National Concert Hall, Dublin With an amazing array of compositions, New Music Dublin invaded the National Concert Hall (NCH) over the four days from February 27 to March 1. Festival director John Harris and his team are to be congratulated on their efforts to introduce so much in such a concentrated period.
I’m not sure how many, if any, had the stamina to attend all the diverse events on offer – Saturday, February 29, for example, began at 9 am with a yoga session accompanied by flautist Ruth Morley. It ended with what the programme booklet called “a late-night unleashing of new cutting-edge improvised music with a triple bill of artists from France, Ireland and the UK”. The scheduled conclusion was 11.30 pm!
I tested the waters through both RTÉ orchestras and the vibrant virtuosity of visiting US artists – Bang on a Can All-Stars. Formed in 1992, the seven members (bass, keyboards, percussion, cello, guitar, clarinets and sound engineer) are recognised worldwide for their ultra-dynamic live performances and recordings. Certainly at the NCH their playing was truly mesmerising.
In its concert, the RTÉ NSO included two Irish works – Dublin-born Siobhán Cleary’s Hum! for two actors and strings and long time Galway-domiciled, Connecticut-born, Jane O’Leary’s Triptych for string quartet and orchestra, which was having its world première.
The doyenne of our female composers, Jane O’Leary, may be called the gentle matriarch of ‘classical’ music in the west of the country. Founder of the ensemble Concorde, among many other things, Mrs O’Leary served on the board of the NCH over two five-year terms.
Under US conductor Ryan McAdams, Triptych proved a beguiling piece. With the Ligeti Quartet distinguished in its own right, it subtly integrated into the composer’s broader orchestral canvas. Overall, I found the three-section work had its instrumental textures beautifully interwoven. A kind of scherzo, the central movement …A True Story… was hauntingly expressive.
Inflections
Siobhán Cleary’s Hum! had Ciarán McCauley and John Carty pronouncing the word with various inflections and in different ways. An altercation between them gave the piece a sharper dimension especially when accompanied by an element of string aggression.
Built around scales and exercises, there was nothing over serious about Gerald Barry’s relatively short Viola Concerto. His thematic idea might seem boring but, with soloist Lawrence Power’s engaging interpretation, this was far from the case.
Barry surrounds his soloist with bold and frenetic outbursts that found the RTÉCO in energetic form and giving Barry’s staccato style an extra edgy punch. The piece ended with Lawrence Power whistling his way into the distance.
Under conductor Ilan Volkov, the RTÉCO and BOACA-S joined forces for US composer Julia Wolfe’s Flower Power. In the composer’s presence, hectic delirium and controlled mayhem often came with ear-splitting cacophony until the music eventually collapsed with exhaustion. The playing of both groups was absolutely stunning.
On its own, the US ensemble displayed incandescent virtuosity in volcanic and powerfully driven works by compatriots Julia Wolfe (again), John Lang and Steve Martland. It took Philip Glass’ hymn-like Closing to calm things down. However, the programme was mostly imaginative, hypnotic and stimulating.