Juventas Ensemble
Sep. 14th, 2008 12:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariFierce: New Music of High Energy and Sonic Intensity
Crama - Panayiotis Kokoras
Even though this piece was done with acoustic instruments, it sounded very much like electronic music. Sometimes it even sounded like early Einsturzende Neubauten. The players used a lot of extended techniques to get intense sounds out of their instruments, often producing timbres reminiscent of industrial sounds. It reminded me a little of Helmut Lachenmann's work, but denser. It was just as fascinating, though.
Churn - Nathan Davis
This piece for cello and piano used really angular, modernistic material, but had very intense rhythmic drive. It was a great combination that gave the work an attractively rough and scrappy feel.
Dani's Dance - Paul Dooley
This piece for piano trio had terrific melodic and thematic material. It's kind of refreshing to hear that much tunefulness in a piece that is still very contemporary in its language. Unfortunately, some of the accompanimental material kind of irritated me. There was really great interplay between the violin and cello, but I think Dooley could have done more with the piano.
Sharp - Isaac Schankler
This setting or three poems for soprano and chamber ensemble had a bit of theatrical flair in the vocal line. It was a striking piece, but I didn't think it was entirely successful. The instrumental writing for the first setting, "Poison Bones", was extremely good. It had a beautiful contrast between deep and full sounds and high-tension timbres.
Closing Time - Ryan Streber
This quartet for electric guitar, alto sax, piano, and percussion turned out to be the low point of the concert. It was in a fairly dull atonal style with lots of rhythmic busy-ness but no real direction. As![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
epilimnion said "happy hour ended long before it began".
Jabberwocky - David Cutler
This monodrama for baritone and Pierrot ensemble was the high point of the concert. It was an amazing setting of the Lewis Carroll poem, semi-staged with light costuming, a couple of props, and some acting. The piece moved effortlessly among a veritable treasure-chest of styles in both the instrumental and vocal writing: marches, klezmer, modernistic atmospherics, dissonant cacophony, heavy metal, beatboxing, and others. I really, really enjoyed it and hope that I get to see or at least hear it again someday.
Crama - Panayiotis Kokoras
Even though this piece was done with acoustic instruments, it sounded very much like electronic music. Sometimes it even sounded like early Einsturzende Neubauten. The players used a lot of extended techniques to get intense sounds out of their instruments, often producing timbres reminiscent of industrial sounds. It reminded me a little of Helmut Lachenmann's work, but denser. It was just as fascinating, though.
Churn - Nathan Davis
This piece for cello and piano used really angular, modernistic material, but had very intense rhythmic drive. It was a great combination that gave the work an attractively rough and scrappy feel.
Dani's Dance - Paul Dooley
This piece for piano trio had terrific melodic and thematic material. It's kind of refreshing to hear that much tunefulness in a piece that is still very contemporary in its language. Unfortunately, some of the accompanimental material kind of irritated me. There was really great interplay between the violin and cello, but I think Dooley could have done more with the piano.
Sharp - Isaac Schankler
This setting or three poems for soprano and chamber ensemble had a bit of theatrical flair in the vocal line. It was a striking piece, but I didn't think it was entirely successful. The instrumental writing for the first setting, "Poison Bones", was extremely good. It had a beautiful contrast between deep and full sounds and high-tension timbres.
Closing Time - Ryan Streber
This quartet for electric guitar, alto sax, piano, and percussion turned out to be the low point of the concert. It was in a fairly dull atonal style with lots of rhythmic busy-ness but no real direction. As
epilimnion said "happy hour ended long before it began". Jabberwocky - David Cutler
This monodrama for baritone and Pierrot ensemble was the high point of the concert. It was an amazing setting of the Lewis Carroll poem, semi-staged with light costuming, a couple of props, and some acting. The piece moved effortlessly among a veritable treasure-chest of styles in both the instrumental and vocal writing: marches, klezmer, modernistic atmospherics, dissonant cacophony, heavy metal, beatboxing, and others. I really, really enjoyed it and hope that I get to see or at least hear it again someday.
