BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
It’s that time again, Brisbane, when you get to experience Dots+Loops and the rest of the country gets jealous.
In case you haven’t read this story, or this one, or this one; Dots+Loops is one of the most progressive concert series going down in Australia. It takes everything we think we want in a live performance, and injects everything we didn’t realise we wanted all along.
It’s the brainchild of musician Kieran Welch, and its first concert of 2019 is about to take place. Dots+Loops Conviction will pull together artists who are in high demand and reasonably so: mezzo-soprano Lotte Betts-Dean, composer and sound designer Tilman Robinson, and multimedia team Team Animal Spirits.
Oh, and let’s not forget Brisbane-born and New York-based violinist Courtenay Cleary, who has, among other things, enrolled herself in the Juilliard School and performed for Queen Elizabeth II.
Courtenay will play the Australian premiere of local composer David Lang’s Mystery Sonatas this June 28.
Courtenay, the first description I read about the upcoming program is that it’s a “vividly emotional exploration of belief in the 21st Century”. Heavy. Tell us what this theme means to you.
To me, this piece has a very reflective, spiritual feeling. David Lang wrote this piece as an homage to Biber’s set of 15 Mystery Sonatas from the 1670s, each depicting a story of Jesus. Lang mentions in his foreword that these sonatas embody his most intimate and spiritual thoughts, which is what I try to imagine when I’m playing this piece. Although I don’t know what his thoughts were exactly, I try to enact some of my own deepest feelings into the piece. The colossal length of the piece really gives you time to dig deep into those feelings.
One listen to Mystery Sonatas and it already strikes as ridiculously well-named. Some of the movements sound like the very essence of mystery.
Something I find most mysterious about these sonatas is their apparent lack of metre. It’s almost impossible to tell where the beat is most of the time, which I think gives it a real sense of floating and timelessness.
The audience will be hearing this for the very first time [in Australia], and I’d love their experience to be almost meditative as we travel through this shimmering soundscape together.
Talk us through the “organic live visuals” from Team Animal Spirits that’ll accompany your music.
Team Animal Spirits is creating some beautiful reactive illustrations that will embody the mood of each movement. Some of them will even be generated through a camera, recording my movements live in the actual performance. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they’ve come up with!
Now, you’ve performed impressively across the globe (Wigmore Hall, Buckingham Palace, you’re studying at The Juilliard School; the list goes on). Throughout these international experiences, what does it mean to you to be returning to Australian music through the work of Lang? Why is paying homage to Australia still important in a global career?
It’s always a pleasure to return home and share everything I’ve learnt with Australian audiences. As you know, I’m currently living in New York, where David Lang also resides and writes most of his work. It’s interesting to think about how an environment such as New York can influence a composer’s sound, which I think is the case with a lot of Lang’s music. I think you can really hear this in the sixth movement of this piece.
Coincidentally, I bumped into Augustin Hadelich, for whom this piece was written, just a few weeks ago at Juilliard; and we were able to discuss aspects of the piece and what it was like to give the premiere at Carnegie Hall.
It’s amazing to be in a cultural epicentre for contemporary American music, and then be able to return to Australia and share this experience to the best of my ability.
As an artist, what do you think Dots+Loops does to advance new music in Australia?
It’s a rare opportunity to perform new music. Often, we’ll only hear a new work sandwiched between two classical pieces at a symphony orchestra concert. Dots+Loops has done a phenomenal service to composers and contemporary performers in making their music accessible to a wide audience in a new, creative way. I’ve never seen a Dots+Loops concert that wasn’t completely packed with people! It’s amazing that so many people get to hear something they’ve never heard before.
Before you go, I must ask…what was it like performing for the actual queen?
Incredibly nerve-racking. I’m not sure if it was because Queen Elizabeth was in the front row, or because it was live on BBC television, but I certainly had to eat a lot of bananas before that performance (did you know they act as natural beta-blockers?). Once I started playing, though, I knew I just had to keep going until the end of the piece so the nerves faded gradually.
Parting words?
I’m really looking forward to performing this piece next week. It may well be the most difficult piece I’ve ever played. I gawked when Kieran asked me to play it, but I couldn’t say no. It’s such an amazing journey to undertake, and will be an undoubtedly rewarding experience to perform it.
Head along to Dots+Loops Conviction at Newstead Brewing Co. in Brisbane this June 28.
Be quick to grab your FREE copy of CutCommon print issue #2 while you’re there!
Images supplied.
