"Sure, go ahead and bring drinks into the auditorium. Also, you can sit up on the stage if you get there early enough."
Well, I didn't take advantage of the new drink policy, feeling like it's absolute sacrilege no matter what anyone says, but I did head right for the stage and found myself engaged in a lovely conversation with two ladies soon after about modern music and who it was that invented twelve-tone.
This was only the start of an unprecedented program that symbolized, to me, the imminent changes that the Seattle Symphony Orchestra is implementing in its three-year innovative strategic plan.
Nowhere is the 'future' more evident than in its dynamic conductor, Ludovic Morlot. In his introduction to the night's music, he told us that the [untitled] series, which encompasses quite a lot of modern music and only plays at 10:00 on Friday evenings, is his 'niche'. It's an opportunity for him to introduce his devoted audience to the pieces that he loves, but doesn't really have the chance to present in the regular season programs.
His programming choices have been selling out houses; his collaborative interpretations with the orchestra leave his audience members stunned and rising in ovations afterwards. Friday was no exception; by including a renowned pianist (Michael Brown) and introducing the Symphony's resident composer's newest site-specific work (Above, Below and In Between by Trimpin) with the intense vocals of Jessika Kenney, the house was completely sold out an hour before it started.
So first on the menu was a set of works by the late George Perle, all for ensemble, none (except the first, for string quartet) for conventional ensemble. The second work, Critical Moments (No. 1), includes flue, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion, utilizing a huge variety of effects for the strings, and a demanding entourage of instruments for the sole percussionist. The third, Serenade 3, is a masked miniature piano concerto, with brass, strings, woodwinds and percussion in a five-part whirlwind.
My impression of Perle's work is complicated to express, because part-way through the first half of the concert, I realized what I now consider to be the purpose of modern music: not to internalize it and be able to sing it after, or even understand it; it's all about becoming immersed in the sensation of the moment, letting go of the tight grip on harmony, rhythm and form that drives most of the standard repertoire of classical music, and instead just giving into that very moment. I think this is particularly true of the abstract variety of 20th century music, and for ensemble pieces, which allow room for voices to stand out and encourage the disparity of meaning.
In fact, the most accurate word I can think of to describe Above, Below and In Between is...immersive. As we exited the hall into the grand lobby, we found that it had been transformed into the interactive experience hinted at by the piece's title. The half-moon balcony was lit by masses of color; and music stands waited for the instrumentalists to join. Hanging from the balcony was a series of large cylinders and pyramid-like blocks. On ground level, which was covered with colorful mats for audience members to sit upon, an open grand piano was center stage, with a curious mechanical ensemble inside set to pluck and bang the strings across the soundboard, and play the keys themselves under the closed cover.
Morlot hastened to assure us that the black box with glaring red numbers inside the piano was 'not a time bomb'. I assure you that's exactly what it looked like.
Above, Below and In Between is comprised of six movements, each showcasing the Frankenstein piano and introducing vocals and other instruments as well. Not only did Morlot conduct the musicians, he conducted the piano as well; preset to play a certain work of music, he manually controlled the tempo and dynamics with his hands in thin air, like a theremin. In essence, what Trimpin constructed is a method of controlling the interpretation of a mechanical work.
The first two movements consisted entirely of the piano; the third introduced Kenney, with her rich vocals that encompassed pure vowels moving through various diphthongs, bird-like gurgles and chatter, and mad-man cackles of laughter and enraged ejaculations. In fact, her singing was possessed, and with her curly brown hair flying as she moved through the audience, one wondered if she was sane. (I met her afterwards briefly, and found that her personality is very sweet, almost shy, her doe-like brown eyes deep and gentle).For examples of her work, visit her website here.
The next movement consisted of the chimes ringing around the room, suspended and unstruck by visible hands; the fifth movement finally introduced the ensemble of instrumentalists, up on the balcony. Coinciding with the nine pillars of the lobby, the nine instruments consisted of three trombones and two each violas, cellos and basses. Finally, Kenney rejoined the entire orchestra--piano, chimes, and ensemble--and escalated into a scream at the end.
Musically, this piece was about an anchored tone which centered the rest of the sounds and set up a platform for melodic and harmonic relationship. Typically this tone was played in the piano at the beginning of the work, and a hum filled the room which took advantage of the natural harmonics of the lobby to create resonance. Kenney's voice also took advantage of the harmonic series, building upon and sliding around it.
Needless to say, as the audience rose in unanimous ovation, the cry of 'encore' brought an appreciative laugh. What made us even more appreciative, however, was the fact that they actually did an encore. Trimpin plunged into the mechanics of the piano, resetting it for a new set of tones, and Kenney reprised her role, including screaming face first into the piano itself, which made every pianist in the room break out into laughter.
The encore was met with another standing ovation, and a highly charged audience, admittedly a very tired audience, seeing as it was then past midnight, excitedly engaged in conversation among themselves and the artists before leaving the Hall to head for bed.
I had come alone to the concert because the friend I intended to go with had come down ill; I found to my surprise that I had more capacity to actually enjoy the concert because I wasn't worried about what anyone else might think. Typically with modern music, I find myself criticizing it in my head because I feel like my companion(s) aren't enjoying it. But this time I was allowed to appreciate it purely for the sensation, and enjoy it I did indeed.
In conclusion, I think it's fair to say that Morlot's 'niche' is a phenomenal success.
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