Art's Diary: A perfect mixture at the Hope; MUSIC Psappha,Cornerstone,Liverpool.Byline: GLYN MiN HUGHES IVERPOOL Hope University College is fast making a name for itself as a hotbed of musical talent and activity. Composer Stephen Pratt heads the music department there, a musical name well known in Liverpool and the rest of the country. But more than that. Their splendid facility at Everton is a gift to chamber music ensembles, particularly those specialising in contemporary music. Add to the mix Psappha, the North West's premier new music ensemble and the scenario is perfect. As part of the Cornerstone Festival The Cornerstone Festival is a Christian music festival put on by Jesus People USA held annually around the 4th of July in Illinois. In a given year, many artists that play at Cornerstone also play at other events such as the Creation Festival, as well as secular festivals and tours , Psappha played a series of works by three composers: Varese, Stravinsky and Zappa. I'llconfess to a student fixation -a total fascination -with the works of two composers. One was Charles Ives, the other Edgard Varese. Listening to Varese's Octandre over last weekend, it's easy to understand that fascination. IT WAS rhythmically fascinating, developed melodies in what sounds -still,for a work written in 1923 --an avant-garde way. And it was, in an aural way, a spider's web of musical thoughts, one idea gradually developing into another. Stravinsky's Octet, which has always been a great piece to hear, was performed here with a considerable dynamism. Meanwhile his Ragtime ragtime: see jazz. ragtime U.S. popular music of the late 19th and early 20th centuries distinguished by its heavily syncopated rhythm. Ragtime found its characteristic expression in formally structured piano compositions, the accented left-hand ,involving prominent use of a Russian folk instrument A folk instrument is an instrument that developed among common people and usually doesn't have a known inventor. It can be made from wood, metal or other material. It is a part of folk music. , the cimbalom
The cimbalom (most common spelling), cymbalom, cymbalum (see Trivia), ţambal, tsymbaly, , was a light-hearted romp,despite being a major milestone in 20th-century music. But the main contribution of the evening was the music of Frank Zappa. This was Zappa unveiled. Zappa without the PR guys. Zappa without the adulation ad·u·la·tion n. Excessive flattery or admiration. [Middle English adulacioun, from Old French, from Latin ad . This was Zappa interpreted by Psappha. From the highly entertaining Dog Breath Variations to the brilliantly re-worked Ill Revised and The Girl in the Magnesium Dress this was a great event. Add to that the particularly special introduction to Get Whitney, and its subsequent complex and searching musical ideas,and this proved what a special event this was. Then there was the sexy, swaggering Be-Bog Tango and the big band sounds in so many other pieces ... So much to say about such a great and absorbing performance. Definitely more of the same, please! |
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