Mary Halvorson explores sonic extremes in Amaryllis and Belladonna

The subtle shades of Mary Halvorson’s accomplished, multi-textured and somewhat acerbic approach to guitar combine emotional warmth and a sense of disquiet. Her credits range from Anthony Braxton to John Zorn, she has released 10 albums and always has numerous collective and individual projects on the go.

These two albums, released separately but interlocking in mood, mark Halvorson’s first forays into long-form composition for a quartet of strings. The five songs of Belladonna present the guitarist’s bent notes and off-kilter plucks weaving through her score for the Mivos String Quartet. The six-movement Amaryllis suite sets her fluent lines and dense harmonies within an improvising left-field sextet; the Mivos strings feature on the latter half, reflecting both projects’ genesis from a lockdown-cancelled gig in New York. Taken together, they form a rounded picture of Halvorson as composer, outstanding soloist and sensitive ensemble support.

Halvorson’s singular approach to guitar combines orthodox fluency with sonic extremes, and her writing for strings follows suit. “Nodding Yellow”, the opening track of Belladonna, combines modernist string-quartet flourishes with the repeated cadences of alt rock, and the contemplative sweep of “Moonburn” is interrupted by sprays of bent guitar notes. The title track’s complex weave of shaded discords and plucked unison scampers ends with vibrant strings supporting blasts of white-knuckle guitar.

Amaryllis finds Halvorson adding sharp edges to the resonance of brass, mirroring the scurry of vibes and surging over bass and drums. Rhythms vary from the alt-rock throb of opener “Night Shift”, a showcase for Jacob Garchik’s gravelly trombone, to the fast, left-field swing of “Amaryllis”, which features fleet Adam O’Farrill trumpet.

Four numbers in, Mivos String Quartet joins the ensemble to set tempo and mood for the upbeat, soul-stirring theme of “Side Effect”. And as resonant brass gains a smooth foundation of strings and rippling unison lines rise to a peak, “Hoodwink” moves from the abstract to the serene and “Teeth” gains a midpoint screech before subsiding to a final Halvorson strum.

★★★★☆

‘Amaryllis’ and ‘Belladonna’ are released by Nonesuch