kagablog

by mick raubenheimer

“The task of the artist is to suggest a new reality. Either through re-imagining a given system of communication, a shifting of its limits; or simply by communication of the incommunicable, of special experience. In this way the artist expands the consciousness of the Human.” Anonymous, 2047

From the past.

In 1937 Edgard Varese, pioneer of 20th century experimental music, voiced his frustration with the restrictions of the classical idiom indirectly, and optimistically: “I anticipate a future where technology has advanced to the degree that it can give voice to the inner landscapes of my musical imagination.” Together with John Cage, Ionesco and Stockhausen, Varese was determined to break through the self-imposed boundaries of what constituted so-called Classical music, and indeed, what constituted music itself. Throughout the bustle and flow of the 20th century, and even today, the term ‘classical music’ has been problematic. What these rebels were contesting was the received notion that Classical music, the genre itself, was something fixed, set in stone - an established canon of repertoire past (with the hesitant, and rare, inclusion of selected 20th century greats), to be played by classically trained musicians, on traditionally ‘classical’ instruments. End of story. In fact you’ll find that even today, almost a century on, ninety percent of ‘classical’ concerts still abide by said notion. So what happens to classically-trained composers and musicians who want to expand the idiom, test its language with new expression? Does ‘classical’ and ‘new’ music have to be mutually exclusive? The problem, here, lies in the name of the rose (if I may mix my authors..)

It was in response to the problems above that the International Society of Contemporary Music (hereafter the ISCM) was established in 1922. The society found a very simple way to resolve the retro-fetish intrinsic to the notion of Classical music - they dropped the ‘classical’! As implied in its name, the ISCM considered the canon to be merely a foundation for contemporary and future expressions of Classical music. Focussing its energy on contemporary efforts, as well as in breaking free of the Eurocentric mold automatically associated with Classical music, the ISCM promoted experimentation and exploration, whilst retaining the fundamental requisites of technical excellence, and the approach to music as artform, which it considered to be the true distinction between Classical and Popular music. The ISCM’s annual music festival, originally called the World Music Days, hosted the premieres of compositions by a great many important 20th century composers, among them Ravel, Bartok, Stockhausen and Ligeti; and it is surely thanks to its passionate committal to the promotion and celebration of the contemporary, that new, quintessentially 20th century movements such as Minimalism became both popular and acknowledged by the purists.

The New Music Indaba 2007, held primarily at UNISA’s Sunnyside campus from 10-13 October this year, was the latest instalment of the annual contemporary music festival & workshop hosted by New Music SA, the local wing of the ISCM. As can be expected, New Music SA’s focus is rightfully on facilitating and exploring dialogues between African traditional forms and the more European slant of ‘established’ Classical music. Each annual Indaba throws spotlights on promising local composers, and gives them the opportunity to interact with world-renowned musicians and composers. This year was no exception.

To the present.

New Music SA rejoined the ISCM, fittingly, after the obtuse shadow of Apartheid had passed; this after an absence of four decades. It was thanks to the efforts of internationally celebrated local composer and pianist Michael Blake that New Music SA was reintroduced to the world-stage in 2000. Since then, there have been seven musically invigorating Indabas held in Grahamstown, where Blake was then established; having relocated to UNISA, the Indaba loyally followed. It must be mentioned, however, that the New Music Indaba is not linked to any one academic institution, and indeed invites and accommodates students of music and composers from all national universities and schools. Most importantly, these Indabas are open to the public, and is highly recommended for all lovers of music, and, in my opinion, all lovers of art in whichever form.

The 2007 Indaba kicked off on Wednesday 10 October with a composer’s forum. Presentations on aspects of composition and arrangement were given by Paul Hanmer, who spoke of stylistic crossover and picked up the theme of this year’s Indaba (Ínstrumental voices) by exploring the transition from vocal to instrumental composition citing two of his own compositions; Vevek Ram , acclaimed local sitarist, who discussed the problems of translating Classical Indian Music into scores for large instrumental ensembles, as well as exploring solutions citing works by Phillip Glass and developments in Bollywood soundtracking as examples. The last presentation was given by the very animated Robert Maxim, internationally-acclaimed conductor of 35 yrs standing, who has resided in SA for the last 13 yrs and fallen in love with its traditional musical cultures; Mr Maxim focussed on his contributions in arranging Mzilikhazi Khumalo’s (whom he names ‘’Africa’s Beethoven'’) ‘Ushaka’ for classical performance, an arduous process, apparently, to argue that any successful marriage between disparate musical cultures, and especially translation of works from one idiom into the other, requires of the arranger to ‘’leave his ego at the door”. He also stressed that such endeavours are doomed from the outset unless the arranger understands the cultural world behind the source material completely before translating it (in his case, arranging it for classical orchestra).

Next was to be the debut of the daily audio/video installations ‘Reverie’ (Aryan Kaganof & Michael Blake), and ‘The Collision project’ (Gerhard Marx & Clare Loveday), but Eskom intervened. Fortunately Dr Blake was on hand with his laptop, so everyone huddled closer for a more modest screening. After watching and listening to ‘Reverie’ the room was ahush, it seemed everyone had been touched by its elegiac beauty. During the discussion that followed, both collaborators being present, Kaganof suggested that the premiere was enhanced by the concentration and physical intimacy required by the smaller screen and lower volume, leading to an atmosphere he likened to being in a sacred space. This led to an interesting debate concerning the nature, and place, of the sacred in art. Several people were disappointed to hear that the piece was not to be included on Michael Blake’s forthcoming piano works cd collection, to which Kaganof countered that perhaps making the work available to consumerism stripped it of the concentrated appreciation that it enjoyed that day - that the value of art is perhaps heightened when it has to be sought out. In response to Kaganof’s temple/sacred space perspective, Paul Hanmer asked why the temple couldn’t just be taken to the masses. Due to the more detailed nature of ‘The Collision project’, the less-than-optimal audio and visuals detracted was felt to detract from it so it was shelved for the following day; my experience of both pieces will then follow below.

Wednesday was concluded by the virtuoso solo-marimba performance of Magda De Vries, an astonishing performance that took in works from the East, through Africa, and to the West. in between performances Magda shared her thoughts on the compositions, and why they were selected.

Thursday kicked off with a bang, involving as it did the internationally-acclaimed British chamber group, The Schubert Ensemble, who led that morning’s workshop. These workshops lie at the very heart of the New Music Indaba, and its goals. The premiering of exciting new compositions (both local and international), experiments in and between idioms of music, and fantastic performances by local and international artists are wonderful in themselves - but the chief aim of these Indabas is to facilitate an open exchange between established and up-and-coming composers and musicians, creating a fertile arena for new ideas (and many a collaboration has been sparked at these very events); but even more importantly - giving students of music the incredible opportunity of hearing their music played by world-renowned musicians and ensembles; having their work discussed and explored first-hand; and even getting the chance to collaborate live. This, of course, is an unsurpassable learning opportunity.

The Schubert Ensemble kicked off the workshop by running through some of Judith Weir’s compositions; these compositions were shown to be relatively simply arranged in composition, based on different folk musics, and beautiful. The Ensemble would play interesting segments of compositions and share their individual views on aspects of them and invite the audience (consisting mostly of composers and music students), to join in analysing and appreciating them. Next the Ensemble played student-composer Joseph Abe’s ‘Extracts from the Jungle’, an interesting piece which seemed to combine oriental and African influences (the composition in its entirety would later be incorporated into their national concerts around SA) - what followed was an in-depth interaction with the composer, where the Ensemble members expressed what they enjoyed in the composition, invited Abe to make suggestions regarding the execution, and pointed out areas that might benefit from alternative approaches. The Schubert Ensemble are clearly at ease with and adept at facilitating interaction with their audience, creating a laidback atmosphere of give-and-take regarding opinions on the music performed.

The next local composition explored was Paul Hanmer’s ‘Piano Quartet’. The previous evening I had an interesting conversation with Mr Hanmer about the differences between so-called Jazz and so-called Classical Music; myself having always wondered what improvising Jazz muso’s think of the more formal, static approach of Classical.. Mr Hanmer surprised me by pointing out that to him the two disciplines shared more similarities than they bore differences; the points he made came up again during the discussion of his piece. Hanmer’s ‘Piano Quartet’ was immediately recognisable as his, the piano playing that contemplative melodious rhythm so unique to his music, and being very much the central instrument. During the discussion that followed, and after admitting to loving the piece, the Ensemble focused on segments of Mr Hanmer’s score which would have benefited with more detailed information (regarding eg. the tempo of a segment etc). It is here that Mr Hanmer’s points the previous evening came to mind again. With the exception of ridiculously over-notated scores which define exactly in which way the composer desires the piece executed (the Ensemble cites Ionesco as an example of this kind of tyrannical scoring), most scores inevitably have segments that require interpretation on the musician’s behalf, allowing the piece subtle differences in execution by different groups/solo musicians.. this, you could, say, is Classical improvisation. A great lesson to all the composers present was that one has to achieve balance between allowing for interpretation (which the Ensemble feel gives a composition air to breathe), and ‘under’-scoring, where too little interpretation could lead to a performance not intended by the composer: An unintentionally ‘wrong’ performance due to too little information in the score.

Next on Thursday’s menu was an opportunity for outsiders to glimpse the inner workings of New Music SA by attending their Planning Forum. Naturally the forum was concerned with exploring ideas that would enhance the annual Indaba events. The shift from it’s six-year stint situated in Rhodes during the Grahamstown Fest had significant effects on the Indaba. Dr Blake explained that the move had both pros and cons; while there was a significant drop in funding (they had relatively big sponsorship in Rhodes, being associated with the National Arts Festival), the shift isolated the Indabas as events in their own right, not one spectacle amongst hundreds attended by half-interested passers by. In its new manifestation the Indaba is more intimate, something which benefits both the composers and the public attending - everyone who drops by does so out of passionate interest, which concentrates the interactive quality of the Indabas. Paul Hanmer instigated a discussion regarding potential publication of commissioned compositions, something which would allow given compositions a life outside of the Indabas, and potentially lead to wider recognition for composers. The speaker revealed how, outside of web-publication, which would be open-access (and therefore preclude potential financial benefits to the composer), the prospect was highly unlikely.. he cited major international publishers as surviving purely thanks to one or two compositions that have become Classical ‘hits’ (appear in ads and are concert-favourites). A visiting composer stressed that before looking to the future and its possibilities the forum should focus on a critical inspection of whether the workshop aspect is as successful as it can be, it being the heart of the Indaba. This was agreed on, and another student composer’s complaint/suggestion was duly noted and addressed - he felt that due to lack of schooling many visiting, and even invited, composers struggle to follow the terminology taken for granted during workshops; it was agreed that future Indabas would feature more intermediation to solve this (benefiting the public as well). It was also suggested that by printing biopics of student/visiting composers and players alongside those of the featured composers and musicians would facilitate more intimacy and promote conversation between all. In response to a suggestion that the Indabas might benefit financially if they were officially associated with, and therefore backed by, UNISA, Dr Blake explained that by tying them down to one institution would not be beneficial, mentioning that he would love to see the event move from region to region every few years, thereby drawing attention to composers and trends previously unexplored.

Friday was definitely the highlight of the 2007 Indaba. The day kicked off in a detour to the University of Pretoria, which hosted the 85th birthday concert of local composer Stefans Grove segment of the Indaba. The celebration took the shape of a solo piano recital by the internationally famed Jill Richards, which included Grove’s ‘Five Glimpses’ composition along with Stockhausen and the Beatles! The concert was followed by a ‘masterclass’, where selected student and visiting composers had their works performed by Ms. Richards, and could engage with her on their pieces. The importance of careful notation resurfaced, and became the central topic during the session. A light-hearted moment came after an as-yet-incomplete piece by Mr Hanmer was performed. Prior to playing the piece, Ms. Richards kindly invited Mr. Hanmer to play it himself, which he politely declined; afterwards, everyone having applauded the complex beauty of the piece, she enquired as to how the composer would play a specific section that had challenged her, he admitted that he wasn’t sure - “I can’t play it (this piece)!” This was touched on again later when a student composer enquired of Ms. Richards her opinion on composers who score pieces outside of their capacity to play, to which she quipped that to compose only within your capacity was like “.. having a Ferrari and only driving it to the cafe’! ”

Back at UNISA, I attended the ‘full-scale’ screening of the audio/visual installations. ‘The Collision Project’ was very interesting. A collaboration between composer Clare Loveday (present) and artist Gerhard Marx, the collaboration, she said, was sparked by an idea he had been hawking from composer to composer, all declining due to its abstract, way-out nature; but for the same reasons, she felt compelled to take the challenge. The piece might be described as an attempt to give reminiscent voice to the wrecked carcass of a car; indeed, in the program notes the ‘authors’ call the piece ‘forensic music’. The broken body of the car is used to vibrate the strings of cello and violin fragments attached to it - and so, symbolically, release the car’s memories. The piece kicks off with three persons (the ‘players’) climbing into the wreck and proceeding, through soft, broken streams of whispering, to evoke the sound of a space full of criss-crossing people and conversation - the everyday hustle bustle of human life. After this the three climb out and explore/invoke the car’s past by percussively tapping it and plucking and bowing said cello and violin strings, creating an eerie, haunted atmosphere of moans and regret. The piece concludes with the players repeating the whispering interior section, before fading out with plaintively bowing cello strings. Interestingly, during the couple of minutes witnessed during the small-screen attempt two days prior, the piece seemed to benefit by the ill-defined visuals, consisting of blurs moving around a car; now the well-defined players distract the viewer’s attention from the car, in so doing, removing its voice by revealing the mechanisation..

‘Reverie’ (created in 2003) marks the first of many later collaborations between director/writer/artist Aryan Kaganof and much-lauded composer/pianist Michael Blake (whom you’ve met several times during the course of this article). A fascinating concept, and sublimely executed, the collaboration is based around a solo-piano piece composed by Blake in the mid-Nineties. The concept for their project was, in a sense, a direct inversion of the tradition movie soundtrack audio-visual dynamic. Whereas in traditional soundtracking the music exists to highlight, amplify or contradict the psychological aspects of a movie, to operate as a kind of meta-text to the film; in ‘reverie’ the focus is the music, with the visuals serving to compliment the atmosphere of the piece through subtle shifts of tension and harmony. Usually when visuals are created to support music, as in Veejaying (where ‘visual dj’s create visuals to accompany songs at electronic dance events and parties), the approach is overtly ‘literal’, or symmetrical, with the visuals merely manipulated to match the rhythm of the music. Here Kaganof has succeeded in making a visual track that embodies all the subtleties of a sophisticated score in its relation to the central piece, here the music. The piece itself is a softly repetitive, simplistically and gently beautiful composition; interestingly, the Shona and San vocals on which the piano melodies are based suggest Oriental influence, which might have influenced Kaganof’s idea for the source-material of his visuals, the mood of the piece, a kind of beautiful, slightly melancholic limbo, certainly did. His source-material is footage of citizens of Tokyo strolling through one of the city’s beloved parks; he describes the frenetic pace of day-to-day Tokyo as “40 times the pace of Joburg..”, which has led to the tradition of Sundays dedicated to languid strolling in these peaceful parks, a literal unwinding. The figures in the camera shots have been manipulated into soft, spilling splotches of form moving to the mood of, as opposed to the rhythm of, Dr Blake’s composition; formal quality of this visual manipulation led one of the viewers to liken it to Impressionism in painting. Certainly the visuals do suggest a slow-spilling painting.

Friday evening was sounded out in an almost direct inversion of ‘Reverie’s limbo - a colourfully explosive performance by Marc Dube and his Minimal Thing ensemble. Mr Dube and his student ensemble were here to introduce us to Soundpainting, a fascinating form of what might be called ‘improvising improvisation’, based on several hand- and body-signals used by a conductor to.. err.. conduct his ensemble’s improvisation. Confusing no? yes. Different from Classical conducting in that there are no scores to be strictly followed note-for-note; the ’score’ instead consists of these signals which determine who plays, and suggests the rhythm and other stylistic aspects of the playing, while allowing the musicians to improvise within these constraints. What is wonderful about the Soundpainting approach, as presented by Dube’s Minimal Thing, is its sheer humour and exuberance. The unexpected stop-and-burst format creates suspense that lends itself to the rhythms of comedy; and its disciplined-freedom, with the accent very much on fun and surprise, is joy-inducing to the audience, and very obviously highly enjoyable for the musicians.

A wonderful conclusion to yet another fantastic, if small-scale Indaba. My only complaint regarding the New Music Indaba is that it is so unknown in public circles, for which the lack of advertising is mostly to blame. The Indabas unfailingly brim with fascinating, exciting music and explorations between forms of music, which always lead to new musical experiences - A must for anyone who loves music!

Another side-project of New Music SA is the bi-annual Unyazi Electronic Music and Art Symposium, which is just as, if not even more, lively and stimulating than the more Classically oriented Indabas. The next Unyazi is due to take place in Cape Town in March 2008

(Background on the ISCM and New Music SA provided by the ‘New Music SA Bulletin’)