BY ZOE BARKER
The Cold Earth Slept Below
Rubiks Collective
Kew Court House, 22 June
Rubiks Collective is comprised of current and former ANAM students with a passion for new music. Coming off the back of a successful collaboration with Swedish composer Marcus Fjellström, Rubiks returned with The Cold Earth Slept Below, a selection of works inspired by the winter solstice. Featuring the Australian premieres of major works by David Lang and Julia Wolfe, the group’s programming displayed its ongoing commitment to creating engaging performances of contemporary music.
Franco Donatoni’s Ave – scored for piccolo, glockenspiel, and celesta – served as a dynamic introduction to the program. Exploring the sparkling tone qualities of each instrument, Donatoni’s piece danced around the upper registers and was underpinned by a strong rhythmic impulse. The repeated cascading figures were thoughtfully shaped by the performers, who attacked each note with precision.
Julia Wolfe’s Singing in the Dead of the Night was the highlight of the program. The work reflected the hallmarks of Wolfe’s energetic post-minimalist style, but avoided any sense of monotony through its episodic structure, use of silence, and gradual harmonic unfurling. The execution of ensemble sections was impeccable, with the instruments often pairing off to effectively create three separate textures. Jacob Abela (piano) and Kaylie Melville (percussion) were the driving and steady backbone throughout much of the piece, framing the other instruments as they wailed like sirens and clattered through virtuosic passages – evoking the feeling of being the only one awake in the middle of the night. Guest violinist Kyla Matsuura-Miller impressed with her leading and duet sections with Gemma Tomlinson (cello).
The small interlude between the program’s two major works was performed immediately after the disintegrative end of Wolfe’s work. Emerging from the amplified sounds of sandpaper blocks which end Singing in the Dead of the Night, John Fonville’s unpublished work Music for Sarah VI inhabited an ethereal sound world. The placement of the piece made sense from this perspective, and also served as a transition to the work which was to come. Despite the technical complexity of requiring the solo flautist to simultaneously sing and play, Tamara Kohler was able to express the simplicity of this fleeting but moving work.
David Lang’s song cycle Death Speaks uses text extracted by the composer from Schubert’s songs. Translating instances where Schubert personifies death, and forming a narrative from selections of these, Lang has created a cycle for voice and the somewhat unusual instrumentation of piano, electric guitar, and violin. Demonstrating a slightly different take on the compositional style usually associated with him, Wolfe, and their ensemble Bang on a Can, Lang eschewed rhythmic and percussive motives and instead suspended the voice amidst a fragile instrumental texture. The interplay between the piano and electric guitar gave rise to an interesting relationship, in which single notes were shared and echoed, tentatively bouncing around the room.
While guest vocalist Georgie Darvidis captured the essence of this work with her soft, controlled, and haunting tone, Lang’s text at times felt trite and limiting to the interpretation of the singer. The music was pleasant, but there was little sense of development throughout the work. Despite stellar performances, there was a decline in intensity as the work drew on, lacking in even subtle shifts in texture, emotion or momentum.
Bookending the performance was the foyer set up in the Kew Court House. Demonstrating its holistic approach to programming, Rubiks used the dimly lit space as an extension of the concert, featuring an eerie soundscape by Pete Kidson. Cementing itself as a fresh and important voice in contemporary music making, Rubiks has once again created an accessible evening of new music without sacrificing intelligent programming or the performance of unusual works.
This review is part of the inaugural CutCommon Young Writers’ Month. About the author:
Zoe Barker holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Melbourne, graduating with first class honours in 2015. A musicology major, her research focused on the analysis of electroacoustic music, specifically looking at works by her Finnish girl-crush Kaija Saariaho. With a keen interest in new music and Australian composers, Zoe has also co-presented and programmed Australian Sounds on 3MBS Fine Music Melbourne since 2016. In addition to musicological pursuits, Zoe studied cello performance as an undergraduate, and continues to play, teach and tutor.
Images supplied. Featured image credit: Cameron Jamieson.
