All the Noises, though extracted from the work All the Noises in the World by Korean composer Hyo-Shin Na, seems like an incongruous choice of title judging from what's inside, as this New World disc is quite musical and not very noisy. All of the its contents are twenty-first century works; the clarinet quartet Ocean/Shore 2 (2003), the string quartet Ten Thousand Ugly Ink Blots (2006), the solo piano piece Walking, Walking (2004) and the title work, which is played on traditional Korean instruments. Na's music is gentle and intuitive, interested in sound generally but selective in resources; in her writing for strings she favors the senza vibrato tone favored by
John Cage in his string quartets. Na's piano writing is modal and "white" sounding, but rhythmically quite variable; a sense of tonality -- even of melody -- pervades much of the music here, but Na does not parse out her music in a conventional manner. What one is left with are choices and their consequences, and some of the choices are quite imaginative; some are less so. The conclusion of Ten Thousand Ugly Ink Blots is not very well defined, to the extent where one wonders, "Okay, now was that the ending?" If the CD is over, then it was.
Hyo-Shin Na has stated that she "no longer [tries] to write Korean music, nor am I not trying to write Korean music." In that regard, this is quite successful; while informed by Na's Korean roots and sensibilities, these works sever most ties to tradition and exist within their own continuum. While some may think Na's approach on All the Noises is rather like setting out on a life raft when the main vessel has not yet sunk, you've got to admire the courage and charisma of what she is trying to achieve. New World's sound is clear and consistent, and the various performing groups that interpret these works do very well by them.