Scale Variable 1, 2008, Ensemble Nu
Scale Variable 2008Between the LinesMuch anticipation, along with anxiety dawned on the art gallery of Western Australia as Tura New Music presented the first performance from Ensemble Nu; Western Australia’s new professional ensemble devoted to playing new, 20thCentury Music. With a program of composers mostly unknown to the audience, disinterest may have been expected. But with the art gallery foyer practically full, it seemed that intrigue and excitement was the mood amongst the audience, coming to listen to something diverse.Easing the audience into the diverse sounds of the 20th Century, was local Australian composer, Iain Graindage. His piece for string quartet forced the evening into swing in a very dominate style. His use of unusual bowing, especially in the violin part, was very well conveyed the violinist Stephanie Dean. Her relaxed attitude coming onto stage was a little worrying, but come the first bar, she proved her worth, flowing across all bowings, and not missing a beat as she produced a near flawless interpretation of the piece.An immediate change in pace saw Paul Tanner perform the solo percussion work ‘Toucher for Solo Percussion’, by Vinko Globokar. A most challenging piece, as the percussionist is required to read a passage in French whilst playing various percussion instruments according to the vowels he uses. Tanners’ diction was near perfect, as every vowel was conveyed perfectly, and even with the correct expressions.The string quartet was back for the next piece, albeit with a few different members, to tackle a whole different medium in ensemble playing. Steve Reich’s Different Trains is composed for String Quartet and tape, the tape including three other quartets, recordings of train sounds, and interviews of people using train systems throughout the First World War. Reich’s impeccable ability to analyse recorded sounds, in particular voice, and meld them into the intricacies of melodic music, made for an enthralling journey of driving harmony. The recorded train sounds added a percussive beat reminiscent of a repetitive snare rhythm, in which the players followed and often interacted with. Small snippets of the recorded interviews are repeated over and over again, and eventually emulate a melody; of which is played by and instrument in the live quartet to help convey that melody.After the interval the audience ‘Sinatra Shag for mixed sextet’ got the audience right back into the swing of things, as Michael Daugherty produced a sound quite similar to that of the Austin Powers theme song. A piece full of contextual surprises, with classically based solos, a driving cello line, and a Semra Lee on violin who was quite literally shredding on the violin.Michael Torkes’ piece, ‘Song of Isaiah’ was the first large ensemble of the night, with the majority of Ensemble Nu on stage. But the main attraction was soprano, Christina Gronborg-Reilly, who pulled of a remarkable challenge, as the soprano part was written as just another instrument; a part designed to blend in with the rest of the ensemble, and not take a lead role. Christina pulled this off superbly; albeit with little breathe at the end. The part stretched across a wide range, and at some points proved a little too low for Gronborg-Reilly, but as the soprano blended in with the ensemble, so did her strain for those low notes. This piece highlighted a shift in orchestration in the 20th Century, with Torke experimenting with traditional instruments, in an untraditional manner.The final piece of the night arrived, and the audience were ready for a high thrills, frenetic, short sharp ending to the night. That wasn’t what arrived, as a large ensemble gave us ‘Coming Together’ by Frederick Rzewski for Narrator and mixed ensemble. The idea was simple; everyone had the same score, a pentatonic scale repeated over and over again in many different inversions, and each player would decide when they did or didn’t play. A conductor directed them as to when the mix should be louder, and when it needed more intricacy. It had some very interesting transitions between sections in the piece, and proved quite a demanding performance for everyone, in particularly, the narrator, who read an extract from a letter of a prisoner feeling enlightened in life. It was quite a surprise to the audience to hear the night end with this piece; some war bored, but others were intrigued into the intricate layering of Ensemble Nu’s, I was the later. Ben Hamblin