QUASAR

Originally formed in 1995, QUASAR champions the works of contemporary composers – most notably those of Canada, but many international names as well. The ensemble explores diverse aspects of musical artistic creation from instrumental, through improvisation, to live electronics, and instrumental theatre. The quartet has formed solid partnerships with a number of outstanding Canadian composers and, to quote, “aims to contribute to the development of our musical language and provide a platform for new music experiments, exploration and production.” Appreciated around the world for their astonishing virtuosity and musical sensitivity, QUASAR will commence their Fifteenth Anniversary Canadian Tour on 28 January with a performance in Victoria, BC. Their current tour repertoire includes works by Dániel Péter Biró, Gilles Tremblay (Levées), Michael Matthews, Piotr Grella-Możejko (WIDDERSHINS, commissioned by QUASAR through the Alberta Foundation for the Arts), Colin Labadie (Mojave) and Iannis Xenakis (XAS). Matthews, Grella-Możejko and Labadie are currently Tonus Vivus members.

QUASAR comprises four great musicians. Marie-Chantal Leclair, the group’s Artistic Director, plays the soprano saxophone and also performs in an experimental rock band, Minodor. Mathieu Leclair plays the alto saxophone and devotes much of the remainder of his time to teaching. Besides playing tenor saxophone in the ensemble, André Leroux free-lances as a jazz performer across Canada and abroad. Jean-Marc Bouchard, the baritone saxophonist also performs as a soloist and teaches at the Université de Montréal. During its existence, QUASAR has performed with other ensembles including Société de musique contemporaine du Québec, Viva Voce, Totem Contemporain, Sixtum and the Arte Quartett, among many others.

Please remember to change your bookmarks accordingly!

On 19 June, music for nobody, a graphic score for performers who do not have to know how to play instruments, was given its outdoors première at The Works Art & Design Festival, with Charles Stolte, amplified saxophone and Jerry Ozipko, electric violin.

Then on 10 and 11 July, Balcetis for prerecorded, digitally processed sounds and baritone saxophone had its world première at the XVth World Saxophone Congress in Bangkok, Thailand, the dedicatee, Allison Balcetis, playing it twice, the second performance given at the request of several master saxophonists present at the Congress.

On 18 June, at the St. Mikael’s Church in Tallinn, Estonia, Reinhard von Berg premièred BergKREIS, version for organ solo, a polyversional work written especially for him. One month later, on 19 July, a’ROMA, a graphic score for optional performers, was presented at the Marienkirche in Laupheim, Germany, by Veronica Kraneis on flute, and, again, Reinhard von Berg on the organ.

In September several other performances took place. On the 10th, in Novara, Italy, the Vienna-based Russian super duo comprising violinist Elena Denisova and pianist Alexei Kornienko, performed “the impossibly conservative yet cute” (composer’s own words) Largo (Omaggio a Johann Sebastian), a tribute to Bach, deliberately written in the Baroque (“Bach”) style. On the 19th, Balcetis had its “full” multimedia première at The ARTery in Edmonton, with the dancer Gerry Morita and video artist Chris Payne performing alongside Allison Balcetis on sax, Piotr taking care of sound diffusion and live electronics for the saxophone part. And on the 25th two world premières were given at the «Caveau des trois-sifflets» in Vevey, Switzerland by, respectively, Compagnie CH.AU who performed sad snu (dream orchard) for mezzo-soprano and chamber ensemble, and Degré 21 (Laurent Estoppey and Antonio Albanese) appearing in Silver Wound for soprano saxophone and guitar.

October witnessed more performances yet. On the 10th, Elena Denisova and Alexei Kornienko (see above) presented the Largo again, this time in Saskatoon, SK, as part of their Canadian tour. A day later, three pieces were performed thousands of kilometres apart. First, sad snu and Silver Wound had their repeat performances at the the Théâtre de la Tournelle in Orbe, Switzerland (same performers as in September). Then, Darg (Katharina Henot) for digitally processed samples, dancer and video was given its world première by Gerry Morita, dance; Chris Payne, video; and Piotr, sound diffusion. The performance took place at The ARTery in Edmonton, AB, during The ARTery’s third birthday celebration. Finally, two performances at the end of the month: on the 23rd, Numen version for bass clarinet and organ during the prestigious Cervantino Festival in Guanajuato, presented there by Dúo Levent (Harry Sparnaaij, bass clarinet and Silvia Castillo, organ) and on the 25th saxophonist Laurent Estoppey and pianist Virginie Falquet giving the European première of Mrok for alto saxophone and piano in Vevey, Switzerland.

As a soloist Allison performed the world première of ECCS fellow member Piotr Grella-Mozejko’s Balcetis for virtual tape and baritone saxophone.

As a member of the Anubis saxophone quartet, Allison performed the world première of Etchings for two soprano and two tenor saxophones by Mikel Kuehn (professor at Bowling Green State University and head of the Mid-American Center for Contemporary Music), as well as Claudio Gabriele’s Shift Shaf.

Participating in an ensemble of North American saxophonists, directed by Jean-Michel Goury (professor at the Conservatoire de Boulogne-Billancourt in Paris), Allison played pieces by Gabriele, Kuehn, Steve Reich, Francisco Guerrero, Robert Lemay, and Bernard Carlosema.

Also representing Edmonton, Alberta were Dr William Street, a member of the planning committee and member of the Quatuor International, and Po-Yuan Ku, member of the Composition 7 saxophone quartet and doctoral student at the University of Alberta.

The World Saxophone Congress took place July 7-12 and had an attendance of more than 500 saxophonists, vendors, and composers from all over the world. The fact that the Congress took place in Asia gave a rare opportunity to show the talent and pieces of Asian saxophonists and composers who could not normally attend these types of conferences because they are frequently held in Europe or North America.  A large portion of the pieces played were world premières.  Allison was able to attend the conference with the support of the World Saxophone Congress’ scholarship fund and the University of Alberta Department of Music.

More info here

Then, the European portion of this series of concerts continued in Łódź, Poland on June 7, and in Jawor, Poland, on June 12. The concert in Łódź was held in St. Matthew’s Church, where for 10 years Reinhard’s mother sang in the Bach Choir. The Church of Peace in Jawor is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, and possibly the largest wooden church in the world. The organ in this church was restored in the late 1990s through the efforts of Siegfried von Richthofen, to whom Reinhard is distantly related.

Next stop was in Tallinn, Estonia, at the Swedish St. Mikael’s Church, June 18. Then two stops near Stockholm, Sweden: Täby June 25, and Vallentuna June 27. The German portion of the tour commenced on July 19 in Laupheim, southern Germany, subsequent concerts on August 11 and 13 in Fehmarn and Heiligenhafen on the Baltic coast in Germany, respectively, the final concert concert in Kassel, Germany on August 29, followed by a lecture on August 30, the latter about differences between the Germanic and the Anglo-Saxon liturgical traditions.

Chief focus in these recitals is presenting Reinhard’s compositions for pipe organ. In addition, organ works by other Canadian composers are included. The concerts in Jawor, Täby, Vallentuna, Laupheim, Fehmarn, and Heiligenhafen feature German flautist Veronica Kraneis, and the concert in Kassel is shared with German organist Gregor Simon.

A special thanks to the Canada Council For The Arts (International Touring Grant), the Alberta Foundation For The Arts (Cultural Relations Project Grant), and the Edmonton Arts Council (Travel Grant), whose generous support made the undertaking possible. Thanks also to the Saskatoon Composers’ Performance Society, Veronica Kraneis, Gregor Simon, Mikael Berg, and to all the presenters for helping to make this series happen.

This collection of electroacoustic music consists of eleven works spanning the years between 1966 and 2008 by ten Canadian composers. All composers are members of the Edmonton Composers’ Concert Society (ECCS) and the Canadian Music Centre (CMC). Due to the nature of the sponsoring, funding and philosophies of both organizations, all the composers included needed to belong to both organizations. The CD is available through the ECCS and the Distribution Service of the CMC and may be ordered via either organizations web site as well as any online store that carries the Centrediscs label.

Jerry Ozipko’s essay cum liner notes, Musical Abstractions, Electroacoustics and Cult Figures, is an excellent primer on the history and techniques of the medium. As well, he has very skilfully interwoven the discussion of the works into the essay. This is a great idea that I wish more liner note writers would do. It’s just so much more interesting to read than the usual tedious info about composer X’s work modulating to the subdominant for the third theme kind of stuff. Then again, electroacoustic music is non-traditional from the start, so the “music theory” approach wouldn’t work well anyway. Nevertheless, to incite is far better than analysis.

Commenting or reviewing electroacoustic music presents other kinds of writing challenges. In the absence of those traditional structures, methods, harmonies, etc., I’m drawn to talk (and think) about the music more from the timbral than a technical perspective, since the technical (and talent) begets the timbral. However, in a simplistic way one can discuss the “how” and “how successful” a composer is at using the equipment at his/her disposal with respect to and within the confines of a particular style or technique. It’s a bit of “what does s/he do with what s/he’s got?” The danger, however, is that one can then criticize that someone didn’t really use the total gamut of possibilities inherent in the devices used. This was a comment I received years ago from a noted Canadian composer attempting to justify why my work would not be selected for a radio broadcast. Additionally, the reviewer must be as familiar with said devices as a classical reviewer must be with violins, oboes, timpani, et al. While I think I know my way around a Moog or a 4-track tape recorder, I am not going to pretend I’m “up” an all the latest gizmos and gadgets. So my approach to a disc like this is a kind of midway position between a novice or lay listener and the composer/technician who intimately understands all that a device, computer, piece of equipment, etc. can do. OK, I’m just more subjective here.

Another area of electroacoustic commentary is too much reference to those common adjectives that seem to “define” the medium such as spacey, atmospheric, weird, murky, ethereal, and (unfortunately) stoned. The other end is wild paroxysms like “cosmic, hallucinogenic abandon”, “cerebral meltdown”, “like a SETI invasion” or some such dribble. You get the idea. It’s rather easy to give EM a pedigree in strangeness. All the more reason for Ozipko’s objective approach, thereby letting the music speak for itself.

From my perspective, then, I’ll hover toward the general. I am impressed with the variety of works, the ways they were created and the inclusion, accidentally perhaps, of works from so many different styles within the EM medium. Yes, different styles. It is already interesting that such a relatively “new” medium has quite a few branches from the found-sound, musique concrète approach as in my own Monday Afternoon (1966), to the electronics with live (or seemingly live) musicians – more overtly the clarinet in Don Ross’s My Dad’s Story (2006), more subtly the instrumental ensemble in Rolf Boon’s Waves (2006), to the computer generated as in Michael Matthews’s On the Outer Edge (2001). Electroacoustic music is now so broad and varied, that it is possible–and welcome–to discuss any given work in its sub genre. That being said, and to pick apart my own work here, one could ask and/or argue if Horwood effectively utilized the equipment and “sounds” at his disposal. Still, I don’t think that is quite the question. Instead it becomes more toward, and balanced somewhere between, the “what’s the work about” and “do I like what I hear.”

Perhaps even more than percussion, EM has the possibility for extremes in dynamic range: threshold of audibility to threshold of pain as acousticians would refer to them. Indeed this is one of the liberating benefits of EM, that ability to maximize dynamic contrast (minus the pain hopefully). Taking good advantage of this possibility is Ian Crutchley’s Arco/Lyrically (2008). At the other end are two works which explore the beauty and subtlety of the very quiet: Reinhard von Berg’s stark and sparse Cult Figure (1988) and Rolf Boon’s denser Waves (2006).

Extremes in frequency range are also possible and another hallmark of EM in general. Witness the near boom-box bass of Piotr Grella-Mozejko’s WOW! (Is My Cat a Rock’n'Roller?) (1990) or the rich depths of Robert Morin’s Blue Evening (2003). For the advanced technology lover, enjoy Helve Sastok’s occasional upper end bursts in her Sailing the High ‘C’ (2002) or the more continuous energy of the modified violin and voice in Crutchley’s Arco/Lyrically.

Still another possibility for EM is timbral variety and I’m quite taken by the range of sounds in both Aris Carastathis’s Full of Stars (2003) and Rolf Boon’s System 2.3/7 (1985). Both works have a surfeit of colour. This is particularly noteworthy in that they are the two shortest works on this CD at just a bit over three minutes each. At that length they certainly make their point without outstaying their welcome. Although I could definitely remain interested even if they were three or four times as long.

In sum, a very listenable and enjoyable collection. A sampler full of divergent takes on the wide-ranging realm of electroacoustic music. Kudos to everyone and thanks to the ECCS and CMC for making it a reality.

Michael S. Horwood

Sunday, April 19 2PM Robertson-Wesley United Church 10209-123 Street
Sunday, April 26 10AM Convocation Hall, U of A (morning coffee concert!)
Saturday, May 2 2PM All Saints’ Anglican Cathedral 10035-103 Street
Sunday, May 3 2PM The ARTery 9535 Jasper Avenue

Tickets:
Bach Suite Project Pass: $30
Tickets will be sold as a pass for all four Edmonton Bach Suite Project performances.
． Listen to all six suites in one afternoon
． Leave after two suites and come back for more at the next performances
． Listen to all six suites several times!
Note: there will be an intermission after every two suites. Each set will start exactly on the hour.

Available at Tix on the Square, The Gramophone, or at the door.

For more information: see below or
www.josephinevanlier.com <http://www.josephinevanlier.com>
(More pictures available at: http://www.josephinevanlier.com/media.html)
Josephine van Lier – Contact
(780) 240-9623

About Josephine van Lier: She appears as chamber musician, soloist and as performer with large ensembles. A versatile musician, Josephine is as much at home on a modern cello as she is on a baroque cello, a 5 string violoncello piccolo or a carbon fibre cello. She therefore covers a repertoire from Bach to George Andrix, drawing on a palette of sounds and colours available from this range of instruments, string set-ups and bows.
Josephine van Lier is the recipient of the Recipient of the “Celebration of Women in the Arts Award” from the Edmonton Arts Council.

Bach Suite Project:
The program of the concerts is part of Josephine van Lier’s Bach Suite Project, involving the preparation, extensive research, practicing, performing, holding lectures and ultimately recording of the six suites for unaccompanied cello by J.S. Bach on four different types of cellos and with two different kinds of bows. Also part of the project has been the purchase of a baroque cello, a baroque bow and commissioning the building of a violoncello piccolo.

The Choice of Concert Venues:
Two of the concerts will be at churches: Sunday April 19 at 2 PM at Robertson-Wesley United Church, and Saturday, May 2, also at 2 PM at All Saints’ Anglican Cathedral. Churches have been popular concert venues throughout the centuries. Their acoustics are generally very good for instrumental music. Many of the composers traditionally were employed by the church. Though Bach wrote the suites for unaccompanied cello during a time away from the church, they deserve the acoustics of these two Edmonton gems.

The concert on Sunday, April 26 will be at 10 AM and is a so called Coffee Concert at Convocation Hall at the University of Alberta.
This performance time may seem unusual in North America, but many concerts in Europe are on Sunday morning at “coffee time”.
At the end of the 17th century Coffea Arabica reached Western Europe. For a long time it was regarded a kind of medicine. Contrary to tea, which was served in fancy salons, coffee was served in more ordinary “coffee houses”. Coffee soon became wildly popular and became synonymous with having a good time together. Many of those meetings at the local coffee houses involved concerts, some more spontaneous than others; Bach even wrote a “coffee cantata”!
This concert will honour an old tradition, and coffee will be served.

The last concert, on Sunday, May 3rd at 2 PM at is at the ARTery. This follows another tradition of performing music in a chamber setting. The audience is close to the performer, sitting relaxed around tables, enjoying a beverage and snacks while listening to music.

25 Wednesday, noon, McDougall United Church (101 Street and Macdonald Drive)

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Trio in g minor (Hoboken XV:1)
I Moderato
II Menuet
III Presto

Heinrich I. F. Biber (1644-1704)
Sonata Violino Solo Representativa
I Allegro
II Nachtigal (Nightingale)
III Cu Cu (Cuckoo)
IV Fresch (Frog)
V Henne und Hann (Hen and Rooster)
VI Vachtel (Quail)
VII Katz (Cat)
VIII Musquetir Mars (Musketeer March)
IX Allamande

Turlough O’Carolan (1670 – 1738)
Suite (arr. Andrix)
I O’Carolan’s Concerto
II Si Bheag Si Mhor
III Jigs (Planxty Mary O’Neill, Planxty Corcoran)

First, the recording features eleven electroacoustic works crafted exclusively by ten composer-members of the Society. Second, these selections span nearly the entire spectrum of the period of electroacoustic music history since the end of World War II, offering works from every decade with the exception of the 1950s and the 1970s. Third, the music encompasses virtually all of the genres of the idiom from musique concrète, works for tape with instruments and/or voice, a piece composed using tone generators and other sound modification equipment as well as computer-generated music. Fourth, the disc is the Society’s first release on the prestigious Centredisques label.

The selections on the disk include Reinhard von Berg’s Cult Figure from 1988, and Michael Horwood’s Monday Afternoon (1966), both contemporary executions of musique concrete techniques from differing perspectives; Don Ross’s My Dad’s Story (2006), an example of electronic and acoustic collage; Ian Crutchley’s Arco/Lyrically (2008), which is built from sampled acoustic instrument sounds; Helve Sastok’s Sailing the High ‘C’ (2002), a frequency modulated piece digitized on computer and Piotr Grella-Mozejko’s humourous WOW! (Is My Cat a Rock’n'Roller?)(1990) which utilizes synthesized psychedelic cat sounds among other sonic effects. Michael Matthews’ On the Outer Edge (2001), Aris Carastathis’s Full of Stars (2003), Rolf Boon’s System 2.3/7 (1985) and Rob Morin’s Blue Evening (2003) are all examples of computer-generated works. Boon’s other contribution to the disk, Waves from 2008, was composed for and performed on two synthesizers with percussion, guitar and saxophone.

Even the artwork for the cover (by Evelyn Berg) is a wonderful incorporation of visual photographic effects adapted to match the music. The CD liner/programme notes are by Jerry Ozipko.

What is not vague or indefinable here is the terrific playing of the Warszynski Trio. I first heard the trio live a few years ago on the October Revolution series put on by ECCS in a concert featuring, I believe, most of the works here. At that time talk of a CD was in progress. I’m so pleased that it has finally materialized because of the quality of the playing, performances and compositions. Tatiana’s warm tone coupled with her attention to the details needed to play and understand contemporary music is very refreshing. Ever since I heard the complaint in university about the Hindemith instrumental sonatas being more difficult for the pianist than the soloist reminds me that even here Mikolaj’s piano playing is stellar. That’s a lot of notes to learn! Very impressive and I just want to be sure he’s singled out as a co-partner and not just the supporting role.

Going in order compositionally, the CD’s title track is Ron Hannah’s witty Devil’s Dance for violin and piano. It is an ABA in form and tempi (F-S-F) and its rhythmic bounce makes for a great beginning. It tells me that this CD is going to be fun, peppery, tuneful and not afraid to look back from where we came or forward to wherever it is we are headed.

Monte Keene Pishny-Floyd’s short violin solo Gavotte and Musette continues the fun by recalling the older dances particularly in rhythm, but also in that special drone quality of the musette. Is the musette a kind of proto-minimalist music? I think so. To my knowledge Pishny-Floyd never succumbed to hyper complex, avant-garde or other experimentalisms, but remained true to a traditional, tonally-based sound world. Over the years he’s perfected that into an always user-friendly, and I say that with all intended flattery, and communicative style.

Thom Golub’s piece brings up my major caveat with this CD. No, his music is fine. But there are no explanatory notes for the works themselves, only short bios on the composers. So you may see me stretching here to make a connection or “guess” as to the meaning of something herein. Case in point is Thom’s chromatic pan asia (note: lower case is his) fifth movement of this quasi six-movement “suite.” I played it a few times and just don’t get the idea of the title. Notes would help here particularly as this movement is the longest of the set by a factor of two. His Shostakovich movement (4th) is a no-brainer and the reference to the great Russian is unmistakable right from its first bar. I love miniatures as these; they make their point and never outstay their welcome.

With Jacek Sobieraj’s Les imponderables for violin and piano there is a marvellous merging, allow me to say, slithering feel to this neat work as it effortlessly slides into and out a Bach groove. A Quote, perhaps. Program notes again. OK, I admit it. I do not know every work of the master. Jacek’s slow introduction, mostly for solo violin leads one to expect a meditative work. I mention it as an ‘introduction” because it seems to set-up what follows, but actually it’s about a third of the work so it can rightly be the first section of this 3-part work. Regardless, this eventually shifts to the faster, louder, rhythmically stricter middle section. A more moderate and very effectively done contrapuntal interplay between the two instruments concludes the work, coming to rest as it does in the minor key.

The two longest, single movement works follow next. Erin Rogers’s solo violin work, The Shape of Things, is a brilliant tour de force of a display piece, virtuosic, yet gripping, and not in the least virtuosic for just the sake of showiness. I do feel that flavour of 12-tone music here, even though I don’t think the work actually is composed that way. But it shares with it the highly disjunct melodic writing and that peculiar nervousness that characterizes so much 12-tone music. Along with my Microduet No. 8 it is the most “retro” modern of the works here. It is also strategically placed in the album tracks to provide a stark contrast to the more tonal works. Tension in the raw and I like it.

Scott Edward Godin’s 3a for the full trio highlights one of the strong points of Tatiana and Joanna’s technique: their effortlessness in grabbing all those high notes, sustaining them and making a smooth blend between themselves. Without a score, I can’t tell “who’s on first”, but that’s a tribute to the effective writing for the two violins. Their intermingling so high in the range create a very beautiful, call it nocturnal, ambience. The piano compliments the texture with sparse, arabesque-type figurations. A short, but well-prepared climax occurs around the 2/3rds mark to remind us that this is not a static work and that a forward, albeit slow, momentum is very much in the picture here.

I hope Grella-Mozejko doesn’t mind that I found the first movement of his three-movement Organigami reminiscent of Messiaen’s Quatuor. The modal usage and the unison lines took me straight to the Danse de la fureur. I think that post-modern paraphrase/borrowing notion is here. Don’t get me wrong, though, Like Golub’s Shostakovich movement and Jacek’s Bach innuendos, it’s not the whole piece. The paraphrase, reminiscence, or however you want to term it, is interwoven into a distinctly new piece. When it’s done skilfully as here, we can do no more than say “go for it.” No one accused Schubert’s Great C Major Symphony finale for “recalling” the Ode to Joy. If I’m really off base here I plead mea culpa without those program liner notes. Piotr’s second movement lives up to its title/tempo indication. This central movement eloquently breathes mystery, delicateness and hesitation, to which I’d also add a haunting and plaintive lyricism. The Quasi Swing finale finds jazz references mainly in the walking bass line of the piano. However, this walking bass gradually progresses into the treble only to start over twice more, each time with differing surroundings. The violin part is super-saturated with trills. All this abandon culminates into a big accelerando to the finish.

Stephen Chatman’s In Memoriam Harry Adaskin is in the main a penetrating elegy for prepared piano and violin. The piano is prepared in such a way as to have it sound like deep bells or tuned gongs reminiscent of the gamelan. Tatiana really gets to present her warm, lyrical playing with a sumptuous, meandering melodic line. The middle section features some repetition in the piano part while still maintaining the lyricism in the violin. This then merges into a highly tonal section recalling the early 19th century – a quote, perhaps. Without a specific frame of reference it’s a little too gentile for me, yet soon enough the texture weaves back to the introductory colours.

The four-movement Conspectus for two violins and piano by George Andrix has a certain neo-conservatism about it, even in its titles: Prelude, Fugue, Interlude and Toccata. I state this as a positive trait. By themselves the four movements go their own ways, but I never felt this spoiled any sense of unity within the work as a whole. The prelude uses minimalist gestures in a sprightly tempo, while the Fugue has a strong jazz-inflected subject. No improvising, but the swing’s the thing. (Hope that doesn’t sound too corny, George.) Seriously, I love the result. The Interlude features delicately nuanced melodic lines in the two violins, not strictly contrapuntal, but each in their own direction yet still woven together. The Toccata has echoes of J. S. Bach wandering in and out of George’s highly active counterpoint (sorry J.S. if I couldn’t name this one either). Late Baroque echoes or not, it’s a neat capstone finale to show off both the talents of the performers and the composer.

The final work on the CD is my own Microduet No. 8 (Armistice Music) for violin and tam tam. CoI (conflict of interest) prevents me from too much commentary or appraisal. Suffice it to say that Grella-Mozejko’s quasi aleatoric tam-tam part is carried out in such a way that as Hannah’s Devil’ s Dance said of this CD: “Listen to me,” the final music here says: “Stay tuned for more” from these fine performers. Great disc everyone. Thanks from all of us.

Michael S. Horwood