| Steve Reich Program in Ojai, CA June 5-8 | 0 comments |
 7 Jun 2008 @ 07:48, by Raymond PowersFirst I want to thank Tyler, founder of ojaipost.com, for posting the opportunity and Gina Gutierrez, the Marketing Director of the Ojai Music Festival, for allowing me to attend last night’s concert at Libbey Bowl. For me, particularly, it was a peak moment to listen to the music and meet the composer, Steve Reich, (Reich bio: [link]) who has been an enduring force in my life for thirty years. It was his brilliance, his approach to rhythm and harmony that inspired and influenced me to go to conservatory and get degrees in voice and composition. Last night Steve Reich returned to Ojai with his signature minimalist works of past and present; His new Daniel Variations, a tribute to the late American reporter Daniel Pearl, was paired with his earlier known pieces Eight Lines, Nagoya Marimbas and his unconventional Four Organs. We were treated to the remarkable talent of the Signal Contemporary Ensemble conducted by Brad Lubman. (Quite fun that Libbey Bowl borders Signal Street) Lubman founded Signal along with cellist and co-artistic director Lauren Radnofsky. These young musicians, mostly between the ages of 27-33, brought to life Reich’s music and infused it with their own vigor and enthusiasm. They are a force to be reckoned with. I highly recommend you get yourself to Libbey Bowl sometime this weekend and immerse yourself in this transcendent program of magnificent music and musicianship. When I say Reich's music transcends something for me, I'm implying that his design and structure of sound affects our brain chemistry and can take us into non-ordinary states of consciousness. I experience deep meditative states listening to the repetitive, percolating rhythms as they shift and change. This has always been the case for me with Reich's music. Eight Lines(1983) is a good example of this. Like listening intently to the many patterns and registers of a mountain stream, our beautiful Matilija Canyon river, for instance, this piece explores subtle shadings of tone and rhythm. There is a pulse throughout that mesmerizes the listener and entrains ones mind. It is filled with the beauty and wonder of nature. In many ways, Reich is in the league of the New England Transcendentalists Thoreau and Emerson in the way in which he honors simplicity, subtlety, and the wildness and pastoral qualities of nature. Signal brought this piece to life with a dynamic interpretation that was enthralling. The sound mix was great all evening and was transparent, adding volume yet no color of its' own. Reich's newer composition from 2006, Daniel Variations was a highlight of the evening for me. His treatment of the vocal lines with long tones and exquisite modulations from dissonance to consonance was intriguing and had an emotional quality to it that was very moving for me. Scored for four vocalists, two sopranos and two tenors, the singers from Signal were spot on. Though their voices were all quite different in timbre, they manged to blend their unique bell tones and navigate through the challenging soundscape with ease. Along with strings, woodwinds, two pianos, four vibraphones and percussion I was once again wholeheartedly impressed with Steve Reich's genius, the ensembles powerful and poetic brilliance and Brad Lubman's energetic, dedicated leadership. Nagoya Marimbas(1994) was the shortest piece on the program. Written for two marimbas it took virtuoso technique to weave through the repeating patterns that were consistently one or two beats out of phase with each other. The melodies would expand and develop only to tumble into new sequences. This was an intriguing puzzle that harkened back to Reich's earlier days hyet more difficult to execute. Four Organs (plus maracas) written in 1970 requires profound acceptance on the part of the audience. A study of time and harmony the dominant eleventh chord (D-E-F#-G#-A-B with an E in the bass) is dissected by playing its' parts of sequentially. The pulse remains solid as the maracas, like a locomotive, establishes the tempo. The four organs, vibrato free, sound the purity of the chord, relentlessly I might add, and gradually, over 15 minutes or-, the notes stretch and lengthen into an ambient bed. It's a bit like watching grass grow. It takes discipline and patience. Steve Reich is a pioneer. A modern composer who changed the face of contemporary music. He not only has inspired other "classical" artists such as Philip Glass and John Adams but you can also hear his influence in other genres through the work of progressive rock band King Crimson, Brian Eno and guitarist Pat Metheny. I encourage you all to come out for the rest of the festival, Sat. & Sun. There is plenty of seating and you can see the program HERE. I'll be there on Sunday to hear more of Steve Reich's work in two separate programs at 11am and 5:30pm. |