“Learning Music in Magical Tragedy”

When conversing with the New York-based Varispeed Collective about Robert Ashley’s last opera, Crash, the sentiment remains “there’s a great deal to express.” The work will be showcased for the first time in Europe in a concert delivered at the Louth Contemporary Music Society’s approaching Lovely Music festival. This comes a decade after Ashley’s death in March 2014, just shy of turning 84.

Varispeed identifies as a cohesive unit of composer-performers who devise site-specific, occasionally interactive, largely lengthy, and perpetually experimental incidents. Crash is far from a conventional opera. It comprises dialogue and verbiage as opposed to arias and melodies, entirely voice-operated with no accompaniment of instruments.

Gelsey Bell, a member of the collective, highlights that Crash is immensely autobiographical. It embarks from the inception of Robert Ashley’s existence, traversing all the way till its cessation. Even an act for his 84th year, which he regrettably didn’t live to see, due to his passing while the piece was under development. Hence, it truly narrates the complete lifespan of an individual.

Subsequently, Amirtha Kidambi remarks that Ashley’s demise occurred during their practice sessions, conducted in his personal studio in his building. While he was under hospice care, they were unable to engage with him personally as his health deteriorated nevertheless, he was providing vital feedback via rehearsal recordings transmitted by the director, Alex Waterman, and his spouse, Mimi Johnson.

She continues to express her amazement, gesturing air quotes, about the fact that the names of the characters in the opera are simply their own first names. Bell concurs by stating, “The early renditions of this, a decade ago, precisely after his passing seemed to serve as memorials.”

Brian McCorkle shares his memories of rehearsing in the sixth floor of 10 Beach Street, the former residence of himself and Mimi Johnson. Being two floors above their apartment, the rehearsals could often be heard echoing down the stairwell. This peculiar yet poignant way of learning new music has left a deep impression on McCorkle. Every rehearsal of this material triggers a flood of intense emotions.

McCorkle, who has Irish roots, is excited to be in Ireland on Bloomsday. Being a fervent reader of James Joyce’s Ulysses, McCorkle appreciates the Irish tradition of storytelling. Kidambi asserts that Crash serves as an artist’s portrait, signifying broader themes such as ageing and death. The artist’s life is presented in such minute details that anyone can find something relatable.

Bell offers an understanding of how Crash connects to traditional opera. She explains that just like Puccini’s opera, Crash is an amalgamation of language, theatre, music, and other art forms at its core. However, it uses a different approach. Bell stresses that the vocal virtuosity is not lost but simply manifested in more delicate gestures. Similarly, drama remains a key element, though it’s present in the narrative rather than physical spats on stage. As Bell quotes, according to Bob, music is embedded in every language.

She communicated that his approach to composing for vocal artists resonated with his perception of the English language’s requirements regarding its unique consonant structure and vowel use. He viewed the resonant, wavering voices as distinctly Italian. His main interest lay in the linguistic musicality, and his aim was to carve out room for the narratives he wished to express.

Kidambi compared Ashley’s music to rhythmic chanting, similar to Buddhist, Hindu, or Latin recitations. However, she noted that Ashley linked his creative ancestry to American artistic genres such as those represented by Duke Ellington and Count Basie. He described Ellington’s band as an epitome of American opera, with every member playing a narrative role, just like Tricky Sam Nanton with his trombone. Concurrently, he drew parallels with Monteverdi. Later, in relation to Ashley’s TV opera series, she remarked that Americans are more inclined to watch television than visit La Scala.

Moving to the German avant-garde composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, 1968 marked a significant shift in his style upon releasing Stimmung when he was 40. He composed this piece in a snow-blanketed house on Long Island Sound, following an extensive lecture and concert tour in Hawaii and Mexico. It was reported by American music critic Jonathan Cott that the work drew inspiration from a month-long exploration of ruins in Oaxaca, Merida, and Chichenitza, immersing himself into Mayan, Toltec, Zatopec, Aztec or Spanish cultures to embody their people in his music.

The piece is introspective and restrained, focusing on the resonation of six vocalists with microphones, arranged in a circle between six loudspeakers. This is to ensure every delicate sound they create while chanting a single chord for over an hour is discernible.

The Neue Vocalsolisten from Stuttgart perceive themselves as voyagers, continuously seeking fresh avenues for vocal expression in collaboration with composers.

Andreas Fischer, the German bass, fondly reminisces of the times he collaborated with Stockhausen on nearly a dozen premieres. He particularly remembers their work on “Stimmung” during the late 90s, a beautiful experience despite initial challenges. At the outset, Fischer felt a palpable skepticism from Stockhausen, a sense that he doubted their capabilities. There were disagreements about their ideas that didn’t correspond with Stockhausen’s vision.

For instance, the task of sitting on the floor for an extended period of 60-70 minutes proved challenging for at least two performers, despite being part of the performance instructions. Similarly, Stockhausen’s expectation of them adhering to a macrobiotic diet for several weeks wasn’t met with great enthusiasm. After initial hiccups, a strong performance led to a joyful Stockhausen, gleefully lying in their dressing room, waving his arms in delight.

Frequent attendances at their performances by Stockhausen were interspersed with outbursts if anything went awry. Fischer’s fellow performing partners, Argentinian Baritone Guillermo Anzorena and Dutch mezzo-soprano Truike Van Der Poel, concur that Stockhausen was especially stringent and at times unkind, more so towards the female singers.

Touching on “Stimmung,” Van Der Poel highlights its uniqueness, appreciating how it brings together audience and performers in one common space. She also likes the precision with which Stockhausen breaks down complex musical sounds into individual components, giving performers the choice between two versions of a line based on their vocal capacity.

However, the score’s requirement of reciting “magical names” and the erotic poetry didn’t sit well with Van Der Poel, a sentiment shared by Fischer and Anzorena. They universally agreed on the content being overly masculine and chauvinistic—something Van Der Poel suggests be best kept within museum walls.

Anzorena was initially unfamiliar with modern music upon his first encounter with the composition, and was somewhat enamoured by Stockhausen’s intellectual prowess. The piece appeared deceivingly simple on the surface. However, Anzorena later noted its intricacies and beauty, remarking on the challenge it posed due to the varying energies of the performers who must unify in the Stimmung.

The term ‘Stimmung’, a German word, has multiple interpretations, including tuning, disposition and mood. Even Stockhausen himself pointed out that it implies the ‘harmony of the soul’, and highlighted that it originates from ‘Stimme’, translating to voice.

To Fischer, persisting in the identical scale and key for an extended duration appeals greatly. He compares it to traversing through a cathedral where though the sound differs in various areas, the harmony remains constant. This, according to Fischer, was Stockhausen’s objective: guiding listeners towards a unique meditative mental state.

The Lovely Music festival is organised by the Louth Contemporary Music Society. This event also showcases pieces by Linda Catlin Smith and Hamza El Din, as well as a sample from Robert Ashley’s Perfect Lives. The festival is scheduled to happen in Dundalk on Friday, 14th June, and Saturday, 15th June.

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