On
Saturday afternoon, Canta Libre (Bradley Bosenbeck, violin; Veronica
Salas, viola; Bernard Tomosaitis, cello; Sally Shorrock, flute; and
Karen Lindquist, harp) gave a delightful concert of chamber music
featuring the harp, specifically the music of
Marcel Grandjany (1891–1975). Grandjany’s Aria in Classic Style (1951) opened the program, and “O Bien Aimee” (1955) was also performed. Grandjany’s son was on hand (Maurice?) and offered some very interesting insights. “O Bien Aimee” was written as a gift for Marcel’s secretary for her wedding. Originally a song for baritone and harp, it was adapted here for cello and harp. It was very pretty and traditional, with touches of ’50s harmonies.
Marcel Grandjany (1891–1975). Grandjany’s Aria in Classic Style (1951) opened the program, and “O Bien Aimee” (1955) was also performed. Grandjany’s son was on hand (Maurice?) and offered some very interesting insights. “O Bien Aimee” was written as a gift for Marcel’s secretary for her wedding. Originally a song for baritone and harp, it was adapted here for cello and harp. It was very pretty and traditional, with touches of ’50s harmonies.
In
between those two, we heard Sonata for Harp, Viola and Flute (1915) by
Claude Debussy (1862–1918), which was quite modern in terms of dissonances and format of the composition. The three movements were too segmented for my taste, though some of the segments were pretty, even with the dissonances. The third movement was quicker than the others and had a dark, stark quality. Following that was the Harp Concerto in B-Flat Major (1736) by G. F. Handel (1685–1759) with its jaunty back and forth between the solo harp and the small ensemble. You’d probably recognize the first movement. The whole piece was altogether bright and pleasant.
Claude Debussy (1862–1918), which was quite modern in terms of dissonances and format of the composition. The three movements were too segmented for my taste, though some of the segments were pretty, even with the dissonances. The third movement was quicker than the others and had a dark, stark quality. Following that was the Harp Concerto in B-Flat Major (1736) by G. F. Handel (1685–1759) with its jaunty back and forth between the solo harp and the small ensemble. You’d probably recognize the first movement. The whole piece was altogether bright and pleasant.
We
were then treated to a brief lecture demonstration about the harp,
itself. The concert harp has 47 strings made of three different
materials—gut, for the mid-range; bound gut, for the lower range; and
nylon, for the upper range. Since there are three positions for each of
the seven pedals, that results in more than 2,000! moving parts in the
neck of the instrument. Ms. Lindquist demonstrated glissandos, plucking,
and even slapping the strings. And the wood of the harp can also be
used as a percussion instrument by rapping or tapping it.
The
final work on the program was Concert for Five (1923) by Joseph Jongen
(1873–1953), a three-movement work that had very modern sounds, very
rhythmic, with dissonances but also with a sense of completeness. (The
three movements were Decide, Calme, and Tres Decide, with Decide meaning
decisive or forthright, which I think prompted my feeling of
completeness.) I enjoyed the concert, even though parts of the Debussy
and Jongen were a little too dissonant for me. But when the harp was
making its very pretty sounds, it was quite a treat.
Sunday
afternoon found me at a completely different type of concert—Sō
Percussion, a percussion quartet. The guys, Eric Beach, Josh Quillen,
Adam Sliwinski, and
Jason Treuting were joined by an unnamed co-conspirator (her name was briefly announced from the stage, but I didn’t get it) for Music for Pieces of Wood (1973) by Steve Reich (b. 1936). That’s exactly what they played—blocks of wood that seemed to be varied enough in size to produce different pitches, yet still seemed very similar in size and shape. Each performer played her/his own distinct rhythm starting with the gal’s solo that was joined successively by each member, one by one. Once all the rhythms were going together, the entire sequence repeated two more times, though the beginning of each repeat was a duet. I’m not big on minimalist compositions, but this one held my interest, for the most part.
Jason Treuting were joined by an unnamed co-conspirator (her name was briefly announced from the stage, but I didn’t get it) for Music for Pieces of Wood (1973) by Steve Reich (b. 1936). That’s exactly what they played—blocks of wood that seemed to be varied enough in size to produce different pitches, yet still seemed very similar in size and shape. Each performer played her/his own distinct rhythm starting with the gal’s solo that was joined successively by each member, one by one. Once all the rhythms were going together, the entire sequence repeated two more times, though the beginning of each repeat was a duet. I’m not big on minimalist compositions, but this one held my interest, for the most part.
Two
pieces by John Cage (1912–1992) were next: Child of Tree (1975)
followed immediately by Third Construction (1941). Child of Tree was an
eight-minute solo work involving a barrel cactus (the spines were
plucked with fingers and other plant materials) and various additional
plant matter including tree bark that was broken, twigs that were
snapped, tissue paper that was crumpled and torn, and pine needles that
were used almost as brushes would be used on a drumhead or a standing
cymbal. Interesting, but no wow factor. Third Construction was the full
quartet playing everything from drums (several sizes and shapes) to
cymbals, claves (those heavy bar-like things you tapped with a mallet in
elementary school music class) to metal cans/buckets, and even a conch shell.
There was some real noise (and music) there.
The
last piece was fairly lengthy, somewhat repetitive and involved made up
instruments.
Music for Wood and Strings (2013) by Bryce Dessner (b. 1976) was commissioned by Sō Percussion and was played on four chordsticks, which were also created by Mr. Dessner. A chordstick is the head and tuning keys, and the fret board, of two electric guitars, with one tuning head at each end, laid out horizontally. The set of four were ranged like a soprano, alto, tenor, bass quartet. The strings of the guitars were then bowed like a violin, plucked, hit upon by mallets, like a hammered dulcimer, slid on like a steel guitar, and occasionally slid on along the fret board to create tunes, like a cellist would move his fingers along the fret board to create specific pitches. The overall effect was interesting and varied. It went on a little too long, and even though the dynamics were varied from time to time, I found most of it too loud. If you get a chance to see Sō Percussion (for free, like I did), I say go for it.
Music for Wood and Strings (2013) by Bryce Dessner (b. 1976) was commissioned by Sō Percussion and was played on four chordsticks, which were also created by Mr. Dessner. A chordstick is the head and tuning keys, and the fret board, of two electric guitars, with one tuning head at each end, laid out horizontally. The set of four were ranged like a soprano, alto, tenor, bass quartet. The strings of the guitars were then bowed like a violin, plucked, hit upon by mallets, like a hammered dulcimer, slid on like a steel guitar, and occasionally slid on along the fret board to create tunes, like a cellist would move his fingers along the fret board to create specific pitches. The overall effect was interesting and varied. It went on a little too long, and even though the dynamics were varied from time to time, I found most of it too loud. If you get a chance to see Sō Percussion (for free, like I did), I say go for it.
ConcertMeister
Always enjoy reading what you have to say.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. As you well know, these concerts helped keep me going at a time when I really needed a kickstart.
ReplyDeleteCM