Monthly Archives: April 2019

Let me preface this by saying: I’ve never seen an opera of any form in my life, and prior to this class, have rarely ever heard any operatic works. As I was interested in learning more about opera and seeing it performed on stage, I decided to attend this performance. I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I went in.

The purpose of this event was to showcase the talents of the UBC Opera Ensemble members through many different opera pieces. Each piece performed was only accompanied by a single piano, and the vocals of other ensemble members. The performances ranged from soloists performing arias, duets, quartets, and pieces involving the entire ensemble at parts. Here are some of my favourites.

FAVOURITE PIECES:

Piece #1 & #2: “Habanera” and “Votre toast” from Carmen by G. Bizet, performed by Jilian Clow as Carmen, Ian Burns as Escamillo, Madison Craig, and Sarah Sum, with members of the UBC Opera Ensemble

The performance of “Habanera” followed the performances of three arias sung by three female soloists with very a sparse piano accompaniment each. So, when “Habanera” started, and the full UBC Opera Ensemble marched onto the stage, it was quite an exciting sight due to the contrast with the previous performance. This rendition of “Habanera” is sung by the female soloist, Jilian Clow as Carmen, and accompanied by the UBC Opera Ensemble as well as a single piano. Both vocal and piano accompaniments are both homophonic when used, and are meant to further emphasize certain phrases and words (specifically, to exclaim, “L’amour! L’amour!”).

“Votre toast” was presented in a similar fashion as “Habanera”; again, there is a single soloist performed by Ian Burns, the UBC Opera Ensemble, and a single piano. And again, the opera ensemble provided backing vocals and emphasis on certain words. In “Votre toast”, I really enjoyed the use of space, as Escamillo would walk around into the audience and through the aisles. This use of space is something one definitely can’t get from a recording — unless you have an amazing surround sound system.

Piece #3: “Bella figlia dell’amore” from Rigoletto by G. Verdi, performed by Ian McCoy, Yenny Lee, Sodam Lee, and Hyun Seung Tom Son

This vocal quartet by far used polyphony the most obviously in the pieces I heard that day. The host did not explicitly say, but I believe it is a recitative, as this piece features a major plot point form Rigoletto by G. Verdi, where the Gilda (played by Sodam Lee), daughter of the Rigoletto (played by Hyun Seung Tom Son), is made to realize that her lover, the Duke of Mantua (played by Ian McCoy), is in an adulterous relationship with another woman, Maddalena, played by Yenny Lee. First enters the Duke and Maddalena who set the scene of their secret relationship. Rigoletto later leads Gilda into the scene, and she watches the scene in horror. So, on top of the duo sung by the Duke and Maddalena, Rigoletto and Gilda are ALSO singing their own conversation. It was a very interesting scene to watch, especially hearing Sodam Lee’s voice as the heartbroken Gilda piercing through the Duke and Maddalena’s scene.

CONCLUSION + OVERALL OPINION:

I really enjoyed the way these pieces were presented in an easy-to-approach style. As I have never seen an opera before, I was feeling like it might be overwhelming to go to a full-length opera, which are hours in length and often not in English. I would hardly know which one I would want to go to. However, as the Opera Tea Series presents a bunch of different pieces from different operas, it is a good way to sample and see which opera one may be interested in seeing. As for me, I think I will definitely check out a rendition of Carmen, among others that I enjoyed from the performance.

On the Sunday of April 7^th, I had the pleasure to attend a piano recital offered by Vancouver Chopin Society (VCS). A friend of mine recommended this event to me because of its fine selection of music pieces. I have heard about VCS before, but this was my first time to attend its concert. The purpose of this organization is to promote cultural interaction and emphasize the importance of music for the Vancouver people. This year, they invited two accomplished pianists to hold recital concerts and I went to the one featuring Nelson Goerner. The second one with Kate Liu will be on May 19^th.

The concert consisted of seven classical pieces with two encores added at the end. It lasted around two hours with an intermission of half an hour. The first piece was Brahms’s KlavierstuckeOp. 119. The short character piece served well as a lovely start. He first played No.1 Intermezzo in B minor which was gentle and sentimental. Then the No.2 Intermezzo in E minor built on the previous piece and added a bit more eager and lively tone. The No.3 Intermezzo in C major came afterward became obviously powerful. Finally, the No. 4 Rhapsody in E-flat major as the most well-known movement in the entire piece was played passionately and the many striking chords were hit with a perfect sense of phase.

Then the second piece was the long-awaited “Appassionata”, Beethoven’s Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op.57. It has been my favorite out of all classical pieces because of its dramatic and creative melody, especially the first movement Allegro assai. It has three underlying motives: the haunting triadic figure of the opening, its trilled ending, and the knocking fate motto. Then the second movement Andante was played with a calm beginning. Then the repetitions of a diminished seventh chord were done beautifully. The third and final movement Allegro ma non-troppo was rushed to an extreme. The coda with a dance-like theme concluded in a series of stunning and brilliant final chords. Overall, without much subtle or romantic retouch, the piece was rather done in a fierce way.

The third and fourth pieces are Schumann’s Papillons Op. 2 and Toccata in C major Op.7. I did some study behind them. Papillons is a short character piece that is based on the idea of a masked ball. Eleven of the twelve miniatures are in triple time the meter of a waltz. The Toccata in comparison is more demanding of the virtuosity and stamina of the pianist. There are some visible awkward leaps and frequently repeated notes. Nelson performed it effortlessly and passionately, which made the audiences blown away.

The fifth, sixth and seventh pieces all belong to Chopin. They were Nocturne in C minor Op. 48 No.1, Nocturne in E flat major Op. 55 No. 2 and Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise in E flat major Op. 22. Nelson mastered the smoothness and harmony of Chopin and brought us into the world of the elegant nocturnes. The audiences gave a big round of applause and he played two encores. I later found out that he was described as “majestic in Chopin” by the widely respected French newspaper Le Monde, without a doubt.

I felt fortunate to have this musical experience with such a talented pianist and enjoy the pieces by Brahms, Beethoven, Schumann and Chopin live in Vancouver.

Anyone who has played a really good video game knows that the music and sound effects of the game greatly contribute to the player immersion into the game. Peppy tunes are used behind Mario Kart stages to channel between intensity and fun while gangster rap is used in Grand Theft Auto to channel west-coast vibes and further help the players escape into a world unlike their own everyday life.

And as for plainchants, they get used to elicit a range of different emotions in video games, as well as to set the scene. Specifically, the range of emotions seem to fall in that of contemplation, intensity, and sometimes melancholy. They set the scene for character introductions and associations, locations such as churches and temples. As an example, let’s talk about my favourite plainchant found in video games: the theme for the Temple of Time in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Imagine: you are a young warrior on a mission to rescue a beautiful princess in your strange, mystical world. This was everything you wanted when you were living your peaceful life in your forest village, yet it was nothing you could have imagined. You are tired, but determined. You come across a church that the princess told you about in a vision. It is gigantic. You approach it. You step inside, and you are met with a hall of white marble floors, and the familiar crests inscribed on the cement walls. It is all white and glowing. You approach the alter at the back, and you know that the tune the princess taught you in the vision is so be played here. You play it on your ocarina.

I love the Legend of Zelda franchise, and the music is amazing — it’s one of the first games that got me to consciously pay attention to the music in a game, in fact. The scene I described is the scene where Link, the main character in the game (for those who are not familiar), first steps into the Temple of Time. Before this, Link was in a bustling town, filled with chattering voices and the simple, happy, chirpy melody of played by what appears to my ear as a harpsichord. Upon nearing the temple, it the music fades to silence, left only with the sounds of nature. Then, finally, entering the temple, a brief silence — then the sounds of several indistinct male voices, singing homorhythmically, starts playing. It sounds to be perhaps more precisely an organum, but maybe a very early version of one. There are instances of polyphony, though it is not dramatic; they seem to mean to add depth to the original melodic line, but at the same time, I find my ears wandering to the different points of interest. Of the examples we discussed in class, the song slightly reminds me of Perotin’s “Alleluia. Diffusa est gratia” organum with the richness of the multiple male voices used. This juxtaposition of a bustling town with a happy tune, the silence following, and low but piercing voices, creates an overwhelming effect for player. It sets the scene for the ancient, holy, spiritual site of the temple, and highlights this as an important space. The use of a plainchant is the perfect piece to do this with, considering the religious and spiritual context from which it is derived from.

To listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6Hf1-lQElE

We have talked quite a lot about sacred, or church music throughout this course so I leapt at the opportunity to attend a fairly large modern church music event. Bach would have definitely been confused had walked through the doors, not only at the lack of an organ or any traditional instruments on stage, but also at the blinding light show, pounding drums, thick haze and raucously loud sound system.

The event was hosted by an organization called Worship Central which is a global organization who’s purpose is to train and encourage local church musicians in their craft. The conference spanned Friday evening and all day Saturday, but I was only able to attend the Friday evening set where a guess singer from the Australian Christian band Hillsong United, Taya Smith, was leading the set with the local “house band” backing her up.

The music I heard was definitively not like any of the styles of music that we would have associated with the sacred music we have studied in the course, but having been involved and connected to church music for many years now, I can say that there are some similarities in motive, if not in method. 

The hymn, and Martin Luther’s reformed influence on sacred music spring to mind when listening to those in the audience sing along to the songs. This is definitely not meant to be a spectator ‘sport’. Following in the footsteps of hymns, the melodies were simple and clear, and very homophonic. There were often vocal harmonies backing up the main melody, but they were always tied to the melody, not free to move around on their own, and much quieter than the main melody. The instrument’s primary purposes were to provide accompaniment for the voice, though there were often themes or lead melodies played on electric guitar, or piano during portions of the song where nobody was singing. 

All the songs played that night were in a major mode, so the mood was set more by volume and tempo of the songs, rather than their mode. This mood ranged from soft ambient pad sounds (played on a keyboard, but generated in real time by a computer) with a softly plucked acoustic guitar, to powerful moments of thunderous drums and driving electric guitars and in the final song of the evening, piercing synthesizer melodies leading the crowd into jumping and dancing all the while singing along.

In the same way that a ‘surround sound’ organ in an old cathedral would have been used to portray the grandness and vastness of God, the booming subwoofer and flashy light show were serving an equivalent purpose in the contemporary sacred church music I heard. Who knows, perhaps with Bach had been composing today, he may have worked for a mega church in Australia.

I was fortunate to watch a concert unlike anything I had ever seen before during World Music Week at UBC on Wednesday April 3 at 12pm. The ensemble was composed of UBC students from Music classes playing the Balinese gamelan, directed by a Balinese guest instructor familiar with the instrument. I have never heard a gamelan orchestra perform, and I wasn’t aware that UBC was so culturally diverse in the instruments that students are learning! It was very interesting to be exposed to a gamelan orchestra, and I look forward to future opportunities to listen to these kinds of culturally diverse ensembles in the future.

The concert took place at Barnett Hall in the UBC Music Building, and when I walked in, the instruments were arranged on the stage. The instruments themselves varied in size and shape; some resembled xylophones while others looked like large gongs. Members of the ensemble were dressed in what I assume is traditional Balinese attire – simple, colourful robes and shirts. While the instruments were arranged much like a traditional Western orchestra, with louder and larger instruments near the back and higher smaller instruments in the front, what differed here was that one “leader” who played a loud drum sat in the middle of the ensemble and seemed to be the “director” of the ensemble, as there was a lack of a formal conductor. The person playing the drums alerted the other members when it was time to pick up their mallets, and also began most of the songs.

The repertoire was based on traditional music, which in turn had many connections to Balinese spirituality. The songs often were based on one motif, often played by a single instrument, which was then elaborated on by the whole orchestra. The first song, Sinom Ladrang, was an interesting introduction to the musical style; having been raised in the Western musical tradition, it didn’t make sense to me at first, but after listening to each instrument come in one after the other, I understood how the music all came together. The second song, Lengker, was very different in that while the first song was quite loud and brash, this next song was sweetly played, with higher instruments taking the lead. This different sound was reflected in the program, with the program mentioning that this “sweet” style was used in the Balinese royal courts.

All of the performance’s songs were interesting because some songs involved everyone playing together in a monophonic texture, while others did the absolute opposite and had everyone playing a very distinct part in the same mode or tonal centre. This meant that sometimes, the trajectories of the songs were hard to follow, but the songs were very interesting to listen to nonetheless. The group’s guest director was I Putu Gede Sukaryana, a Masters student in the School of Music focusing on Balinese instruments and music, and it was very exciting to see him taking the lead in some songs; because there was no formal conductor, he was often the leader with the drum in the centre. However, other times, he stepped back and allowed one of the students to try leading a song.

Overall, it was so much fun attending World Music Week at UBC and watching this group perform! If I get the opportunity again, I certainly will attend other noon-hour concerts at UBC.

On 29th March 2019, I had the pleasure of attending a concert held by the University Singers and Wellesley College in St James Anglican Church in Downtown Eastside. In this concert, the University singers performed a selection of songs they would be performing in their upcoming tour to Italy in April-May. They are joined in this performance by the Wellesley College Women’s Choir, who also sang their own set and collaborated with the University Singers for a few songs.

The concert opened with Angelus Domini by Giovanni Gabrieli, and they sung this in the round, surrounding the audience. This standing formation made the already interesting piece even more fascinating to me as the way they were standing revealed different individual parts and because of how they were spaced in the venue it became easy to enjoy the piece fully but also pick apart the different parts as they were singing. There were parts where it sounded like the choirs split into two and it sounded like they were talking to each other in a call and response across the church, which made the performance incredibly engaging for me. One interesting thing about this piece that the conductor Graeme Langager shared – is that it was written to be performed in St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice and that the University Singers will have the opportunity to perform this very piece at that venue during their upcoming Italy Tour.

One of my other favourite pieces from this performance was Rock-A My Soul (A piece which they also performed in their last concert, UBC Choirs: Stories). Having heard this piece before meant that it was easier to pay attention to the details the second time. This piece is incredibly catchy and I particularly loved how much dynamics there is in the piece. The piece opens with a contrast between forte parts and piano parts, and the first verse was sung in a neutral dynamic and the second verse contrasted that initial dynamic and was sung so softly. The detailed way the University Singers sang these dynamic contrasts made the performance much more impressive, as it made the moments where the choir sings in rich chords that ring loudly that much more special.

Another one of the fun pieces the University Singers sang was the classic folk song She’ll Be Comin’ Round The Mountain – this was so enjoyable because the piece is incredibly familiar to almost everyone in the audience but was a different arrangement rather than the straight way we’re used to singing it. The familiarity to the piece also made it easier to pick out the little interesting moments in the piece and pay more attention to the accompaniment and what the short little motives they were doing under the melody.

Part of what makes the University Singers so enjoyable to watch is how expressive the singers are when they perform. It’s easy to buy into their performance when the audience is able to see how invested they are in their performances and how excited they seem to be about their music, especially in pieces that are more upbeat. Overall, I thought the University Singers and The Wellesley College Women’s Choir put on an incredibly entertaining performance, and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.

Music in the middle of a room are people were working, eating and chatting? preposterous! And yet… what a unique way to invite music into our everyday lives. Friends were having conversations, students were working on projects and assignments, and some of us were sitting and listening attentively, but the “sound of the Chopin” permeated any and all activities happening in the room. Benjamin Hopkins played with extraordinary skill, and seeing him move and connect with both the piano and the music itself brought me deeply into the pieces played.

The first piece performed was Ballade No. 4 which was remarkable piece of piano music to hear live. It is structured in some way like a poem, and it took me to so many different places emotionally, from melancholy to excited, from calm to distressed, all the while Chopin’s lyrical writing was clearly evident. To my (untrained) ears, I sounded like it was often modulating between major and minor keys to best portray different feelings and moods. I enjoyed that there were several “false endings” since they kept me from assuming that I knew how the piece was going to play out, and reminded me that I was along for the ride with no idea where the destination was.

The second piece was a waltz, Op 42, which was a much shorter, lighthearted and fast-paced piece with a very clear sense of rhythm. The playing in this piece was incredibly fast, and left me with a smile on my face.

The third piece was Chopin’s Chopin Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante (Op. 22). Though played as one piece, it was really two pieces played back to back. The Andente Spianato was almost like an opera aria in its composition and flow, whereas the Grande Polonaise, beginning quite abruptly, was faster, louder and less “smooth”. The two pieces back-to-back provided great contrast in their juxtaposition highlighting the strengths of each of them.

The fourth piece was a Mazurka, which is a type of traditional dance music from Chopin’s homeland, Poland. I missed which of Chopin’s Mazurka’s this one was, and there was no programme to go with this concert, so I’m not sure which Mazurka was played. The piece was in triple metre, but unlike more standard triple metre dance music, the emphasized beats were not always on the downbeat making it sometimes difficult to keep track of the triple meter. It was perhaps fortunate then, that I was only listening was not attempting to dance!

The fifth and final piece was Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 3 which is split into four movements. The first movement started out fairly fast paced, but not upbeat in its mood, rather it felt almost dark and foreboding at times. The second movement, which was the shortest of all of them, is a scherzo which began and ended with astoundingly fast playing. The third movement slowed things down dramatically bringing my heartbeat back to a much more comfortable pace, and the fourth and final movement brought the whole thing to a close with drama, beauty and flourish. 

I really enjoyed this chance to take an hour or so out of the middle of my day to sit and enjoy some music in a relaxed and casual environment. In addition to the music itself, I loved observing people walking through the building who clearly had not expected to run into a concert in progress. They stopped, paused what they were doing, or where they were going, and for a moment become enraptured by Chopin’s music and Hopkins’ amazing performance; how could one not?

The UBC Jazz Ensemble on March 28th was a rather special concert. I got lucky in that the particular program I attended was featuring a guest soloist with the name of Chad Makela, a well known Baritone Saxophonist who has travelled all over North America to showcase his talents. As a result, I think the director made an effort to fit in more saxophone solos to display Mr.Makela’s talent.

Despite being an avid jazz listener, this ensemble was my first time seeing a big band. I had seen a jazz band in Rome with just a pianist, drummer, cellist, and saxophonist. But obviously, with a band this big (20+ players) they sound much more full.

One thing that is consistent in jazz and I noticed at the concert is the constant jazz rhythm held by the drummer. He was playing the classic jazz hi hat loop throughout all of the pieces. This is what makes listeners tap their feet to jazz music.

The first piece titled Tiptoe featured a long piano solo that was backed with light drums and bass.

Another thing I noticed was that the conductor in a jazz big band seems to do a lot less than in a classical or contemporary ensemble. Apart from the initial countdown to starting a song, the players did not seem to look to the conductor for any guidance, where as in the contemporary ensemble concert the players would periodically look to the conductor.

There were some instrumentation changes between the second and third pieces, which swapped away the saxophones for trumpets.

In Celebration Suite part 2 (named Slow Dance) Chad Makela delivered his most memorable saxophone solo. He was supported by the other brass players with whom he played a three minute perfect homophonic composition.

In part 3 of the same composition, named Remembering, the pianist opened the song with a very slow and somber solo, which was in stark contrast to the earlier parts of this piece which were more fast paced and uplifting.

Overall, this concert rekindled my liking for jazz music and gave me a newfound appreciation for its players. I remember seeing the pianists rotating and switching between each composition, which made me realize how difficult it must be to play any one of those compositions at the level of mastery that this ensemble was playing them at.

I attended the Korean Percussion concert on April 2nd, part of the world music week concerts that were held at UBC. This concert was immediately striking as something more than a regular concert– from the traditional outfits to the instruments. This particular performance was done outdoors thanks to the sunny weather. When I arrived, the first thing I noticed was the uniformity of the costumes that the players were wearing. Keeping in mind that this was a student ensemble with mostly amateur players that were signed up through a course, I was very impressed with their dedication to wear these uniforms. It gave the performance a more authentic feel.

The instruments were exclusively percussive, making the rhythmic textures the central figure in each composition. Polyrhythm was used throughout the compositions, and the interplay between the rhythm of the music and the rhythm of the movement of the players became as compelling as the compositions themselves.

The performance started with a sitting potion, and moved to a standing portion, followed by a marching one. The lead player instructed the audience on the basics of Korean Percussion, telling us that it is in essence an interactive experience. She urged us to yell one of many Korean phrases–unfortunately I did not know what they meant, nor could I figure out the spelling to transliterate them on Google.
The marching seemed to have an intricate pattern. Namely, there was a part in the concert where the players were marching in concentric circles, converging on one another. At another point, the rhythm stopped when the players stopped marching, which was the first time I made a connection between the rhythms of the players movements and the music.

One last unique element of the this performance was that, incidental or otherwise, the movements of the players changed how certain drums’ sounds echoed in the plaza. I am not sure if this is an intended effect, but it definitely added another layer of complexity to the otherwise simple-seeming instrumentation.

The Korean Percussion ensemble gave a great performance, and my first entry into the Korean Percussion world. It was interesting to watch such a dynamic concert in which movement is almost as important as the composition of the music.

The UBC Oral Composition class concert on April 1st was an outdoor concert played by ten students enrolled in the Music 530C course taught by Michael Tenzer. This course is very unique in that students each compose a ~3 minute piece of music which they then teach the rest of the class to play as an ensemble. The catch is that there is no notation involved in the teaching of the compositions, as it is all learned and memorized orally. According to the program sheet, some of the piece involve improv. The ensemble also implemented rhythm techniques from world traditions, such as solkattu and mora, and interlocking, and interweaving. I had not previously heard those specific rhythmic techniques before, but I did notice that most of the compositions made use of polyrhythm–two or more conflicting rhythms playing simultaneously.

The instrumentation available to the ensemble were traditional and exclusively percussive. However, some of the percussive instruments were melodic. Notably, there were metallic pots that were played with a mallet that each produced one pitch, and a few of the players had three of those in front of them. The sound of these instruments was very similar to a glockenspiel, although a higher pitch. I later learned that this instrument is called the Bonang.

In addition to a few basic drum instruments, there was a hi hat replacement that consisted of two small brass pieces that were used to hit against the base of the instrument. This instrument was often the most rhythmically consistent.

The first piece by Andrea Ciona used a 4:3 polyrhythm which immediately sounded unusual to my ears since most of modern music is in 4:4 time signature. The ensemble also used a vernacular catchphrase to get accustomed to this unique rhythm.

In the fourth piece by Putu Gede Sukarayana a new instrument was introduced. This was a suspended gong that produced a sustained low pitch sound. The instrument made a distinctly mechanical sound, almost like an elevator or an engine.

The eighth piece by Ivan Salazar Gonzalez ended up being the most memorable for me. Up until this composition, the melodic element of the songs were often indistinguishable or pushed to the background by the abundance of the other percussion. This was the first music with a melody that seemed to be in the foreground of the song. The catchiness of the melody meant that Mr.Gonzalez’s composition stood out among the rest. It was also the first one where I could almost hear chords from the Bonang, and the chord progression made this one easily my favorite.

The limited instrumentation meant that the entire repertoire sounded homogenous. But the variety came mostly in the form of different rhythms. It was amazing to see this ensemble ultimately make ten unique compositions with their limited instrumentation and time constraint, and the fact that it was all learned orally made it all even more impressive.