GRAMOPHONE EDITORIAL REVIEW
   MARCH 1999 EDITION

   PHILIP SHEPPARD
   'The Glass Cathedral'
   Philip Sheppard (vc)
   BLUE SNOW BSNCD1

   Debut solo records usually default to one of two categories: 1.
   Breathtaking but vacuous dislplays of virtuosity; 2.  Gorgeous but
   empty digital fantasies.  You can guess at once that Philip Sheppard's
   approach doesn't fit the first category - the booklet is almost too
   reticent about the performer's name - and suspicions of the second
   category fade quickly.  Yes, it uses overdubbing; yes it features a
   new digital and acoustic five string cello.  But the pieces use
   state-of-the-art technology without being overwhelmed by it.  In any
   case, Sheppard restricted himself to the sounds made on the instrument,
   as opposed to using it as a MIDI controller.

   Maybe the programmatic nature of the venture also helps Sheppard to
   avoid conventional pitfalls.  'Harrison's Chronometer' is a soundscape
   of a voyage to Lisbon; The Glass cathedral depicts 'an impossible
   space' and sent me back to my LP collection to compare Bryars's
   'Sinking of the Titanic' on Obscure.  Like that piece, 'The Glass
   Cathedral' always avoids narcosis, whilst dealing with drones and
   generally slow changes (except once or twice when Sheppard dumps a
   huge string section right in your lap after a lull).  He's very
   committed to improvisation, but I'm not sure how much it could figure
   in a piece involving 44 cello overdubs.  Whatever the case, it works
   beautifully.

   'Harrison's Chronometer' uses a wider vocabulary, drawing on creaks
   and what sounds like whalesong.  It's gripping music - much more than
   a soundtrack for an imaginary movie - and it reclaims for string
   players those long drones and chords that 'ambient' musicians couldn't
   function without.

   Because the disc is, in effect, an EP it's not going to seriously
   dent most punter's budgets.  BLUE SNOW is a new independent label
   run in true improvised music fashion by Sheppard himself.  If all
   the releases are up to this standard, Sheppard (glimpsed recently
   with The Smith Quartet, Pulp and Terry Riley) has nothing to worry
   about.

   STEVE BERESFORD

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