Four vivid works for percussion quartet are presented on Rupa-khandha, the Los Angeles Percussion Quartet's 2012 album on Dorian's Sono Luminus label, which has been issued as a conventional CD and as a Blu-ray disc in 5.1 surround sound. Recorded at Skywalker Sound in Marin County, California, the package has state-of-the-art reproduction, which is a great aid to appreciating this subtle music, which often relies on soft dynamic levels and delicate timbres to deliver its most striking effects. The moods evoked by Eric Guinivan's Ritual Dances, Sean Heim's Rupa-khandha, Joseph Pereira's Repoussè, and Jeffrey Holmes' Occasus range from the mysterious and eerie to the most explosive and violent, and all four works suggest ceremonial or ritualistic music of distant times and places. The frequent use of bells and gongs lend these pieces the colors of gamelan music, especially in the third and fourth pieces in Pereira's Repoussè, which shows the influence most clearly. While there are some shockingly loud passages, most of the album is calming and suitable for reflection or for creating an exotic background setting.
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