San Francisco Classical Voice

CONTEMPORARY MUSIC REVIEW Balancing the Accessible and the Abstruse

June 2, 2002

By John Demma Van Hagen

The Worn Ensemble staged a two-day exploration of the music of twentieth-century Greek and Italian composers Sunday and Monday evenings at the Presidio Chapel in San Francisco. On Sunday, the Greek composers Iannis Xenakis and Nikos Skalkottas took center stage in a presentation of some of their works for small ensembles.

Xenakis' pieces served as the bookends for the program (Monday would be called the Roman half of the series). Coming first, Anaktoria (1969) for eight wind and string players began with an austere opening horn line from David Granger. The bleating horn was then joined by the shrill cry of Matt Ingalls' clarinet and seemed to go on far too long. Ingalls adroitly hurdled the several multi-phonic sections and when called on to crescendo from out of nothingness to a full volume, sounded like something from a distant epoch. This simple and agonizingly slow crescendo after a fury of string activity rang true in the unmarred acoustics of the chapel and was by far the highlight of the piece. The resolution of the pieces with high and low strings moving in opposition sounded clichéd, if only because it is reminiscent of the opening to the THX sound feature in movies. Conductor David Milnes led the octet through the minefield of musical difficulties with aplomb and clarity.

The final piece, Epei, (1976) seemed at first to be nothing more than a bad example of "look Mom, I can compose with micro-tones too." But what might have been merely a droll compositional exercise became a vivid and fascinating exploration of microtonal clusters. The ensemble of English horn, clarinet, trumpet, two trombones and double bass deftly explored the multiple dimensions of the piece and accentuated its minute details. The piece was a glorious multitude of stretching and compressing, warping and decay. It resolved on a note initially sounded on the muted trumpet and then spread by the sextet, over five octaves, to a great effect.

A cheerful, affable grace

A quartet of pieces from composer Nikos Skalkottas served as the backbone of this event. Far more accessible than the Xenakis works, they were a fantastic counter to them, balancing the program well. The first, Duo (1938) for violin and viola, flowed with a cheerful and affable grace in the skilled hands of violinist Michael Yokas and violist Darcy Rindt. The opening Allegro vivo was followed by a lilting Andante and the closing Ben Ritenuto in which the thematic lines were passed effortlessly between the pair.

Next came two quartets (Nos. 1 and 2) consisting of piano, oboe, trumpet and bassoon. The second, with a witty "jazz" mockery thread throughout the piece, fared better. Trumpeter Scott Macomber seemed a bit shaky at the offset, but improved as the piece wore on. Eva Maria Zimmermann seemed to be fighting with the piano to get a better tone from it and lost the battle.

The strongest playing of the evening blazed from cellist Leighton Fong in a collection of four duets with violinist Yokas. The opening Allegro ordinario seemed a bit lengthy, with compositional ideas seeming to run out of steam. A muted andante followed and, with the acoustic glories of the Presidio Chapel shining, brought out a great range of dynamic contrasts, taken to full advantage by the players. A polyrhythmic scherzo was as a pleasant third movement, both Fong and Yokas sustaining a palpable intensity through the finale.

Music to latch onto

The Worn Ensemble's skillful blend of the accessible with the abstruse sets an example for modern music ensembles. The more intimate and docile Duo of Skalkottas followed the very cerebral and grand Anaktoria of Xenakis, assuring the audience that it would have something to latch onto within the program. While the audience was small, there was great enthusiasm for the music and hope for the future of these concerts at the Presidio Chapel despite its remote location. Most importantly, Richard Worn put together such a well-balanced concert of radiant works by these two composers.

(John Demma Van Hagen is a performer, teacher and music journalist and is currently the Music Department Librarian at San Francisco State University.)