Author Archives: amanda low

On April 1st, I attended the Oral Composition Class Concert that was put on by Michael Tenzer’s Music 530C/403G at the courtyard outside the UBC School of Music. Based on the name “oral composition” I was initially expecting singing of some kind, but soon realized that “oral composition” referred to teaching and transmitting musical traditional orally. I really enjoyed this concert, as all ten pieces were composed by students, each with very different sounds to them. Professor Tenzer explained that the class was structured around teaching music orally, as opposed to traditional musical notation. I thought it was very impressive how the entire class was able to memorize a whole program without any sheet music, while playing in perfect unison with one another.

The students sat in a circle on the courtyard, each with their own instrument in front of them (or instruments, as some of them had multiple). It was evident that needing to sit in a circle where they could all see each other was crucial, as they were able to give each other visual cues throughout the performance. The left side of the circle appeared to be a rhythm or bass section, like a basso continuo that continuously played throughout, while the right side contained instruments that were higher in pitch, that often carried the main melodic line.

Most of the pieces performed featured both moments of polyphony and homophony. I noticed that homophony was often used towards the end of pieces, as it built up the rhythmic intensity to come to a climax at the end. Polyphony was used more commonly in the middle of pieces, often overlapping different melodic lines or motifs that were previously featured.

It was difficult to identify a form for each composition, but pieces often appeared to be built around a given melody or rhythmic idea. For example once piece utilized a scale, played over a number of different instruments, while others often repeated or went back to the same rhythmic pattern but reiterated in a different instrument. This was interesting to listen to, with the variety of different sounds overlapping while listening for different repetitions of the same idea.

Despite each composition using almost exactly the same instruments, each piece sounded unique. The rhyme techniques utilized in the compositions we’re taken from traditions from places such as South India, Bali, and West Africa. As the students composed and performed their own works, inspired by these cultures’ techniques, this reminded me of the lieder, which we learned about in class. With lieder, or art (folk) songs, composers were trying to make their songs sounds like old folks songs. This class is based on a similar idea, as their compositions attempt to recreate the traditions and techniques of an older culture.

I was overall very impressed by the concert and work produced by the students. Their ability to compose music utilizing different techniques from world traditions coupled with their ability to play cohesively as an ensemble without having their music transcribed was very enjoyable to watch.

On March 27th, I attended Friends in Low Places which featured David Brown and Jeremy Berkman on bass and trombone respectively. I overall really enjoyed the concert as the program consisted of a wide variety of pieces, despite most of them being played on the same two instruments. The concert featured the premiere of three difference pieces, all of which were composed by UBC music students. These were The Encounter by Carmyn Slater (b.1999), The Ground Beneath Us by Robert Humber (b.1995), and Night Tides by Taylor Hall (b.1997).

Both The Encounter and The Ground Beneath Us had more of a contemporary sound to them, while Night Tides had a Latin feel to it. The more contemporary sounding pieces in comparison to Night Tides, had an undefined meter and sounded as if the piece was being led by the instrument rather than a beat, like an instrumental recitative. These pieces sounded as if they had no clear direction of where they were going or as if they were floating.

Something different about Friends in Low Places compared to other noon hour concerts is that the musicians spoke the audience, acting as MCs for the concert. This way, they were able to introduce the pieces and provide their thoughts on the compositions. I really appreciated how the musicians introduced the pieces, as they gave some background information which made listening to the pieces more interesting. For example, the audience was told that The Encounter was inspired by an encounter with something sinister, which was represented by the trombone. I appreciated this as a listener, as it gave me the opportunity to pay special attention to look out for these characteristics.

The concert began with a short introduction piece, with Berkman sitting in the audience. Playing while walking onto the stage, both Brown and Berkman played a short antiphon – a call and response melody. It contrasted different melodic lines, with one ascending while the other was descending. This reminded me of Moonlight Sonata, where we heard 2 different themes moving in contrasting directions. Although this short introduction piece was not featured in the program, I thought it was a creative way of beginning the concert.

I also enjoyed a Selections from Arie Musicali, Book 1 (1630), which featured Christina Hutten on harpsichord. This piece frequently alternated between moments of homophony and polyphony – contrasting the two. Polyphony was used less frequently, where all three instruments played different and independent melodic lines for special effect. The three excerpts from this book were in a very typical baroque sounding style, particularly with the edition of the harpsichord.

I liked how this concert featured a number of student compositions, as it was very impressive to hear compositions by students around my age. I really enjoyed the concert as I surprisingly liked the sound of bass and trombone together, which I had never heard before in isolation. The programme was different and diverse, as both music from older time periods and contemporary music was featured.

I’m not very well versed in the realm of more contemporary and modern music, so attending concerts like REConnected and Light and Perspective, which I attended in January, is always an interesting experience. Once again, I did not know what to expect when walking into the venue. I was surprised when I saw the array of instruments set up on stage. They ranged from drums, flower pots, a stuffed animal monkey, and a banana shaker.

A total of four pieces were performed during this particular Wednesday noon-hour concert, and they were performed by Daniel Tones on percussion and by Owen Underhill on piano. The program was made up of To the Earth by Frederic Rzewski (b.1938), A/Symmetry Ritual by Owen Underhill (b.1954), Invisible Cities by Linda Catlin Smith (b.1957), and Temazcal by Javier Alvarez (b.1956).

As Professor Konoval mentioned in class, one of the central ideas of contemporary art is confusion or being a state where you don’t really know what is going on. For the entirety of the concert, this is how I felt. There were moments where I didn’t know how to make sense of what was happening on stage, and I didn’t know how I was supposed to react. During the piece that utilized the monkey and banana shaker, I was unsure if I was supposed to join in with the laughter of the audience or remain serious, as the musicians looked extremely stern while shaking their objects up and down.

The first piece entitled To the Earth (1985) by Frederic Rzewski (b.1938) was played on a group of four instruments lines up on a table. They appeared to be clay flower pots each of varying size, and were played by a long stick that looked like a chopstick. It was very interesting to see the various ways in which the musician was able to produce so many different sounds with a single type of object depending on how it was struck.

There was also an oral component to the first peace, as Tones recited poetry along with the percussion. Majority of the performance was syllabic, meaning that each note played on the pots came with a single syllable of poetry. This created an interesting yet irregular rhythm, with no clearly defined meter.

The piece that featured the stuffed monkey and banana shaker consisted of a number of instruments. The musicians started at the back of the stage on different instruments, and eventually moved up the stage to play different instruments scattered across the stage, Each portion of this peace contrasted the sound of two different instruments at one time. This reminded me of the central idea of the concerto, as it was meant to highlight the combination of different instruments and their juxtapose their sounds.

This concert really challenged my understanding of instruments, as I have learned that there are no limitations to what can be used to produce sound. We typically think of traditional instruments as the only type of instruments, but in reality, any object used creatively can be used to create a melody line or rhythm.

I was excited to attend BRAZZ, as I have an affinity for jazz music. I also have a great appreciation for brass instruments – although I do not play myself, I have friends who are brass musicians who have told me of their struggles. BRAZZ was a Wednesday Noon Hour concert put on by the UBC School of Music, and featured five trumpets, four trombones, three horns, a euphonium, a tuba, a piano, a bass, and drums.

The ensemble was introduced as a large jazz band, but with no saxophones and some extra brass instruments. This reminded me of a concept that we discussed in class: a consort – a group of instruments with sounds that blend nicely. This is was definitely the case for BRAZZ, as the brass instruments blended nicely to create a uniform sound.

Although the sounds for each instrument blended nicely, there were also efforts to highlight different instruments. Some pieces included call and response sections, where the trombones would play a short motif and the trumpets would respond with another immediate after. This reminded me of antiphons which we studied in class. Although BRAZZ certainly did not play religious music, the aspect of having alternating parts with a call and response format is similar.

In addition, I though that the selection of pieces that were performed did a good job of highlighting some instruments in certain pieces, while featuring other instruments in other pieces. In a number of the pieces, soloists on different instruments were featured, which nicely audibly broke up the piece into sections. One the reasons that I enjoy is jazz is for its improvised solos, which I find extremely impressive as it demonstrates the soloists’ musicality and virtuosity.

I’ve never played in a jazz band myself, but I thought it was interesting that BRAZZ didn’t have a conductor. Having some experience playing an in sub-par high school band myself, it was very impressive to me that the band was able to play through pieces cohesively and in time with one another despite not having a conductor for most of the program. Although the pianist, Fred Stride, did count the band in at the start of pieces and stood up to conduct the last few measures at the end.

Overall most pieces were homophonic in texture, with a single dominant melody line persisting throughout. The moments when a soloist was performing, the texture was homophonic as there was one single melody line (the soloists’) with no other melody that was in  competing for the listeners’ attention. This homophony was contrasted with short polyphonic moments when the entire ensemble played, with different instruments playing different and contrasting parts simultaneously.

As the soloists played, they were accompanied the rhythm section, which was made up of the piano, drums, and bass. Although they played at the same time as the soloists, they were not competing for the listeners’ attention. This rhythm section reminded me of a basso continuo – the Baroque rhythm section that also accompanied the principle melody. Having written the midterm and being more familiar with musical concepts discussed in class, attending BRAZZ was not only interesting to listen to, but was interesting to think about the music in terms of terminology learned in class.

Going into my first Wednesday Noon Hour Concert, I didn’t know what to expect. Despite the familiar instruments, the pieces performed were nothing like I had ever heard before. The program was musically cohesive, which each piece distinct enough to be remember individually, but also similar enough so that the entire concert portrayed a common theme. After sitting through the performances, it seemed to me that the overall feeling of the concert was one of intensity and urgency, as many of the pieces portrayed these feelings. There were total of four performers: Paolo Bortolussi (flute), Megumi Masaki (pianos), Keith Hamel (electronics), and Joe Franch-Ballester (paper).

Thought all the pieces, I noticed the use of trills to build intensity and a sense of urgency in the music. A number of the pieces also used unique methods of producing sound that I had never witnessed before. The flautist utilized the sounds of the keys beings pressed down as part of the music, while the pianist reached into the grand piano to create sounds in addition to traditionally pressing down onto the keys to produce sound. The first performance by the flautist also produced wind-line sounds in addition to musical notes, which created a unique airiness in some segments of the music. As the music was so dramatic and tense, the music reminded me of something I wound hear in the background of a movie during a critical scene. It also sounded as if much of the music performed did not contain meter, as the music was not being played in time with any particular beat.

One of my favourite aspects of the concert was how the music was combined with multimedia. The solo piano piece utilized a short film, which helped further emphasis the feeling of the music. The pianist alternated between moments of serenity and intensity, creating a strong juxtaposition between the two through both music and the video. During the serene moments, the music was slow, soft, and almost still and suspended sounding. In comparison, the musing during the intense parts was loud, and fervent.

The flute and clarinet duet also utilized multimedia in their performance. In the video, the flute was represented by a red spark while the clarinet was represented by the blue. Personally, this was my favourite piece performed as I loved how the music mimicked the behaviour and movement of the sparks relative to each other. The flautist and clarinetist perfectly captured the way the sparks moved across the screen, by embodying their energy and brightness. I also thought the small detail of the flautist and clarinetist dressing in the colour of their respective spark’s colour was a thoughtful touch.

Overall, this concert was a brand new experience to me and has opened me up to a whole new type of music. The concerts that I have attended in the past were typically of classical music or of the jazz genre, so this was definitely an eye-opening experience. The use of unconventional sounds and the incorporation of multimedia into the musical performance intrigued me. I’m interested in exposing myself to new genres through these concerts put on by the music department.