SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Ensemble 10/10 recital: The Cornerstone, Hope at Everton, Liverpool, 16.1.2008 (GMH)

Kate Threlfall – Sunshine; Learn to Love (premiere of arrangement)
Michael Torke – Tropical (World premiere)
Derek Berman – Natural Selection
Steve Reich – Eight Lines
Ian Gardiner – listen . . . move . . . dance (World premiere)


It’s hard to be disappointed at an Ensemble 10/10 concert, since every recital they give is almost invariably so different it’s well nigh impossible to compare one with the other. For more than a decade, now, the contemporary music group of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic has been pushing the boundaries, exploring unfamiliar territory, commissioning new music and, perhaps most importantly, encouraging local composers to play their part.

Their latest recital has them contemplating musical vistas which are rarely examined by this group - music inspired by song for, over the years, vocal input is something of a rarity for them.

The concert was entitled From Liverpool to New York – inspired, in many ways, as not only are the two places twinned, but there are many other parallels. Both are gritty port cities. They’ve long been linked by shipping lines and they’ve both inspired songs from a wide range of composers. Most of the composers featured also had solid New York connections, mainly on account of living and working in the city. There were also a couple of premieres, something which seems to be par for the course in most Liverpool concerts at the moment.

The concert opened with two arrangements of Kate Threlfall songs by Clark Rundell, artistic director of Ensemble 10/10, and conductor of the ensemble for this performance. Rundell is well recognised for his commitment to new music and to 10/10 in particular, so it was good to hear some of his own work as an arranger and composer.

Threlfall is inspired by soul and jazz and the two lively songs, Sunshine and Learn to Love were bright, optimistic works performed expertly by the composer. The intention, it appears, is to use these songs along with other aspects of her output to create a longer suite.

Michael Torke’s Tropical, the premiere of a work commissioned by Liverpool Culture Company, was a laid back work which showed the composer in ‘soft’ style. Characterised by his use of riffs and samba rhythms Torke has suggested, off his own bat, that he writes a longer piece to be premiered next season.

Natural Selection, a piece for baritone and ensemble by Derek Bermel, was an altogether tougher, more searching example of his work, though it worked well in the context of the other, rather more laid-back works in the performance. It is an eclectic piece, at once edgy and amusing made all the more so by the performance of Julian Tovey.

Jazz and pop influences were again present in the rather languid Eight Lines by Steve Reich while Ian Gardiner’s listen . . move . . dance featured Carlo Bowry on electric guitar and is certainly a piece which deserves a second hearing, if for no other reason than to get the amplification of the guitar right. A faulty connection made much of the piece pass with little more than a flamenco-like plucking of the strings which meant that Bowry was totally overwhelmed by the other forces of the ensemble.

Glyn Mon Hughes


Glyn Mon Hughes is music critic of the Liverpool Daily Post, writes for Classical Music and Music Teacher and is lecturer in journalism at Liverpool John Moores University. (Ed)

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