Canadian composer John Burke espouses a recent interest in music-as-medicine, but his compositions share little with the faux New Age diatonic burblings of many "holistic" artists. His language is instead an amalgam of postmodern neo-romanticism and post-minimalism, as well as a hefty dose of concerns from the realm of post-War European modernism. All of this may sound like an eclectic assemblage, and indeed it is, but Burke marshals these varied stylistic materials into a compelling whole in the two large scale compositions presented here.

Burke's String Quartet is actually in a fairly modernist vein, sometimes evoking Ligeti in its aggressive arpeggiations, use of coloristic effects and dissonant counterpoint. Other points, particularly lyrical passages, seem to channel a frequent touchstone of modern string quartets -- the music of Bartok -- setting long, modal melodies against stacked quartal and secundal harmonies. Overall, it is an effective employment of a diversity of materials, dramatic in its juxtaposition of muscular blocks from disparate sound worlds.

The octet Remember Your Power is another story altogether. Almost an hour in length, it explores an even wider array of styles, ranging from romantic extended tonal excursions to post-minimal ostinatos to impressionist aural landscapes. In general, the confrontations with dissonance are less acerbic, while the development of materials is further flung and more gradual. The performers give an accomplished and ardent performance of the piece; pianist Jane Hayes and clarinetist Francois Houle deserve particular praise for negotiating challenging parts with verve and poise. Most affecting is the middle movement, which starts with fragmentary statements -- block chords, isolated wind melodies and the like -- then builds to a shimmering burst of activity, with the entire ensemble playing away with abandon. Given the slow build, these bursts of textural saturation are well worth the wait.

Remember Your Power is Burke's very personal response to his own investigations of consciousness and its transformation through music. While transformation may not occur when you listen to the disc, chances are it will, at the very least, capture your rapt attention for seventy minutes.