Beauty in the Beast

Beauty in the Beast

From the roar of Tibetan horns and the clangor of metal percussion that opens <I>Beauty in the Beast</I>, Wendy Carlos in 1986 signaled a new direction for her music. <I>Beauty in the Beast</I> is Carlos's magnum opus, an album that should have established the synthesizer's role in the new global music landscape. More than that, it should have established Carlos as a composer and not just a <I>Switched-on Bach</I> jukebox. But not too many people were listening. Rereleased now after 14 years, <I>Beauty in the Beast</I> has lost none of its power. Carlos is both profound and poignant, dissonant and disarming on <I>Beauty</I>, as she fuses a global orchestra from her synthesizers. "Poem for Bali" is the centerpiece of the album, an episodic, 17-minute excursion as Carlos orchestrates the sounds and rhythms of a digital gamelan orchestra. In addition to replicating the metallophones, gongs, and flutes of the traditional gamelan, she creates her own hybrid sound designs, giving this work a surreal and sometimes harrowing tone, like a dream bent through funhouse mirrors. But then there are pieces such as "A Woman's Song," based on a Balkan melody. The title track merges nightmare landscapes and a crazed carnival calliope with a haunting theme that sounds like a lament for the end of the world. <I>Beauty in the Beast</I> is an essential recording of both modern composition and synthesis--Carlos should plug into this circuit again. <I>--John Diliberto</I>