We’re Late!

werelateThe Happenstancers latest concert We’re Late! happenstanced on Saturday evening at Redeemer Lutheran.  It was a typical Happenstancers sort of event with chamber music works for various forces split up into their movements with the components then rearranged to make an interesting line up.

Lukas Foss’ Time Cycle provided the opening piece which also provided the title for the concert as a whole.  It’s a setting of Auden for soprano and chamber ensemble and begins “Clocks cannot tell our time of day”.  Which was pretty much the theme for the evening.  This was followed by Toshi Ichiyangi’s Music for Electric Metronomes which had the whole ensemble banging things rhythmically and making stylsed gestures.  Then came the first of three parts of rather a good musical joke; John Cage’s 4’33” arranged into three movements for different forces. which as might be expected cropped up at intervals during the show.  For the record the movements were scored for piano and percussion, conductor and oboe and percussion.

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On the Wing

barduaLast night the Talisker Players and guest artists presented a series of readings and vocal pieces on the theme of winged creatures.  It was a very varied programme with the readings, winningly read by actor R.H. Thomson, ranging from Albert Manguel to Peter Matthiessen.  The readings also provided time for the set-up to be changed between numbers with minimum tedium.

The music was also very varied, ranging from Telemann to John Plant’s Sandpiper of 2011 with the rest being drawn from 20th century works from Pärt, Copland, Hoiby, Gideon and Foss.  The ensemble changed constantly with various combinations of strings, woodwind, piano, continuo and percussion.  Continue reading