Continuum ensemble

Press, 8 October 1987, Page 4

Continuum ensemble

Continuum, the contemporary music ensemble of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, in a recital of New Zealand electro-acoustic music at the Great Hall, Arts Centre, October 7, MS pan. Reviewed by Philip Norman. . Concerts of electronic music usually carry as much optical appeal as a blank sheet of manuscript paper. Thankfully, Continuum recognised this in its concert last evening and designed a programme that included at least a modicum of . visual stimuli. Two of the works presented, “Tryptych for Trumpet and Tape” (198 S by John Elmsly, and “Tides for Horn and Tape” (1981) by John Rimmer, featured human interaction with the disembodied sounds pumping through the speakers. A third, “Tape Piece ’B7” by Louise Johns, a student composer at the University of 'Canterbury, was designed to work with a sculpture of light playing on a five-point tape loop. Kymerano (1987) by Danielle Woods, also a student at Canterbury, was elec- . tro-acoustlc Insofar as it employed a synthesised celeste sound and an acoustically emplifled cello in conjunction with straight soprano saxophone and piano sounds. This left Ross Harris’s “Vocalise” as the sole purely electronic work of the evening. The most immediate impression the concert made was of the artistic and technical gulf between the works of the student composers and the works of the : established practitioners. Rimmer and Karris, and to a lesser extent Elmsly, have consolidated reputations as leading '^exponents’in the electro-acoustic < medium, and for good reason. ' Their presented works showed genuine ■ merW of creativity supported by an tedmlCßl mastery of the piece featured a most attraccountorpototing of timbres between (proficiently jtC thaa. Yauha). With its clever oi’ theclassic suite form, ■■ "I- ZSiadiii' rtnijii: excursion -; “ xeedßaroque, or, ..to I invention powerful -J " • ■ . ■ - .. - •. \

evocation of the rhythmic cycles of the natural elements. With an intelligent delivery of the horn line by Paul Mayhew, the work pulsated with an invigorating vitality. As with much of Rimmer’s writing dealing with topics related to the environment, an appealing element of lyricism dominated the thematic content Harris’s composition was a particularly well-crafted work, with his simple vocally-derived material developed to the full without undue repetition. It was composed using an emulator — a new generation electronic tool, that among other capabilities, can sample acoustic sounds and reconstitute them with an uncanny degree of accuracy. One can record, for example, the sound of a flag fluttering in the breeze and play it back as “God Defend New Zealand.” The possibilities indeed are endless, and Harris wisely remained within earshot of his generating material throughout the course of the work. The two student compositions presented some striking ideas, but these often outstayed their welcome. Wood’s “Kymerano” was an interesting combination of timbres but quickly became bogged down with prolonged bouts of impenetrably dense contrapuntal writing. Johns’s work, which, according to the programme notes, explored the varying subtleties of Inflection of a single spoken phrase, began with what seeemed to be a sonic description of a day in the life of a battery hen. For a while I thought the mystery phrase might be “this one has got to be at least a size seven." But no, following a detailed and academic examiantion of every possible nuance of the phrase, the vowels of “I don’t want to anymore” began to take shape. At least that is what I thought I heard through the mists of the not unpleasant mesmeric sensations the composition induced. As a tailpiece, it is interesting to note that the average age of concertgoers attending the C.S.O. continuum concerts must be 20, if not 30, years younger than those generally attending the C.S.O. subscription