Modern Masterworks GIVING VOICE TO CONTEMPORARY CHAMBER MUSIC by Megan Kelly photo courtesy of Brooks Whitehouse I feel intuitively that music must have been the primitive cell from which language, science, and religion originated. George Crumb If someone asked you out for an evening of chamber music, what would you expect to be listening to? Would you expect the classical masterpieces from Bach, Beethoven, or Mozart? Or Crumb? George Crumb, ever heard of him? Believe it or not, chamber music is more than a dead melody from the past. With the artistry of the music department's New Music Ensemble, contemporary chamber music becomes a passionate and expressive art form that's innovative, imaginative, and very much alive. Judging from the poor attendance at the New Music Ensemble's performances, it seems as though many people have trouble understanding and appreciating contemporary art. And who could blame them, I suppose: contemporary art is abstract, conceptual, and not always aesthetically pleasing -- it's everything the classical tradition isn't. But contemporary art provides unique opportunity for discussion of and reflection on the here and now. While works dating back to the Renaissance are certainly beautiful to look at and listen to, the contemporary masterpieces must not be tossed aside. They must be experienced. Imagine, if you will, a road trip to the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. -- an opportunity to see the classics by Michelangelo, da Vinci, and Bernini. Will you venture through the tunnel to the east wing to see the Picassos, the Pollocks, the Warhols? If not, you'll miss the last century of works to come out of the art world. You'll miss a lot. So that brings us back to chamber music and to the composer George Crumb. In 1971, Crumb wrote one of his best known works, Vox Balaenae ("The Voice of the Whale"), featuring the discordant notes of an electric flute, cello, and piano. Divided into variations named after geological eras, the dramatic piece is a haunting whale song that relates the evolution of life springing from the oceanic depths. Thanks to the New Music Ensemble, you'll be able to experience Crumb's piece for yourself. In the performance, three masked players (Margaret Newcomb, Paige Riggs, and Michael Mizrahi), clad entirely in black, manipulate their instruments in a flood of eerie blue light. The resonating strains of the musical chords sound as though the performance were actually taking place underwater. Crumb has the players wear masks in order to symbolize the impersonal forces of nature. The masks also function as a means of isolating the performers from the audience. Brooks Whitehouse, director of the New Music Ensemble, calls Crumb's theatrical composition "one of the great classics of the modern repertoire." The performers use a variety of unconventional devices in order to create strange and exciting new sounds. For example, chisels, glass rods, and paper clips change the natural sound of the piano, thereby transforming it into a completely new instrument. The chisel serves to bend the pitch of the strings, while the glass rod placed on top of the strings gives the notes a metallic sound. Newcomb, the solo flutist in Vox Balaenae, sings through her instrument as she plays, complicating the line between the vocal and the instrumental. Newcomb explains that these extended techniques should be approached with curiosity: "When listening to something that's not familiar, let the sounds take you where your imagination will." Bruce Tammen, conductor of the Virginia Glee Club, sings baritone in the performance of Maurice Ravel's Chansons Madécasses ("Songs of the Madagascar"). Composed in 1926, the three poems of Chansons Madécasses tell of the plight of the Malagasy natives in Madagascar. Tammen passionately describes the work as "Ravel's personal favorite amongst all his compositions. This is to be one of the masterworks for voice and instruments of the whole century. It was explosive in its time, celebrating the uprisings of the natives against their colonial European oppressors. Ravel called them 'primitive/erotic' in nature, though the actual music is typically lyrical and well-crafted." In addition to these works by Crumb and Ravel, the concert will include performances of Roger Sessions' Six Pieces for Violoncello and Carl Vine's Piano Sonata. Local composers will also be featured, with Guild Trio violinist Janet Orenstein performing Spin by Judith Shatin. Shatin, chair of the Music Department, has received national acclaim for her compositions, her most recent being a commission from the Kronos Quartet. University graduate Patrick Keady's Five Bagatelles will be performed by Charlottesville Symphony Concertmaster Svend Ronning. Visiting faculty member Stephan Prock will perform his latest work, Selfportrait. The New Music Ensemble performs in a variety of musical languages that are both experimental and challenging. The rich textures and vibrant colors produced by the instruments push the players and the audience to question every preconceived notion of music and sound. With the sharp contrast in dynamics, the notes float through the air currents, free from the bonds of classical conventions. Contemporary chamber music represents a new way of putting music together and, in turn, demands a new way of listening. Mike Rosensky, formerly involved with The New Music Ensemble, states: "There's so much in the performance of it. It draws you in. Musically, people are still conservative, and they're missing out on the vital, creative stuff going on now." In light of the C-Ville Weekly's "Best Place to Take a Date" category from last week's "Best and Worst" issue, I'd like to point out that the New Music Ensemble's next performance is on Monday, April 20th at 8:15 p.m. in Old Cabell Hall. And it's free.

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