BY CAROL DIXON
Forest Collective: Forest Relaunched
Works by Stockhausen, Reimann (AU premiere), Lawson (world premiere), Lindberg,
Ingham and Edgar, Boulez, Pollard, Yuasa, Scully (world premiere), Scelsi, Schreker arr. Lawson
St Stephen’s Church, Richmond, 9 March
What’d you miss?
- A relaxed invitation to make your own meaning of an exotic and varied sound world
- A delightful challenge to any preconceived musical ideas and tastes
- A feast for eyes, ears, and musical ideas!
Many performing artists present their works with detailed program notes and MC announcements. But not Forest Collective, an innovative Melbourne group that portrayed one ensemble and 10 solo works with great creativity and skill at its 2018 opening concert.
As silence replaced convivial audience chatter in a relaxed atmosphere of background pre-recorded music and a pre-concert glass of wine, the audience waited in anticipation for the first item, which began without introduction. The listener was immediately invited to enter a ‘forest of sounds’ and discover the gems that lay within.
Music with a modernist flavour that tests the “limits of aesthetic construction,” as stated by Daniel Albright, is often not always easy for me to appreciate and enjoy. Yet my preconceived aural sensibilities were pleasantly challenged by the remarkable abilities of this group of performing artists. I gained renewed appreciation for some composers of modern and postmodern traditions. How the performers presented these unusual works, their performance expertise, and the drama and visual presentation all combined to enhance the musical expression.
Stockhausen’s Ypsilon (1989) came alive through expressive gestures by flautist Kim Tan, as she physically turned towards different audience sections in a solid and confident performance. She incorporated dance-like, stomping sounding percussive bells attached to the clothing of her waist and lower legs, with an array of flute tonal effects – sounds that blended beautifully into one another.
Trombonist Trea Hindley also displayed a sense of drama during her performance of Lindberg’s Kokakoka (1999), and in contrasting casual attire of denim overalls, she combined an intricate display of foot stomping, trombone and vocal sounds, and – after a pause and a lackadaisical page turn – elicited a laugh from the audience.
Mezzo-soprano Kate Bright, in glittering colour, appeared unexpectedly from a different corner of the performance space. She sang with a full, warm, and expressive vocal tone in a beautifully and confidently executed piece – Reimann’s Eingedunkelt (1992).
Piano solo Premiere Sonate (1946) by Boulez was somewhat challenging to my ear, relentless in its fast percussive syncopated style throughout. However, Danae Killian gave this highly technical and difficult piece a virtuosic performance, keeping the listener on edge with a vividness of expression. Clarinet Solitude (1980) by Yuasa was a daring composition in its prevalence of multiphonics and very quiet dynamic passages, but these were performed with great control and intonation throughout by Vilan Mai. Likewise, Nick Yates during Scelesi’s Ixor (1956) for solo saxophone displayed utmost breath control, creating a smooth flow of single notes, two-note groupings, and large leaps interspersed with trills and faster motives.
It was wonderful to note so many Australian works represented. Of the 11 works, five were written by Australian composers, a wonderful tribute to Forest Collective’s support to local composers.
Evan Lawson’s composition Unfolding for solo recorder, performed by Ryan Williams on a bass recorder, was masterly in its sense of timing. At first, the player’s repeated vocal sound ‘che’ appeared repetitive as it alternated with a repeated four-note motif, seeming to draw in the listener through the question: ‘What next?’. Like a minimalist piece, the four-note and flutter motifs were gradually decorated, and soon I could not help but be mesmerised by the eloquent intricacy underlying the composition’s simplicity.
Alongside composer Lewis Ingham, Nikki Edgar co-wrote the piece she performed on the cello, A storm, A city & an Improvisation. Performed by memory, this 15-minute long work was a tribute to Edgar’s skilled performance ability. Their composition, too, was impressive – the overall effect like a large, elegant sculpture as one idea flowed seamlessly into another. Time allowed various special bowing techniques to be explored.
With composer Mark Pollard in the audience, Sarah Coghlan performed his solo violin work Beyond the Silent Gods (1991) with utmost sensitivity. I remained captured by the warm and singing tone quality, further enhanced by fabulous acoustic effects of St Stephen’s Church. Pollard exploited simple repeated chord changes, minor to major, and incorporated tritones, suspended chords, double and triple stopping, alternating with long notes and decorative arpeggiations. Through its simplicity, a highly expressive and poignant piece unfolded, culminating in an exquisite display of rapid arpeggiations at a surprisingly pianissimo dynamic.
The final solo Australian work Host was also performed by the composer Bec Scully on her double bass. Her work and performance also gripped me. The artistry within this composition was supreme, as the bass was given a role it very rarely has: excelling as an instrument with a great range of expression as pitch contrasts were explored – very high yet warm harmonic sounds in dialogue with lower notes.
The concluding work gathered a large ensemble for voice and ensemble work by Australian composer Franz Schreker Lenzzauber from op. 4 (1899), arranged and conducted by Evan Lawson. This was a tight performance of a tender and lyrical piece, a fitting finale to the evening’s repertoire.
The extra final bow with all performers together could have been better coordinated. The audience’s warm enthusiasm for this group was all too evident. And I was left, challenged to hear and appreciate new sounds and ways of portraying these, and delighted by the sense of intimate engagement and invitation to actively participate in my own experience and interpretation of the music.
Forest Collective will present Fluttering Hearts//Thinking Machines at Abbotsford Convent, May 24-27.
Image supplied. Credit Meghan Scerri 2017.
