[121.1] LUMINOUS MACMILLAN

A live recording of the fascinating new orchestral portrait by Scottish composer James Macmillan, “A deep but dazzling darkness” (which received its world première at the opening of St Luke’s Centre, a hospice in London, on 27 March 2003) was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 yesterday morning. It features Gordan Nikolitch (violin) and the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Macmillan himself.

After an unsettling, shimmering opening with no fixed tone centre, the piece is almost Bartokian in its questioning string textures. There is, as the title suggests, an interplay of light and shade, dramatised by the destabilising interventions of two pianos tuned a quarter tone apart. Macmillan has long been interested in mixing standard and microtonal elements in his compositions, which are neither noticeably traditionalist nor particularly avant garde in character. He is a composer who likes to weave his musical language around thematic ideas.

Further details about the work are given at the LSO website. There will be a further performance at the Sherbourne Festival on 2 May.

The title, incidentally, is a quotation from the C17th Welsh poet, Henry Vaughn: “there is in God, some say, a deep but dazzling darkness.” It has been taken as the title of the US edition for a collection of sermons (Cowley, 1995) by the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams. Macmillan and Williams have a mutual admiration for one another's work.

[120.2] QUOTA

"Creation, to me, is to try to orchestrate the universe to understand what surrounds us. Even if, to accomplish that, we use all sorts of stratagems which in the end prove completely incapable of staving off chaos." -- Peter Greenaway

"I certainly had no feeling for harmony, and Schoenberg thought that that would make it impossible for me to write music. He said, 'You'll come to a wall you won't be able to get through.' So I said, 'I'll beat my head against that wall.' " -- John Cage

"I know that I have done many things to give you reason not to listen to me." -- Sinead O'Connor

[120.1] METHOD IN THE MADNESS

Systems Theory is an internet project based around "performing a progressive electronic/world music hybrid, welding high-tech modern electronica, dark ambience and acoustic ethnic styles with spacerock aggression, free jazz exploration, and symphonic prog", apparently. The individual projects of the members explore these and even stranger avenues and musical styles, they say. Sounds like an intriguing fusion of heaven and hell. See which envelops you first...

Alternatively, if you are feeling in a post-rock and indie zone, you could try OpusZine.com.

[119.1] SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL OVER...

Perhaps my biggest musical confession is a studied agnosticism (bordering on complacency) towards Beethoven. Maybe it was something to do with my father's over-wrought devotion in this well trodden field of musical endeavour, but I found myself leaping straight from Bach and Handel to Bartok with no caution or inhibition. I've been filling in as well as venturing forward in the intervening years, but I have more work to do to get my 'classical period' repertoire up to scratch. Mind you, I'm pretty fond of the late Beethoven Quartets... but then sometimes they almost sound as if they are the early twentieth century Hungarian maestro's.

Which brings me back to the Symphonies. I've known for some time that I should visit them, and I realise just what a sturdy influence they have been on some of my musical heros, such as Tippett. But somehow I can never muster the enthusiasm. Until now. I have to hear the new Simon Rattle / Vienna Philharmonic live recordings. Rattle has done wonders already with the Berlin Philharmonic, and he's a strong artculator of contemporary music with a bold interpretative approach.

The indefatigable Norman Lebrecht sums up the situation in his recent (26 March 2003) review in the London Evening Standard. He ends up on the questioning side of admiration. But then he has just lost a bet with EMI about whether their leading conductor would hit the top of the classical charts again. He did, and a top hat (for the eating) has been promptly delivered to Lebrecht! Even so, Rattle, he writes:

"... made the Viennese set aside their time-hallowed scores and relearn the symphonies from a steam-cleaned scholarly edition prepared by the British conductor Jonathan Del Mar from the composer's manuscripts. The variances between the Beethoven we know all too well and the notes he actually wrote are legion, affecting not just literal discrepancies but the structural balance of key passages in the Third, Seventh and Ninth symphonies. Even a casual listener will notice atmospheric changes just before the "Freude" chorus in the Ninth. For the professors in the Philharmonic these exhumations, allied to Rattle's sparkling enthusiasm, elicited concert performances of, by most accounts, astonishing clarity and excitation." (c) N Lebrecht

A must, I think, even if the scrutiny of recorded sound can't quite avoid one or two flaws masked by the present energy of concert performance. So go for that 'luxury 5-CD set' now... and the full Lebrecht review is here.

[118.1] NICE TRY (AGAIN)

If guilty pleasure is your thing, and you're of a certain generation, you might be tempted to check out '70s prog keyboard whizz Keith Emerson and his re-sprayed band The Nice on 17 October 2003at the London Astoria. I caught them on 6 October 2002 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall and was left in two minds. On the one hand, Emerson is a substantial player, and his short solo piano set (shades of Meade Lux Lewis with a little Bachian chromaticism and embellishment) gave some indication of what he's capable of. On the other hand... Lee Jackson's voice was simply atrocious, and the laudably-conceived instrumental takes on some of the better Emerson Lake and Palmer fayre ('Tarkus' and 'Aquatarkus', notably) ended up as near train-wrecks. The poor acoustics at the back didn't help much, either. A judiciously fair and detailed review has been provided by the estimable Charles Imperatori on Evophonic. He knows more of the Nice material than me, so I'll leave this particular field to him. Both the good and the not-so-good Emerson are on show on the latest CD, Emerson Plays Emerson, incidentally. 'Cumbersome, Fake and Trauma'? Sometimes, but also with flashes of quixotic genius, too. The Five Bridges Suite is still a glorious (and gloriously flawed) testament to an era of rock-classical-country innovation and innocense, by the way. 'High Level Fugue (Bridge No. 4)' is worth the entry charge alone. And not because it's on mid-price these days...

[117.2] WORLD MUSIC AWARDS 2003

Internet users can listen online to the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards, tonight at 19.30 GMT and tomorrow at 21.00. Alongside its pioneering role in the classical arena, it is encouraging that Radio 3 has continued to champion other serious musics, and to build a small but growing 'crossover audience'. Their 'world' coverage is now among the best on the airwaves. Awards ceremonies are inherently tedious, I suppose, but this one should definitely be enlivened by the range of creative music on offer and forthright responses to the Iraq war from participants! Full details here. You can also, says the promo, "read profiles and listen to complete tracks from all this year's nominees, download our new .. screensaver and watch the TV trail. A wonderful new double album featuring all the nominees is now available. Read a review of this compilation."

[117.1] GOFFREDO PETRASSI

Remiss of me not to mention before the sad passing of composer Goffredo Petrassi (1904-2003), one of the most important figures in Italian twentieth century music. Less known abroad than, say, Berio, Petrassi produced (among many other works) a fascinating series of eight Concertos for Orchestra. He was particularly interested in the clarity of the different instrumental voices, but his wholesale turn to serialism in the latter part of his career won him few new allies in an increasingly eclectic, post-modern musical climate. Elliott Carter remained a long-time friend and champion. "I seek to create new sonorities based on pure instrumental sounds," he is quoted as saying in Martin Anderson's very good obituary published in The Independent today.

[116.2] BRANFORD TAKES A STAN

Very good programme on, of all places, BBC Radio 2, last night at 21:30. The high altar of mainstream pop and rock made way for an interview between Branford Marsalis and Stan Tracey, celebrating the classic 1965 jazz album, 'Under Milk Wood'. Pianist Tracey was inspired by Dylan Thomas and accompanied by the immensely classy Jeff Clyne on bass, Jack Dougan on drums and breath-less Bobby Wellins on sax. This is the recording that really showed what European (specifically British) jazz could come up with. I'm delighted to own a copy of the original pressing, in more-or-less mint condition, with Tracey's moniker on the front. But you might also want to check out the re-mastered CD on Jazzizit JITCD9815 (1999). Here, for Crimsoids short of jazz memory, is to be found the original musical version of 'Starless and Bible Black'. The sleeve notes from the original album and the live re-recording in London at the Wigmore Hall May 22, 1976, with Donald Houston (narrator), Art Themen (tenor sax), Dave Green (double bass) and Bryan Spring (drums), can be read here. There are also soundclips.

Finding himself accompanied by Stan Tracey during a season at Ronnie Scott's, Sonny Rollins asked the British music press: "Does anybody here know how good he really is?" Some of them still don't. Good on you, Branford.

Also check out Franc O'Shea, another Wellins collaborator...

[115.1] CUTTING EDGE TOUR 2003

The British Music Information Centre (BMIC) 'Cutting Edge 3' tour kicked off in Durham and Guilford earlier this month, with strong performances by Okeanos and Sound Intermedia with Clive Williamson, respectively. There are further dates in May, June and July, with more to be announced for the autumn. 'Cutting Edge' is becoming an important showcase for innovative contemporary music. Isabel Ettenauer and her toy pianos pop up in several places; pianist Tania Chen performs a funky programme in Oxford alongside New York classical ensemble The Clogs; the dynamic string group Opus 20 (which records for Robert Fripp's Discipline Global Mobile) finds its way to Nottingham; and the maverick composers and performers of Noszferatu help to launch the Cheltenham Festival. The emphasis is on British composers. The full calendar is here. Further information will be forthcoming about associated educational events, BMIC promise. There is plenty of information about some fine, intriguing younger artists at Cadenza, too.

[114.1] ROUDERS' UK OPERA PREMIERE

There is an air of eerie presience, perhaps, to the fact that -- at just such a moment in history as this -- acclaimed Danish composer Poul Rouders' opera, 'The Handmaid's Tale', utilising a libretto by Paul Bentley based directly on Margaret Atwood's classic dystopian novel, receives its UK premiere at the English National Opera on 3 April. It then runs on 5, 9, 11, 14 and 25 April and 2 May 2003. Full production details are here. A free sampler CD is available for those who register. There are also sound clips. A full synopsis will follow shortly. The production was created and given by the Danish Royal Opera Company in 2000. The story concerns the fate of American society under a repressive religious theocracy. Atwood wrote of the experience of seeing her work turned into an opera in Saturday's Guardian. Her book has already appeared as a film and has been translated into 35 languages. She comments on its central theme:

"The inclination towards tyranny, the wielding of absolute power by the few over the many, knows no ideological boundaries and is not confined to one time or space. I never trust anyone who says: "It can't happen here." Otherwise ethical people will commit the most serious injuries as long as they believe they are doing their "duty" - committing these injuries in a good cause. Lenin was not alone in believing that the end justifies the means: lots of people believe it, or act as if they do. It takes bravery of a different sort to maintain that the means defines the end: risk it during a time of high group stress and you're likely to be called naive, or a traitor." (c) Margaret Atwood, 2003.

[113.1] THE MAGIC OF MUSIC

Writer Margaret Drabble has penned a powerful article ('Sound and Fury') on her own struggle to appreciate music against a backdrop of 'tone deafness' and discouragement from schools and family. Finally the piece that clicks for her is Brahms' Serenade No 1 in D-major, Opus 11 (for large orchestra) of which she writes, ecstatically:

"[N]ow I know that piece of music. I played it, again and again and again, and it filled me with an inexplicable delight. I still play it, though less incessantly, and find it still performs the same miracle. Why? Is this what music is? Is this what other people mean when they say they love a piece of music? What is it for? What does it mean? And why do I respond to it so much? It doesn't seem to mean anything. And yet it exists, and it is beautiful, and it haunts me. I feel that I am unworthy of it. It is too good for me. I do not deserve it. Each time I play it, I cannot quite credit my good fortune." (c) Margaret Drabble, 2003

NOTE TO READERS: On Friday 21 and Saturday 22 March NFE will not appear. It will be back again on the evening of Sunday 23 March. Check in again then, or have a hunt around the extensive archives in the meantime...

[3/20/2003 03.54:26 AM | Simon Barrow]

War breaks out...

"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it...Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate....Darkness cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
Rev Dr Martin Luther King

[112.1] THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED

"My subject is war and the pity of war. The poetry is in the pity... all a poet can do today is warn..." Wilfred Owen

Well, maybe music didn't die exactly. But it is difficult to concentrate on harmony and resonance when the deafening silence of a world on the brink of war and destruction is all around you. Appropriately, then, the new catalogue for the forthcoming Brighton Festival (3 - 25 May 2003, in over 30 venues throughout the city) highlights as one of its premier musical events a performance of Britten's salutary and passonately engaged 'War Requiem'.

Written for the re-consecration of Coventry Cathedral, partially destroyed by bombs in the second world war, it was first performed on 30 May 1962. Interestingly, fellow conscientious objector Michael Tippett's psychologically complex and instrumentally taut opera King Priam (currently enjoying a fresh production in the Netherlands) was featured alongside it that day.

At the Brighton Festival the 'Requiem' is to be performed on 16 May at the Dome by the City of London Sinfonia under the baton of Richard Hickox, with Janice Watson (sop), James Gilchrist (ten) and Christopher Maltman (bar) -- alongside the Brighton Festival Chorus and Youth Choir. Hickox, of course, is now set to head up Opera Australia in Sydney.

There are rather fewer new music / contemporary classical events announced for the Brighton Festival this year than last. What is on offer so far is signalled as Music Now. No doubt it will grow slightly (with 'fringe' events, et al) in the next few weeks.

[111.2] WEIRD WORLD

NFE's hunt for weblogs in the 'new music' area continues, with patchy success. Worthy of recent note is 'Mostly Weird, Some Normal', an intriguing collection of set lists, commentary and review in the general area of jazz, experimental and rock. Some of it is a little mainstream, perhaps, but the studied eclecticism is welcome, and there's some acute observation going on. This on Arthur Doyle from a few days ago:

"I don't always get that feeling [of premeditation] from Arthur Doyle. I get the feeling of primitivism, but not a calculated primitivism like the Art Ensemble of Chicago engaged in when the occasion demanded. I feel sometimes, when I'm listening to Arthur Doyle, that he can't play it straight. That he's not fully in control of his instrument. Maybe it's because I've never heard him play in any other way than his full-on screaming reed-busting manner (which, of course, is more than welcome around this house—there are few free jazz records as viscerally satisfying to listen to, either through headphones or blasting out of speakers, than Alabama Feeling), but sometimes I wonder if he practices. If he's ever had a lesson. Or if I'm listening to the free jazz equivalent of Wesley Willis (a schizophrenic whose ranting "songs" have been recorded and distributed by several smirking-hipster indie labels, and even by Rick Rubin at American, who should know better)."

[111.1] SPIRIT OF JAZZ

Spirit House is "dedicated to tracing the ecstatic spirit in jazz." Broadcast on Eastside Radio 89.7fm in Sydney, Australia, on Mondays between 21.30 and midnight, the programme covers everything from early avant-garde to freshly minted masterpieces. Presenters are Sean O'Brien and Gerard Hogan. The accompanying webblog aims to document the music played on Spirit House, "and hopefully provide an insight into why we play what we play through reviews, links and anything else that comes to mind."

[110.1] UPCOMING SOUND EVENTS

An entirely non-representative and non-comprehensive selection of intriguing musical events happening in NFE's neck of the woods over the next few weeks... the links will no doubt give you other dates, as well as wider information.

18-19 March
Richard Alston Dance Company: settings of Britten, Mozart, Italian and Moorish medieval music; Gardner Arts Centre, University of Sussex, 20.00.

20 March
The Dedication Orchestra (formed 10 years ago to celebrate the music of exiled South African musicians such as Mongezi Feza, Harry Miller, Chris McGregor, Dudu Pukwana, Johnny Dyani and Nick Moyaka). With Keith Tippett, Evan Parker, Lol Coxhill, Elton Dean, Jim Dvorak, Julie Tippetts and Steve Beresford. Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 19.45.

4 April
'Greek Ikons of Light and Passion'. The Composers' Ensemble, with Mina Polychronou (sop). Works by Theodore Antoniou, Periclis Koukos, George Kouroupos. Purcell Room, London, 19.30.

8 April
Phoenix Dance Theatre: settings of Jocelyn Pook ('DV8', 'Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut'). Gardner Arts Centre, University of Sussex, 20.00.

23 April
Electronica: London Sinfonietta, conducted by Martyn Brabbins. Boulez, 'Anthemes II', Matthias Pintscher, 'Tenebrae', Jonathan Harvey, 'Bird Concerto'. Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 19.45.

24 April
Arditti String Quarter with Thomas Ades (piano). Music by Ades, Berg, Dutilleux and Lachenmann. Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 19.45

[109.1] NITIN SAWHNEY UP CLOSE

Very good feature by Simon Hatterstone on eclectic Indian musician Nitin Sawhney in today's Guardian. One tantalising quotation should suffice:

"Sawhney loves complexity. Take his music. For those who haven't had the pleasure of hearing it, let me try to explain. Take bits of Indian and European classical music, add a bit of blues and jazz, a smidge of hip hop and soul, sprinkle with funk and flamenco, spice with bhangra and dance beats, and Bob's your uncle. Record shops tend to store it under world music, which is ridiculous. The music, composed of all those disparate and complex elements, is somehow pure and emotional, and very beautiful." (c) Guardian Unlimited / Hattenstone.

[108.1] SHOUT IT OUT

'On Arrival' is the new CD by The Shout, an 18-piece British choir, or 'vocal big band' as they call themselves, formed in 1998 by the composers Richard Chew and Orlando Gough. NFE has championed them in the past -- and BBC Radio 3 played an excerpt from the album (which can also be previewed at the Carbon 7 site) last Thursday. The collection was previously issued as a demo CD called 'Tall Stories' after Gough's piece, which premiered last year (24 April) at the Battersea Arts Centre in London, UK.

The singers come from the most varied of backgrounds - gospel, jazz, blues, contemporary classical, opera, Indian music - and the group includes several improvisers. The Shout is an ensemble whose personalities are revealed by the music and who are given the freedom to sing solos and improvise, and yet it is also capable of a homogeneous effort. It explores the possibilities of both 18 individuals and of a single voice with 18 components.Among its luminaries is my good friend the Australian soprano Adey Grummet. Richard Gough is interviewed at AI magazine here. Unfortunately The Shout's biog and information page seems to be down at the moment. They also appear on an Unknown Public CD, UP 11 Beauty and Terror. See also COMA Voices...

[107.1] LATE JUNCTION

One of the great secrets of radio unveils itself to a small audience between 22:15 and midnight from Monday to Thursday on BBC Radio 3. Late Junction is a "laid-back, eclectic mix of music from across the globe, ranging from Mali to Bali, and from medieval chant to 21st-century electronica." It is presented regularly by Fiona Talkington and Verity Sharp. You can get a flavour from the playlists here, and of course you can listen on-line. Late Junction is also a record label. A review of oner of the recent collections, ‘Nordic Nights’ will follow shortly on NFE.

[106.1] SQUARE PEG, WARPED HOLE

Back on 26 February NFE previewed the exciting Warp Works and C20th Masters concert at the RFH on 9 March 2003. There is a good review of the proceedings at the New York Times (you have to register to get through). A few snippets from John Pareles on 12 March:

“The program made the clear if tacit point that ideas anticipate technology. Composers using mechanical processes presaged the loops and repetitions of computerized dance music, and composers fascinated by untempered, nonorchestral sounds foreshadowed the textural variety and obsessiveness of electronica.

“Video … accompanied some live pieces, including … Ligeti's 'Poeme Symphonique for 100 Metronomes,' with individual lines twitching for each ticking metronome.

“The concert was not some misguided attempt to elevate electronica into concert music; it was an appreciation. And for an audience weaned on electronica, all of the concert's dissonances, flickering patterns, sonic apparitions and jolts of rhythm made perfect sense, whether they came from Mr. Ligeti or Aphex Twin.”

The London concert has also excited some lively responses on rec.music.classical.contemporary.

Composer David Horne wrote:

"The whole concert was an awesome experience for me, personally, I must admit. To see a packed RFH with a mostly under-30s crowd is extremely unusual for contemporary classical music -- certainly I've never experienced it. And while most of the audience was definitely coming from the Warp perspective, I felt there was on the whole a real enthusiasm for the Ligeti, Cage, Stockhausen etc. Also, while some may turn up their nose at the thought, I thought that the enthusiastic applause and whistles between the movements of the Ligeti were wonderful!

"Also very refreshing in my opinion was to hear people bubbling with comments about the whole event in the 'intermission' (there were still videos going on then.) There were real conversations and arguments going on, but all of it with enthusiasm, whether pro or con. I can't say I usually experience that, unfortunately. I daresay I can't expect to have concertgoers walking down the aisle with beers during my upcoming premieres either!"