THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 27, 1996 TAG: 9602270325
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Music Review
SOURCE: BY LEE TEPLY, SPECIAL TO THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
The world premiere of ``Clouds of Forgetting, Clouds of Unknowing'' was given Monday evening in Chandler Recital Hall at Old Dominion University. Apollo, the chamber ensemble made up of Virginia Symphony members, seemed comfortable with the new work as led by symphony music director JoAnn Falletta. The performance was so secure as to allow full attention to be directed to the music itself.
Alaskan composer John Luther Adams introduced his piece to the audience by giving some of its compositional history - a six-year process - and by explaining the work's structure. He encouraged listeners to play an active role by following the sections, more than 20, and letting their minds react to the sound.
The best way to do this was to close one's eyes, and to let ever-changing pictures move across an imagined movie screen. It was definitely not a good idea to watch the performers, whose faces showed only the effort of intense concentration on their task. From time to time, however, it was necessary to see what combination of instruments was making a particularly intriguing sound.
The ensemble had four to five players from each of the instrumental families - strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. Adams used his palatte wisely, giving variety to the combinations of instruments in several ways. The highs and lows were contrasted, winds and strings heard separately or together, with the possible addition of one or more percussion instruments. The dynamics ranged from the nearly inaudible to a moderately loud level. Full volume gained dramatic impact through infrequent use.
But it was not just a collection of colorful sounds. Unlike music of some minimalist and new-age composers, to which this piece might be compared, there really was a lot going on in the music, with the notes themselves. Ideas were presented and developed for a rather short period. Before one could tire of an idea, a new one was presented. Despite the change of musical ideas, there was definitely a sense of progression, of moving through various ideas to a goal. MEMO: MUSIC REVIEW
Who: Apollo with JoAnn Falletta
Where: ODU Chandler Recital Hall
When: Monday evening by CNB