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SEEN
AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL CONCERT REVIEW
David
Lang, Berio, Dvorak:
Jennifer Holloway
(mezzo-soprano), Ensemble ACJW, Weill Recital Hall,
New York City, 9.12.2008 (BH)
David Lang:
Cheating, Lying, Stealing (1993)
Berio:
Folk Songs (1964)
Dvořák:
Serenade for Winds in D Minor, Op. 44 (1878)
I think it is safe to say that few composers write
for "antiphonal brake drums," yet David Lang loves
them. (He really needs to consider an automobile
manufacturer as a sponsor—especially in these tough
economic times.) Cheating, Lying, Stealing
was the opener on this latest concert showing the
finesse of the Ensemble ACJW, a cooperative venture
between Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, The
Weill Music Institute and the New York City
Department of Education. Based on the concerts I've
heard in the last year or so, the program is a huge
success, offering post-graduate musicians a
comprehensive program playing a wide range of chamber
music.
After a short, pungent introduction from one of the
three percussionists, the sextet (which also included
clarinet, cello and piano) launched into Lang's opus,
which was written to explore the "dark side" of the
composer's nature. In his words, "You are not taught
to be low-down, clumsy, sly, and underhanded." The
piece begins with the ensemble stating a three-note
theme, almost but not quite in unison, followed by a
rest. This motif is eventually embellished, accented
in different ways, and then evolves, eventually
returning to its gloriously off-kilter clanking
core. Although the brake drums were sometimes
slightly shrill in the small Weill room, the
mechanical feel was offset by the warms of the cello
and bass clarinet. The six players did an admirable
job navigating the tricky unison rests near the end.
In Folk Songs, Luciano Berio chose a variety
of melodies from around the world and presents them
simply, yet intriguingly, jostling the harmonies and
adding deft rhythmic changes. Mezzo-soprano Jennifer
Holloway was the guest soloist, offering robust tone
to counter the instruments' spare colors. (The
version heard here is arranged for chamber
ensemble.) Often Berio seems to be channeling
Canteloube and his Songs of the Auvergne,
especially in the mellifluous "Loosin yelav" and the
sprightly "Lo fiolairé."
The afternoon concluded with a vivacious reading of
Dvořák's Wind Serenade, but only after another lively
introduction by one of the bassoonists, who noted
"You may have noticed, the more astute of you, that
there are two instruments you don't blow into." (The
composer adds cello and bass, which both anchor the
group and expand the sonorities.) Exceptional
rapport included precise attacks, and plenty of room
for energetic, charming solos from virtually
everyone. The high-spirited camaraderie seemed about
as Czech as it gets.
Bruce Hodges