Always one of my favourite concerts, the annual late night one in Temerty Theatre which forms part of the 21C festival.  As usual on Saturday night Brian Current was conducting the GGS New Music Ensemble.  This time it was two new Canadian works plus a 1994 piece by Luca Francesconi.

The first piece was the world première of Kalaisan Kalaichelvan’s C’est Pas Beau; which is scored for maybe 20 instruments.  It was apparently inspired by being trapped in a crowd of tourists in front of Picasso’s Guernica taking selfies.  I can relate to that.  It’s the feeling I get when I see tourists being touristy in awe inspiring cathedral.  I really liked the piece.  It’s got loads of nervous energy and is simultaneously quite sinister and strangely lyrical.

Next up was Alice Ho’s Dark Waters.  This is scored for a smaller ensemble; string and wind quintets.  It’s intended to evoke the malevolent side of the power of water.  I think it does it pretty well.  Certainly the relentlessness of powerfully running water comes across along with a kind of febrile energy.

The final piece was the longest and most complex.  Francesconi’s Etymo is scored for chamber orchestra, piano, soprano and electronics.  The soprano and the flute are miked and electronically processed along with pre-recorded electronics.  It’s a complex vocal part involving many different techniques managed very nicely by McKenzie Warriner.  I did wonder about the balance though in the denser sections where she tended to get a bit submerged.  It’s a really dense piece with layer upon layer of different textures; sometimes almost cacophonically loud (Temerty is not a big space!) but sometimes decaying to murmuring electronics.  It’s one of those pieces that is hard to comprehend in one listening and, frustratingly, one isn’t likely to get too many more chances to hear it!

All in all a very satisfactory way to listen to late night contemporary sounds.