michael blake untitled
MICHAEL BLAKE UNTITLED
a portrait by Aryan Kaganof
South Africa, 2005, 12min, DVcam
A portrait of an untitled composition by South Africa’s foremost contemporary composer, Michael Blake. The portrait follows pianist Jill Richards and clarinettist Robert Pickup as they rehearse the fiendishly difficult composition and ends after the premiere performance of a work that Black describes as “my most minimalist work. It is largely concerned with surface and very little with traditional formal structures; its finely graded variations of nuance and colour belie the virtuosity required of both performers. Aryan Kaganof’s notion of the cinematic frame as being 6-sided - the fours sides of the image plus the beginning and end of the shot in time - articulates very well what I was doing in Untitled, which in a way is about painting, about working quietly on the surface, reconfiguring small brushstrokes by way of changes in register, rhythm, articulation, etc.”
November 27th, 2005 at 8:12 pm
Dear Michael Blake, Sir!
through our mutual friend A. Kaganof, I have become, to my great joy, the owner of a CD filled with your music. The tracks are alas not named, so I don’t know to wich specific pieces, but for weeks now I’ve been listening to a stringquartet, a duet for piano and violin, more piano music, a marimba (?) solo also.
Fascinating, beautiful, delicate but also powerful music.
Its greatest power I feel, being the amazing matter of fact-ness of the music. (The ‘vanzelfsprekendheid’ in dutch). From the first moment I heard your music it has become a matter of fact. Like it has always been here, in this time, but just not noticed before.
Following that, also some time ago, I tried to put into words how your music reminds me of Britten (especially the second movement of the stringquartet). Continuing a, basically German, 19th century tradition of literary and philosophical music, but without the burden of its historical consequences.
Among other things.
But time, concentration and my poor English have thusfar not permitted me to conclude this text.
Seeing your picture on Kaganofs blog though reminded me that I should at least write to you to tell you how much I appreciate your music.
Wich I have now done.
My very best to you,
Dick Tuinder
December 1st, 2005 at 1:07 pm
Dear Dick
I am very happy that you feel that way about my work. Your reference to the matter of factness of the music reminds me of a comment that a SA colleague made. He played the first movement of the quartet in the course of a paper on Adorno and used Adorno’s term “informal music” to describe the music. (I was present but had no idea about any of this in advance, so was as surprised as anyone else, but also appreciative.) Like Kaganof I try to avoid too much pre-plan ning and rather let the material take me where it will (or won’t). I am continually surprised by what I do and would hate not to be.
Regards
Michael Blake
PS: I could send you some more music if you like.