Jamaica
by Szántó Tibor
Impact
Modern composition often rings with a music-by-numbers quality. It has more to do with fractals & acoustical science than melody or harmony. Audiences typically sit dumbfounded, then respond with polite but dispassionate applause.
Take the works of Anna Thorvaldsdottir which echoes off the eery, alien atmospherics of remote soundscapes on Earth. Great for film scores, meditation, or as an academic exercise.
But by the end of, say, her work titled Hrím for chamber orchestra, an undeniable reaction occurs. Physiological, on the order of visceral amusement (stemming from both a happy tickling & astonishment that 'she got a grant for that?').
Szántó Tibor likewise streams from a distant corner of the premium chocolate universe -- Hungary. This bar, though far from any masterpiece, jiggles the inner goodies where the internal organs are located with a little belly laughter.
Take the works of Anna Thorvaldsdottir which echoes off the eery, alien atmospherics of remote soundscapes on Earth. Great for film scores, meditation, or as an academic exercise.
But by the end of, say, her work titled Hrím for chamber orchestra, an undeniable reaction occurs. Physiological, on the order of visceral amusement (stemming from both a happy tickling & astonishment that 'she got a grant for that?').
Szántó Tibor likewise streams from a distant corner of the premium chocolate universe -- Hungary. This bar, though far from any masterpiece, jiggles the inner goodies where the internal organs are located with a little belly laughter.
Appearance 3 / 5
| Color: | purple topsoil |
| Surface: | more pinholes than ants have anthills |
| Temper: | muddy |
| Snap: | bottom down low |
Aroma 6.2 / 10
sour diesel pork -> after-course wintergreen breath freshener
throw in a reed & this sucker can be blown
throw in a reed & this sucker can be blown
Mouthfeel 11.8 / 15
| Texture: | grain... |
| Melt: | … with a case of the mumps |
Flavor 41.6 / 50
pork pie, roasted high over some diesel fumes -> sweet chicle gum -> the pig returns to snort it out, leaves carob-fig scraps & yams -> Szántó Tibor's own liner notes (click image upper right to enlarge) come true for the most part post-meltdown… rolls in some cedar overgrown with moss for the end -> add vanilla & allspice -> gas after-burn
Quality 15.4 / 20
From the island of jerk-chicken comes jerk-chocolate.
But, seriously, way off-point for the source. The melt-proper, for instance, utterly lacks clarity, a scourge considering the overall delicate nature of Jamaican cacáo.
Technically low-roasted but virtually blast-furnaced due mainly to the uncontrolled drying by means of what tastes like mechanical ovens. That rather harsh post-harvest treatment betrays the maker's mark of Szántó Tibor (re: light-handed touch) which otherwise would share great affinity for this island's cacáo.
Nonetheless Jamaican chocolate, preternaturally kind, still manages to broaden the smiles on faces of everyone who eats it. Hmmm, something about it… call it 'frisky'.
Reviewed January 9, 2013
But, seriously, way off-point for the source. The melt-proper, for instance, utterly lacks clarity, a scourge considering the overall delicate nature of Jamaican cacáo.
Technically low-roasted but virtually blast-furnaced due mainly to the uncontrolled drying by means of what tastes like mechanical ovens. That rather harsh post-harvest treatment betrays the maker's mark of Szántó Tibor (re: light-handed touch) which otherwise would share great affinity for this island's cacáo.
Nonetheless Jamaican chocolate, preternaturally kind, still manages to broaden the smiles on faces of everyone who eats it. Hmmm, something about it… call it 'frisky'.
Reviewed January 9, 2013