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World Aids Day Concert
Dec. 2nd, 2008 09:23 pmLast night I went to the World Aids Day concert at the Arlington Street Church - Anthology were the featured performers, along with counter-tenor Steven Serpa. violinist Alistair Kok, violist Jessica Dunn, and cellist John Bumstead. Unssurprisingly, the performances were quite wonderful and I liked both of the pieces on the program.
Heaven's Birds: Lament and Song - Steven Serpa (poetry by Jeffrey Beam)
This piece was really beautiful and somehow evoked the feeling of a melancholy evening. I found some of the writing reminiscent of Arvo Part, especially in the string parts. I also really liked the suggestion of birdsong in the instrumental introduction. The harmonies in both the strings and the vocal trio occasionally went into crunchier territory, but not so often as to lose freshness. The last part for trio included some gorgeous canonic writing that was rendered incredibly effective by its contrast with the monodic nature of the previous trio sections. I only wish that the piece hadn't ended on a simple major chord, or at least that it had done so after lingering a bit more on more dissonant sonorities.
Translucence - Donna McKevitt (poetry by Derek Jarman)
This piece for countertenor, female trio, viola, and cello was quite amazing. I really hope that Jarman's estate eases its restrictions so that recordings can be made and that the piece can thus be more widely heard. Translucence is divided into three parts and seventeen brief movements. There was a great deal of variety among them. I'm just going to comment on the ones that stood out for me:
2. Translucence
The text of this section for trio concerned ghosts and apparitions. It was written in a simple declamation style that was completely fitting for the words. Also, the harmonies themselves felt translucent.
6. Sebastiane
The text of this section for countertenor and strings concerned the martyrdom of St. Sebastian and was sung in Latin. The string accompaniments was warm and sustained, providing a good foundation for the achingly beautiful vocal line. This was the most moving of all the sections.
7. Sweet Widsom
This movement for strings was animated, fluid, and singing in a way that provided a perfect follow-up to the previous movement.
8. I am a mannish muff diving size queen
This short text set for trio was almost a parody of barbershop quartet music, and was just this side of campy. It was actually rather delightful.,
12. The system
I really liked the string accompaniment for the beginning of this section: it had a compellingly sly and stalking quality.
13. Dead Dance
This cello solo was the only part of Translucence that I found boring.
14. No dragons will spring from these circles
I really liked the way the countertenor and the strings worked together in this section. There was a particularly lovely contrast between a dancing, descending figure in the strings and the longer lines of the vocal part.
16. Prelude
This cello solo was much better. It was a dark and rich.
17. I walk in this garden
This section for countertenor and cello concluded the piece, and it was really amazing. It was a simple, almost stark setting of the text that nevertheless had incredible richness of emotion.
Heaven's Birds: Lament and Song - Steven Serpa (poetry by Jeffrey Beam)
This piece was really beautiful and somehow evoked the feeling of a melancholy evening. I found some of the writing reminiscent of Arvo Part, especially in the string parts. I also really liked the suggestion of birdsong in the instrumental introduction. The harmonies in both the strings and the vocal trio occasionally went into crunchier territory, but not so often as to lose freshness. The last part for trio included some gorgeous canonic writing that was rendered incredibly effective by its contrast with the monodic nature of the previous trio sections. I only wish that the piece hadn't ended on a simple major chord, or at least that it had done so after lingering a bit more on more dissonant sonorities.
Translucence - Donna McKevitt (poetry by Derek Jarman)
This piece for countertenor, female trio, viola, and cello was quite amazing. I really hope that Jarman's estate eases its restrictions so that recordings can be made and that the piece can thus be more widely heard. Translucence is divided into three parts and seventeen brief movements. There was a great deal of variety among them. I'm just going to comment on the ones that stood out for me:
2. Translucence
The text of this section for trio concerned ghosts and apparitions. It was written in a simple declamation style that was completely fitting for the words. Also, the harmonies themselves felt translucent.
6. Sebastiane
The text of this section for countertenor and strings concerned the martyrdom of St. Sebastian and was sung in Latin. The string accompaniments was warm and sustained, providing a good foundation for the achingly beautiful vocal line. This was the most moving of all the sections.
7. Sweet Widsom
This movement for strings was animated, fluid, and singing in a way that provided a perfect follow-up to the previous movement.
8. I am a mannish muff diving size queen
This short text set for trio was almost a parody of barbershop quartet music, and was just this side of campy. It was actually rather delightful.,
12. The system
I really liked the string accompaniment for the beginning of this section: it had a compellingly sly and stalking quality.
13. Dead Dance
This cello solo was the only part of Translucence that I found boring.
14. No dragons will spring from these circles
I really liked the way the countertenor and the strings worked together in this section. There was a particularly lovely contrast between a dancing, descending figure in the strings and the longer lines of the vocal part.
16. Prelude
This cello solo was much better. It was a dark and rich.
17. I walk in this garden
This section for countertenor and cello concluded the piece, and it was really amazing. It was a simple, almost stark setting of the text that nevertheless had incredible richness of emotion.
