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Magnitude Ensemble/Volkov review – Stewart Lee lends his voice to experimental evening Magnitude Ensemble/Volkov review – Stewart Lee lends his voice to experimental evening
(about 3 hours later)
This concert of new work and improvisation, put together by the pianist Tania Chen, was entitled Familiar/Unfamiliar, but there was little evidence of the former. Even the ensemble was created specifically for this concert. The best music came in the second half, which kicked off with a free improvisation for trombone and french horn by Alan Tomlinson and Martin Mayes. The two pirouetted around the space, filling the auditorium with responsive sounds and leaving a wonderful sense of one having journeyed through the insides of each instrument. This concert of new work and improvisation, put together by the pianist Tania Chen, was entitled Familiar/Unfamiliar, but there was little evidence of the former. Even the ensemble was created specifically for this concert. The best music came in the second half, which kicked off with a free improvisation for trombone and french horn by Alan Tomlinson and Martin Mayes. The two pirouetted around the space, filling the auditorium with responsive sounds and leaving a wonderful sense of one having journeyed through the insides of each instrument.
Sea Sponges, an improvisation by Catherine Kontz, featured Stewart Lee (better known as a comedian but also active in experimental musical circles) speaking a text about the marine creatures into an amplified hosepipe. The sounds were barely intelligible as words, and mingled with the controlled repertoire of sounds emitted by the ensemble – spurts from the wind, chings from the piano and strings, and little shimmers from the electric guitar (played with a soft timpani-mallet) – to produce a fascinating array of semi-autonomous processes that offered a glimmer of connectedness and intention. The softer sounds were echoed in John Lely's superbly calming Ensemble for piano duet, winds and strings, in which slow, layered chords evolved imperceptibly. Sea Sponges, an improvisation by Catherine Kontz, featured Stewart Lee (better known as a comedian but also active in experimental music circles) speaking a text about the animals into an amplified hosepipe. The sounds were barely intelligible as words, and mingled with the controlled repertoire of sounds emitted by the ensemble – spurts from the wind, chings from the piano and strings, and little shimmers from the electric guitar (played with a soft timpani-mallet) – to produce a fascinating array of semi-autonomous processes that offered a glimmer of connectedness and intention. The softer sounds were echoed in John Lely's superbly calming Ensemble for piano duet, winds and strings, in which slow, layered chords evolved imperceptibly.
The concert also started well, with Michael Parsons's Concertante, whose first movement invoked the traditional sense of drama between solo piano and ensemble by using cluster chords to build up a sense of dynamic space, much of the "music" occurring in the interplay between sounds decaying at different rates.The concert also started well, with Michael Parsons's Concertante, whose first movement invoked the traditional sense of drama between solo piano and ensemble by using cluster chords to build up a sense of dynamic space, much of the "music" occurring in the interplay between sounds decaying at different rates.
The contributions of James Saunders and Chris Newman, however, were more interesting to read about than to listen to. Newman's piece consisted of broken-up bits of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, played without expression, each phrase capped by a rhyming word, drawn from Newman's poems and spoken by Lee. The first two words, "pain" and "inane", were well chosen.The contributions of James Saunders and Chris Newman, however, were more interesting to read about than to listen to. Newman's piece consisted of broken-up bits of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, played without expression, each phrase capped by a rhyming word, drawn from Newman's poems and spoken by Lee. The first two words, "pain" and "inane", were well chosen.
• Spitalfields Music Summer festival in London continues until 21 June.• Spitalfields Music Summer festival in London continues until 21 June.