"I have nothing to say and I am saying it"

Thus spake John Cage, via Adrienne Clarkson, which is perhaps the best summary I could come up with for last night's concert, entitled Minimalist Classics. We heard some pillars of minimalism, including Cage's First Construction in Metal and Terry Riley's In C. I think what really set last night's show apart was hearing these classics done so well, with Nexus forming the core group of each ensemble. I've heard Cage's First Construction performed by less-than-professional groups a few times, so it was great to hear it done so well.

The evening started off with Cage's Amores, which intersperses recited text with music for solo prepared piano and percussion trio. I'm of the belief that the more you understand about the music you're hearing, the more you'll appreciate it. In this work, the audience is more or less forced to listen to some of Cage's beliefs and philosophies, and, if unaware of such things beforehand, I think will ultimately benefit from understanding the music better. Clarkson recited the spoken text, and in speaking with her afterwards, I learned that she's no stranger to Cage's music, but this was the first time she's ever performed any of it. Listen for that short interview in my next mini-podcast, as soon as I'm able to edit up the audio and get it posted.

We also heard Steve Reich's Proverb, which was a first listening for me. It's an incredibly difficult piece for the sopranos, due to the intense concentration required. The problem here was that if you ask a solo soprano to sing senza vibrato into a microphone, even Jessye Norman will sound terrible.

The concert ended with Terry Riley's In C. Nexus and friends played for about an hour, and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire time. Because as a group they're so familiar and comfortable with each other, they were able to add great depths of colour and dynamic variance to the music, which made for a much more satisfying performance.

Not far from the end, maybe 45 or 50 minutes in, the patterns move to the upper register of each instrument, and the group brought the dynamic level down quite low. I believe most of the audience felt the piece was drawing to a close and when the piano began a new pattern that was clearly moving the music in a different direction (and not ending), there was a palpable collective sigh and shuffle in the room. While expected, it did get me thinking about long pieces, particularly of the minimalist variety. I love long pieces, but after 45 minutes or so, theatre chairs get uncomfortable. Maybe these are better suited to alternative performance venues - imagine listening to such a work, lying in the grass in a park? With a cold beer?

Anyway, today promises even more great music, so look for another post tonight or tomorrow morning (depending on how late tonight goes!).

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