Impressions from Row G

 

ICE at MCA: Composers, Composers, and More Composers

by Arlene and Larry Dunn (@ICEfansArleneLD)

 

There is a special buzz in the air at the premiere performance of a musical work. The excitement vibrates even stronger if the composer is in the house. Imagine the tingling rush we felt at MCA on February 5 when ICE with “George Lewis and Friends” presented two World Premiers and three Chicago Premiers. All four composers were present, and three of them played as well. How could we push the excitement even higher? With the help of Chicago-based composer Marcos Balter, we parlayed some extra tickets into our own “young composers forum” with his current students Riley Hughes and Danny Hinds and former student Christiaan Dageforde.

 

The program opened and closed with works by George, with pieces in between by his proteges Steve Lehman, Nicole Mitchell, and Tyshawn Sorey. The mix epitomized contemporary music-making, at turns raucous (George’s The Will to Adorn) and ethereal (Nicole’s Cave of Self-Indulgence), uncertain (George's Artificial Life 2007) and precise (Tyshawn’s Ode to Gust Burns and Steve’s Impossible Flow).

 

Artificial Life 2007 is uniquely designed for pure improvisation with a score containing no musical notes, only a graphical set of improvising strategies for the players. It was a highlight for all of us. Christiaan, who attended last year’s ICE InFormation workshop with George (as did we) was eagerly anticipating hearing it unfold. Danny and Riley heard it with no preconceptions. We had just heard ICE play it in Oberlin, and were amazed at how radically different it could be while following the same “score.” The MCA performance included more groupings of more musicians, including Nicole on flute, Tyshawn on trombone, and Steve on alto sax. We were treated to a menagerie of sounds -- angry birds darting in from the flutes, small animals scurrying on the forest floor from the percussion, a rumble in the jungle from the bass register horns.

 

The closing work was The Will to Adorn, inspired by the 1934 Zora Neale Hurston essay “Characteristics of Negro Expression.” As George and conductor Steve Schick noted in a setup discussion from the stage, the piece was boisterous, loud (George said maybe not yet loud enough), and full of “jump cuts” in tempo, texture, and color. It was loud, but we’d say it could get louder still. It was a fitting musical evocation of Hurston’s observation of the stylistic bent towards heaping embellishment upon embellishment.

 

Cave of Self-Indulgence was our favorite of the other pieces. The flutes, played by Eric Lamb and Claire Chase, tossed nascent ideas back and forth, sparks bouncing off the walls. Ross Karre further conjured the cave milieu with rumblings on the bass drum and tom-toms and tingling of bells and cymbal as water dripping from stalactites.

 

Each of these works on the program incited spirited discussion in our “composers forum” following the concert. Larry struggled to find a handle on Ode to Gust Burns, but it was Danny’s overall favorite. Arlene got lost somewhere in Impossible Flow, while Larry loved it’s M. C. Escher-like inconceivabilites. Though hardly of one consistent opinion, we did all enthusiastically agree on one thing -- we want to hear every one of these pieces again.

 

Arlene (acornarlene [at] gmail [dot] com) and Larry (acornled [at] gmail [dot] com) 

 

Listening Tips: 

• George Lewis: Les Exercices Spirituels on Tzadick Records

• Tyshawn Sorey: “oblique-I” on Pi Recordings

• Steve Lehman with his octet, including Tyshwan on drums: “Travail, Transformation, and Flow” on Pi Recordings

• Nicole Mitchell with her Black Earth Ensemble: “Xenogenesis Suite: A Tribute to Octavia Butler” on Firehouse 12 Records 

 

 

We had a great time collaborating with Lisa Coons and The Troupe last week at the Baryshnikov Arts Center! Many thanks to everyone who came out.

 

Click the image above to view a few more photos.

“. . . that level of trying new things and feeling like the only failure would be to not take advantage and take chances. . . it's thrilling!”

 

ICE is looking forward to working with composer and sound artist Lisa Coons this month as she embarks on her ICElab residency. I spoke with her about her childhood, the upcoming collaboration, and the one disorder so many musicians wish they did have...

 

Coons grew up in rural Missouri, surrounded by the sounds of farm tools and machinery. Her fascination with sound led her into metalworking, which led into sculpting and composing. Not exactly the realization of her childhood dream of becoming a rockstar, but not too far off the mark, either!

 

Coons describes herself as one of those listeners who “wants to get lost in it.” As a composer, she strives for music that will envelop listeners as completely as possible. Her sculptures, whimsical compilations of salvaged metal and found objects, “encourage aural and tactile exploration above learned virtuosity.” Above all, it's the listener's ‒ and the performer's ‒ experience that matters.

 

On a whim, I asked Coons for her thoughts on synaesthesia. It turned out she's even more obsessed than I am. Not a synaesthete herself, she'll never quite be able to hear the color orange (her favorite); but that hasn’t stopped her from trying. In a recent artistic phase, she attempted to make light audible by “transposing” light waves down into the audio range: meta- pitch shifting!

 

So what about ICElab? Coons can't wait for this opportunity to get into the nitty-gritty of collaboration, to “build from the ground up.” When I asked what she's most excited for, I got a glimpse of what's in store: collaboration not only with ICE, but also with dancers from The Troupe, directed by Michelle Mola and Zack Winokur. Coons plans to write a dance part into the score, something she's never had the opportunity to do before.

 

Stay tuned: Lisa Coons' ICElab begins in just a few days! In the meantime, follow the composer's advice and give yourself a chance to play around with sound.

Eric Lamb is a flutist in the ICE who is making a name for himself as a chamber musician, soloist, recitalist and lecturer. I asked him a few questions about himself, and here’s what he had to say:

 

 

How long have you been playing the flute, and what was the instance or occurrence that made you decide to pursue it as a career?

 

I began the flute lessons at around 7. My father was a big fan of the flute... He was literally in love with, much to my mother’s annoyance, the famous jazz flutist Bobbi Humphrey. She is an African American, afro wearing, force of nature, who is famous for her '73 album 'Black and Blues'. The song 'Harlem River Drive' flooded our house constantly. For my dad, it was clear, I was to be a flutist. An older cousin started lessons and I was totally fascinated by the thing. Why is it in three parts and not one? Why can't I play it? One day, I did. I marched my sassy six year old self up to my cousin’s room... Put it clumsily together and literally made my first sounds. My mother’s dramatic telling of the story is much more fabulous than I'm sure it really was, but I do know that I began private lessons exactly one year later, after destroying several church hymnals with my creative color coded notation translation scheme.

 

I heard you spent a while in Germany and are fluent in German, which happens to also be the case for me. What are your favorite Germany city, favorite German bar and favorite German food? Why? Do any of those favorites have any specific significance?

 

Yes, Germany. Another important thing that happened to me without a doubt. I love the German language, the culture, the ease of travel and the high standard of living. I still spend a lot of time in the country. I love Frankfurt am Main, I'd consider it to be my second home. Köln is also wonderful, but I prefer the wine in Frankfurt. As a strict vegetarian, let's say that I have some issues with the German kitchen... "umm.. Sir, this soup has bacon in it..." apparently bacon isn't considered meat in Germany!

 

Where do you get your inspiration to play?

 

Inspirations. I'm super lucky to have brilliant colleagues both here in the US and in Europe. They inspire me to keep doing what I'm doing.. The sheer joy of community, of making beautiful music with beautiful people. That's what I'm into most. 

 

If you won the lottery, which three things would you first spend your money on?

 

If I won the lottery, I'd buy a Louis Lot flute. I'd pay for niece and nephew's college education, in fifteen years they will thank me....Then I'd buy industrial ear plugs for Josh Rubin and Erik Carlson. I'm the loudest piccolo player this side of the Mississippi.

 

We had a great time collaborating with Carlos and Juan Pablo last week at the Baryshnikov Arts Center! Many thanks to everyone who came out.

 

Click the image above to view a few more photos.

Impressions from Row G -  ICE in Oberlin, Part 1: “if you wake up you will be free”

 

by Arlene and Larry Dunn (@ICEfansArleneLD)

 

Our digitICE enterprise sprang from Oberlin Conservatory’s inaugural Rubin Institute for Music Criticism. An invigorating and exhausting week reached its climax when the International Contemporary Ensemble, the Obie-laden new music juggernaut, blew into town on an appropriately ICEy evening. They played a stirring program of works by Oberlin composer-in-residence David Lang, Greek architect/composer Iannis Xenakis, and American jazz and electronica pioneer George E. Lewis. In Part 1 of our report, we focus on the music of David Lang. 

 

ICE’s performance of works by Oberlin prof and Bang on Can co-founder David Lang had extra buzz with his presence in the audience and a world premiere offering. Guest conductor and percussion soloist Steve Schick began with a muscular performance of Lang’s innovative Anvil Chorus, composed in 1991 at Steve’s behest. Working with an array of resonant and non-resonant junkyard instruments of his own choosing, Steve started with the insistent 8-beat melody pulse hammered on a set of brake drums, invoking the rhythmic flow of blacksmith and railroad spike-driver work songs. After establishing the pulse, complexity increased with strikes on a metal rod and aggressive stomping on four kick-pedal bass drums, one mounted with a cymbal on its face, another with a garbage can lid. Once all the elements were in the mix, a quiet passage ensued . . . break time . . . and then suddenly the fury returned, driving to full mayhem and a sudden conclusion as Steve’s instruments started to shake loose from their substantial moorings. As Steve told us afterwards, it is good thing Anvil Chorus doesn’t last any longer, because he and his batterie of junk are right at their breaking point by the end. 

 

The centerpiece of the evening was the world premiere of Lang’s my international, commissioned by Oberlin Conservatory especially for the occasion. His inspiration was The Inernationale, the Communist Party anthem originating from the Paris Commune uprising and defeat in 1871. David reworked the lyrics to represent the elements of the original that parallel his own aspirations. The piece began with some players carrying the melody in their instruments, some chant-singing the lyrics (all droning in the same middle register), and some doing both! The chanting and playing roles moved in waves through the ensemble, unfolding as an atmospheric anthem. It was like a dream . . . you chance upon an ensemble playing and chanting a faintly familiar tune . . . you look closely at each player and realize . . . they are all you! 

 

Afterwards, David told us that indeed when he wrote the piece, he was essentially addressing himself. Thus, the “my” in the title. He reinforced that sense in the music by setting the singing lines all in his own register, rather than adapt for the individual voices. As we considered my international in retrospect, we imagined the audience joining in the chanting towards the end, for an even more moving effect . . . “If you wake up, you will be free.”

 

Stay tuned for more of our Oberlin adventure in music. 

 

Arlene (acornarlene [at] gmail [dot] com) and Larry (acornled [at] gmail [dot] com) 

 

Listening Tip: 

• Steve Schick plays David Lang’s Anvil Chorus on the Bang on a Can CD “Live 2” from Composer Recordings.