“the [Counterpoint] cycle is in the regal style of the small electric ensemble (keys, wind, guitar and voice... and placed Borden with the giants of the first wave of minimalist composers (Glass, Riley, and Reich). For those who appreciate this dizzying rapidly-repeating and hypnotic form of music, the release of this CD stands as a landmark in the field.” Alternative Press, Michael C. Mahan, Dec. 1991 (USA)
“David Borden is a minimalist composer, with medieval roots... The Continuing Story of Counterpoint is a set of elaborate contrapuntal melodies that sometimes rush by like Guillaume de Machaut on amphetamines, at others like a slow-motion aerial ballet. Borden’s interwoven lines unfold like Melvin Prueitt’ds computer design, Wing, twisting and turning in three dimensional space, each shift of the perspective revealing new facets. The relentless precision of his synthesizer arranged lines are balanced... by the pure soprano of Ellen Hargis. Intoning the names of contrapuntal composers and techniques, it makes this music sound like a 14th Century hymn sung in space. If this had been released in the 1970s, when much of it was composed and when Borden was performing it with his synthesizer trio, Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece Company, it would’ve been hailed as a masterwork of minimalism. Coming to light in the early 1990s, it...stands as a model of form and beauty.” Jazziz, Feb/March 1992
“With his ensemble, Borden practices a kind of minimalism that moves in the opposite direction of Philip Glass’. You could even call Borden’s style maximalist to describe the Phil Specter-like wall-of-sound produced by his kinetic, loopy melody lines. In fact, Borden’s music has less in common with modern minimalists, and a lot more with the kind of heavy counterpoint and contrapuntal tendencies found in Baroque music. Imagine an updating of the Back “Inventions” played by denizens from the New York downtown art scene.” Richard Kadrey, Covert Culture Sourcebook, St. Martin’s Press: 1993
“unlike the penchant other minimalists have for backloading some (often overwrought) emotional content into their essentially emotionless methods, Borden seems content to let the music’s pure structure carry it or fail on its own. ..his 12 year, 12-part Counterpoint project... is what he says it is - an extended exercise in composing horizontally layered music that has no functional harmony, but rather builds a pretty parfait of simple, cyclical melodies in counterpoint. Usually that means compiling fast, neo-Mozartian, two-handed lines for two or more electric keyboards, then floating sustained chords over the top with voices and winds. It’s a melodic waterfall; you can either listen to the layered gestalt or pick out individual streams as they rush by... Even at its most dense, this music is playful.. with Borden’s orchestra, Mother Mallard, swimming happily in a midstream between “serious” and more popular musics - between Glass-Reich-Riley and, say, the brainier keyboard projects of pop intelligentsia like Eno and Mark Mothersbaugh.” City Paper, June 1991 (USA)
“Borden’s work has qualities similar to Glassworks-era Philip Glass and Terry Riley’s In C. The music has very quick repetitious themes that glide effortlessly, then collide into one another. Unlike Glass or Riley, who let their compositions slowly evolve, Borden triggers countermelodies so quickly that they appear spontaneous or improvised.” Players, 2/20/92
“David Borden’s The Continuing Story of Counterpoint series, in 12 parts...occupies three full CDs, and took Borden 11 years to complete. With a solid academic grounding in the work of early contrapuntal composers and the literature of counterpoint, Borden set out to, in his own words, “develop my own contrapuntal language.” The single-mindedness of Borden’s quest... allowed Borden to complete a truly impressive, even definitive, work of 20th century minimalism, which more than one critic has compared to Bach’s “Goldberg Variations.”...it’s important to keep the record straight and give Borden the credit he deserves...he is a true contemporary of Reich and Glass, rather than just a disciple... The music in Borden’s Counterpoint series... has a relentless rhythmic base and an abstract, almost mathematical precision... Like Bach, Borden is not a tunesmith who composes hummable melodies; he has more lofty goals, and deals more in motifs and interlocking patterns... The dominant melodic theme is hauntingly beautiful...” All Music Guide, http://allmusic.com, Bill Tilland, 1999
“I had this on vinyl but had worn it thin; now that Cuneiform has released it on CD it’s like having it performed in my living room -- what a pleasure!” B-Side 12/91-1/92 (USA)
“a pleasant and highly listenable mixture of classical forms, dense textures, strict counterpoints and high energy electronics.”
Background , Maarten Avontuur, Aug. 1992 (The Netherlands)