times becomes otherworldly...
  Errante’s performance is assured, engaging, and, as ever, lyrically apt...
  Errante’s performance here confidently demonstrates his lucidity with extended techniques and a vibrant darkness of the chalumeau register that few clarinetists can match...
  Errante’s tone, largely clear and brilliant throughout, seems perfectly fitting to ideals of reflection and primal rhythms...
    ...this album proves that slow, mixed-media music in the hands of a tremendous performer and exponent of new music, as well as ten stylistically varied composers,
  can... be compelling...
    ...this album represents yet another delicate balance between cautious innovation and effective convention...
  With recordings dating back to 1991, Errante is easily the leading American clarinetist specializing in electro-acoustic performance practice.” SEAMUS (Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States) Newsletter
• “The pieces pair Errante’s solo playing with electronic backings that are full and often symphonic in character, and as the woodsy character of the clarinet is preserved, a clear contrast emerges between its acoustic sound and the oft-shimmering backdrops.
  The compositions are & eminently accessible in spirit. Much of Delicate Balance exudes a serene and mystical quality...
  Errante’s release is worth the attention of both clarinet and non-clarinet enthusiasts.” textura (www.textura.org)
• “Through all of these pieces, F. Gerard Errante maintains excellent control in blending the clarinet timbre with whatever electronics are present. It can be difficult to make calm music compelling but each piece, and Errante's playing, keep me listening.” Sequenza 21

“This CD is comprised of compositions for clarinet and electronics created by composer friends with whom I’ve collaborated over the years. These works are intended to be calm, peaceful and tranquil, perhaps being suitable for relaxation and contemplation. At the same time, these are compositions of substance that will be satisfying for active listening as well - hence the title of the CD. The wide diversity of styles and compositional techniques represented will appeal to a broad spectrum of listeners. It is my hope that this disc will provide many hours of enjoyment, and that repeated listening will reveal varied levels of musical discovery.” F.G.E.

Alex Shapiro	Water Crossing	2002
Peter Terry	Echoes of the Invisible	2003
Robert Scott Thompson	Passage	2009
Jane Brockman	Circles in the Sky	2002
Joseph Harchanko	Breath	2005
Rob Mackay	Equanimity	2009
McGregor Boyle	Midway Inlet	2006
Judith Shatin	Cherry Blossoms and a Wrapped Thing: After Hokusai	2006
Douglas Quin/F. Gerard Errante	A Little Night Music	2009
D. Gause	rain of the heart, reign of the soul	2009

Electric Clarinet

• “If there is any hope for contemporary music, it is because of albums like this. ...this is all music that manages to retain an artistic integrity while at once being truly entertaining. That is no small feat. ... F. Gerard Errante explores this engaging impressionism with gorgeous legato playing and a subtle sense for the mythic duality.” Fanfare

• “There is whimsy, pomposity, drama, intergalactic space music and plenty of attractive lyrical solo work here, making this one of the most enjoyable avant-garde wind discs to come my way in a long time.” Windplayer

• “Errante plays with wonderful grace and style.” The Clarinet

Shadows of Ancient Dreams

• “Clarinetist, composer, world traveler, teacher, and past I.C.A. President Gerry Errante is world renowned for his innovative and stellar performances. In Shadows of Ancient Dreams he puts all his many talents to use and introduces listeners to outstanding new music.” The Clarinet

• “It’s safe to say that you’ve never heard clarinet the way clarinetist F. Gerard Errante performs in Shadows of Ancient Dreams ... a wonderful exercise ... Errante’s electric clarinet magic.” 20th Century Music

Beyond Noend with Errante

• “This CD from F. Gerard Errante is the most mellifluous and beguiling selection from the avant-garde that you are likely to encounter... Played with an attractively warm and rich sound and an exemplary technique Gerard Errante takes us by the hand into the 21st century, so that the challenge of new music is not the throwing down of a clanking iron gauntlet, but the sophistication of a suede glove.” Clarinet and Saxophone

• “Clarinetist F. Gerard Errante offers more than just his warm sensual tone on Beyond Noend. The mix of musical styles ... displays the possibilities of the instrument in Errante’s unique personal manner. ... The electronic sections are terrific, and Errante’s performance is superb” The American Record Guide

• “This CD is everything one has come to expect from Gerard Errante and much more! ... a real feast of exciting, exotic and often daring sounds and contemporary techniques produced both on clarinet and by electronic means, all performed to perfection” Australian Clarinet and Saxophone

CDCM Computer Music Series Vol. 29

• “The performances are good, especially clarinetist F. Gerard Errante who continues to excel in music of this vein” The American Record Guide

Third Practice

Music from SEAMUS

Ottuplo!