Skip to main content

ECM+ Generation 2012 plus Voltaire and Frederick

I bought tickets for last night's ECM+ Generation 2012 concert, featuring Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal, at the NAC 4th Stage in an 'it'll be interesting' frame of mind, and interesting was just the start. A very full 4th Stage for a very entertaining and intruging evening.

In order of performance, the four new works were: Animaris Currens Ventosa by Marielle Groven; Ninavanjali by Gabriel Dharmoo; Beatitude by Riho Esko Maimets; and Jenny's last rock by Annesley Black. Each performance was preceded by a Q&A with host Nicholas Gilbert, who injected the whole evening with humour.

In terms of immediate response, I most enjoyed Beatitude, a concise, intimate and very beautiful concerto for violin and ensemble. Following on from Maimets' explanation, his references to choral music and music of all different time periods were clear. This piece would easily sit alongside more 'traditional' chamber repertoire in a programme.  Maimets also has a Soundcloud page with other works.

Dharmoo's Ninavanjali,  dedicated to Dharmoo's late teacher N Govindarajan, clearly showed the influence of Indian melodic and rhythmic traditions, and was also clearly elegiac towards the end. To my ears there was also an interplay between fun and seriousness. Some of his effects (for want of a better word) included interesting piano passages, bullet-like bursts of rhythm and the wind players of ECM doing something akin to beatboxing with their instruments! Dharmoo's Vimeo page (link above) references other performances.

Of the other 2 works, they were both enjoyable but didn't quite pull me in as much. Animaris Currents Ventosa was incredibly atmospheric but also emanated a somewhat anxious vibe; and Jenny's last rock, although a really interesting concept (a musical representation of curling) with a hilarious introduction by Black, was just a little too conceptual. That said, the visual of ECM conductor Véronique Lacroix energetically keeping time for a tape recorder duet mid-piece was hilarous! More from the Citizen here.

Changing tack somewhat, M and I went to see a performance of the play 'Voltaire and Frederick: A Life In Letters' on Sunday evening courtesy of the German Embassy here in Ottawa (plus, I won 2 tickets in an email competition from the Embassy - further thanks, and hopefully someone from the UK High Commission is taking notes on event planning....). From a stage set of just 2 actors and 2 chairs, the audience at the Ottawa Arts Court Theatre were engrossed in a friendly/antagonistic friendship between the older Voltaire and the younger Frederick, later Frederick II. Highly recommended.   

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Au quatrieme fois..

A jaunt en masse down to the Coal Exchange last night (23rd) to see The Subways excel again. For once we weren't massively early (in some ways to avoid the queues of teenagers) so arrived part way through the first support band. They are called Wry, from Brazil even! They were decent and will probably merit listening to further. Best option the ubiquitous myspace . Eagerly anticipated the main support, The Sunshine Underground, of whom I'd heard good words... They more than lived up to their expectations, with my only real niggle about their sound... whether it was the singer's style or sound mix I'm not sure but their show was at parts ear-splitting - explains my slight deafness today! Otherwise excellent, not an easy band to categorise, but my impressions were somewhere between Alabama 3 and the Killers' Hot Fuss album; dancing music too. Well worth going to see - just take earplugs! (or in my case, actually go out and buy some). I believe one can listen to the...

4 and 5

Busy weekend. Number 4 was the 2nd Innercity Pirates night at Clwb Ifor Bach, spread the word to another friend so a highly successful evening! Again, Red City were the (only) support, who were still underwhelming and may even have got worse! Luckily a short set. The main Pirates set was much more polished than the last one, they have been practicing!! Only mishap this time when an overenthusiastic fan accidentally stood on a connector! Quite a different set, this time almost totally from the 3 recent EPs with the only oldies Whisper The Fear, and 'that song' from last time - which is called The Little Pills We Love. For the set list, simply check out the track listings for the 3 EPs on their website ! Number 5 entailed a visit to Coal Exchange to see Mogwai . Luckily the buses were back to normal - well normal for a Sunday ie nothing late at night! Slightly more interesting support band, The Magnificents (sound: a mix between Mogwai, Syntax and The Killers ), although I did ...

From Black Rose to Buena Vista

Two very different but equally impressive live experiences this last weekend. First up, our long overdue homage to the late, great Phil Lynott as Limehouse Lizzy returned to the Point on Friday 2nd March. Certainly on form (and not just lead singer Wayne Ellis, mmmm!) After a late doors, the band came on for a 2 hour set. They started off with Jailbreak (with added pyro), the rest of the main set comprising known songs like Dancing In The Moonlight, Warrior, Emerald, Johnny the Fox, Are You Ready, Killer On The Loose, Cold Sweat, Do Anything You Want To, Out In The Fields, Cowboy Song, Rosalie, The Boys Are Back In Town plus at least 1 early track. The encore included 1 verse/1 chorus from Sarah, Black Rose, Whisky In The Jar and another track. Excellent atmosphere, the place was sold out. The boys are back at the Point in December. Next on to crowd pleasers of a very different sort. M and I managed to get tickets for the sold-out Buena Vista Social Club show at Wales Millennium Centr...