Category Archives: Uncategorized

As I was exploring concert opportunities on campus, the one called UBC Composers’ Concerts came upon my attention. Being a non-music-major student, I had very little knowledge of what music students could create aside from learning music theory, history and technology, and practicing existing music works. Therefore, I went to the UBC Composers’ concert with no expectation of what I was going to see.

The concert was not only about one specific genre or instrument. It started with a small brass ensemble, then moved on to a guitar quartet, then female voice duets, violin duets, solo singing with piano accompaniment, and ended with John Stetch – a jazz pianist before he returned to school for his masters in composition – on piano with percussion accompaniment. I must say that the concert went absolutely beyond my imagination. It was mind-blowing for me to hear how those instruments that I thought I was familiar with could be played in a way that sounded completely new to me.

Even though the instruments used were different for each set of performances, I think all the compositions had one similar theme, which was about mystery, gloominess, madness, and absurdity. Almost all compositions were through-composed, and I could rarely find harmonic chords – most of the chords were inharmonic and somehow unpleasant to the ears, which created a sense of absurdity and gloominess. However, I could see that the composers were trying to be very novel rather than being conservative on their arrangements; for example, all four guitar players were playing not only at different rhythms, but also at different meters, which made my ears very busy trying to follow what each of them was doing.

One example of how an instrument sounded different from its traditional sound was the way a student played his guitar during the guitar quartet. He played his guitar with a lot of vibrato on his fingers, creating a sound very similar to how guzheng, a traditional Chinese instrument, would sound. This did not make him stand out from the other three guitarists but rather blended in well while creating surprises for the audiences.

The last song played by John Stetch was the most impressive one to me. It was an evolution of madness, a cluster of piano-percussion experiments, and an eager expression of feelings. Again, it was through-composed, and I doubt that it involved with a bit of improvisation as well, based on the complexity of each chord and how the percussionist hit different percussion instruments/items so randomly. As the intensity and the speed continued to grow and reached to a mad level towards the ending of the piece, Stetch even stood up and started to use his elbows to hit the piano keys, while the percussionist was literally trying to hit everything he could see. It reminded me of how Beethoven would also be ‘mad’ when he composed his symphonies, but I just could not imagine if Beethoven decided to elbow the piano in his piece and it somehow ended up being recorded on scores.

Having heard a completely new style of composition, I could not resist recalling what I learned in class about how the popularity of opera seria / French Operas had been taken over by the ‘intermezzis’ opera buffa / Italian Comic Operas and people (although mostly high-class people) were unhappy about this new form of opera at first. To be honest, I might not be able to appreciate through-composed pieces with the presence of so many inharmonic chords as much as I appreciate Bach’s structured fugues with intensive use of imitative polyphony. However, I know that without creativity, innovation, and courage to be different from what’s out there now, the history of music could never have been as majestic as it is now. It’s hard to say what kind of music is right and what is wrong, but music never gets enough of innovation.

For the final performance I watched, I saw the UBC Korean Percussion Ensemble, which I think was a great way to end off the term. The entire performance was so lively and it was nice to see the students genuinely having fun playing with each other and performing for the audience that just kept growing since it was outside on the plaza. They started their performance sitting down and it seemed as though they were playing a few pieces all strung together. The first thing that really struck me about this performance was how incredibly loud the instruments were, especially the brass/metal drum-like ones. I could really feel the ground and my body shake every time they struck their instruments. But it was very well balanced with the wooden drums that kind of muted each piece. The metal drums were like thunder and lightning striking and the wooden drums felt more like the heartbeat.

The other three pieces the students played were all standing, which I found to be the most interesting because there was a lot more energy and movement involved, and this is where the performance really came to life for me. With the beats and the walking, it felt almost like a marching band of just percussion instruments. I noticed that their movements would match the tempo, so if it was a slower beat, the musicians would walk and as the piece picked up speed, they would too, so there were times when they were running around while they played which I found to be extremely fun. I’m not well versed on Korean percussion, but I would be interested to learn about how they put together the routes and patterns they take when they move because there were clear leaders that led the group in certain directions. When they were walking, I noticed that sometimes they would all follow the same direction, but sometimes the wood and metal drums would break off and go in separate directions and do their own thing, but they always came back together and would end each piece by banging on their instruments that kind of mimicked clapping and turning in a circle in both directions. They encouraged audience participation through having the audience call out Korean phrases whenever they were “feeling the performance” and for the last piece, they came out into the audience and handed some of their instruments off for random people to join and play with them. This was particularly enjoyable to watch because you could see the confusion and nerves on the selected people’s faces because they would be trying to match the beat so they could play with the rest of the ensemble in harmony.

The Oral Composition performance was such an interesting concept, because it was done for a class with 10 students and they each had to compose a piece and teach the rest of the class how to play it orally. The professor briefly explained that they spent the first few weeks of the term learning about rhythms and beats and how to construct a piece, and then they began composing, and then finally getting to teach it to the rest of the class. They performed each of the 10 pieces and we got to see how each student’s composition was unique from the rest. The concept of this course sounds so challenging, yet very creative and fun and I can only imagine how difficult it was to not only compose a 3 minute piece with 10 different percussion parts but to then teach it orally to the class, and then memorise each piece to perform in front of an audience. Just thinking about doing all of that sounds daunting, so I applaud them all for putting on such a great performance.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself during this performance, and my mood was only boosted by the fact that they played outside with the beautiful weather with the blooming cherry blossom trees in the background. The musicians all sat in a circle, took their shoes off, and got comfortable and it was evident that they were all having a great time playing with each other. They were all smiling and making eye contact to connect with each other and to stay on time and overall it was just great vibes. It was also really nice to see what some of the UBC music students work on during the term because I’ve never really been exposed to what they do in the music department.

There were some really complicated and intricate pieces composed for this performance, and I can see how necessary their seating arrangement was to execute some of the parts because they really had to look at each other and see what they were doing in order to stay together. I was also interested in the instruments they used, as I haven’t seen many of them before, but there were some I recognised like a gong or cymbals, but there were also some small metal drum-like instruments that almost looked like a baking tin. What I have enjoyed so far about some of these performances is that I have been exposed to a lot of new instruments, which has been a nice change to what I’m used to. As someone who has more experience playing music with melodies, seeing two percussion performances has been really new and different for me because the music is created solely from rhythm and beat in combination with the different sounds each percussion instrument makes. It’s a completely different experience because instead of having an idea of where the piece may go melodically, I can follow along with just a specific rhythmic pattern or be completely surprised with something that disrupts the pattern.

James Bay is one of my favourite artists at the moment, so I have been looking forward to seeing him live or a while now since I have missed his previous visits to Vancouver. Going to see my favourite artists live is always one of my favourite things to do because I get to experience their music on a whole new level rather than just hearing them through my headphones. James has released two full albums, both quite different from each other. His first album, Chaos and the Calm is a much more subdued and calm album, with more acoustic pieces while his second, Electric light, has a little more production behind it and has more upbeat songs. When he was performing, it was easy to tell which song came from which album as he switched between electric and acoustic guitars, and as a guitar lover, it was so great to get to experience his guitar playing live because I never knew he was so talented. He had some really guitar moments in there on top of his incredible singing. I wouldn’t say I was surprised that he was so amazing on the guitar, but I wasn’t expecting it because from listening to his albums on my own, I never realized a lot of his songs were so guitar-heavy. James’s band was also so great and it was fun to watch them interact with each other while they were playing because you could see how much they were enjoying themselves and the chemistry they have as a group.

Just on a side note, James’s opening act was Noah Kahan, who I had never heard of before, but I really connected with his music because it fits right into the genre that I listen to, so I’m glad that I got to discover a new artist and I look forward to exploring more of his music in the future.

James as a performer is extremely fun to watch as well because you can see how much of energy he gives on the stage and to each song. His vocal range is also much wider than I had realized. As this was the only big concert I went to this term, and because it was so different in comparison to the ones that I watched here on campus, it was a nice change up from the instrument-driven performances I have seen. There is so much more engagement with the audience in these kinds of performances because the artist can talk to the audience and James was able to kind of have a conversation with everyone. Plus everyone is able to let loose and show their appreciation for the music and performance as much as they want, which really brings up the energy and atmosphere of the whole room. I think the greatest takeaway I have from seeing James Bay live is how much better he is than I thought because his records don’t show off how far his talent really extends.

I did not think I was going to watch another contemporary music concert again, but here I am. It just so happened that the performance I chose to go to today was a contemporary music one, but just as I had suspected, it was completely different to the first one I watched. What struck me when I first walked into the concert hall was the set up on stage, because it was very full with a lot of different stations, and front and centre was a stuffed monkey and banana. So of course, I was intrigued to see where this would go because from what I learned from the first performance I watched, is that contemporary music completely baffles me and throws me off. The first piece consisted of just various plant pots and the musician playing them with what looked like chopsticks. What I also was not expecting was the spoken word aspect that went along with it, so just like one of the pieces from the last concert I attended, there was a vocal aspect that was very poetic. I think I understood this piece more than I did the ones from the previous concert I watched because I can see the connection between the name of the piece: “To the Earth,” the poem, and the pots.

The second piece was unusual as well. Honestly, I think that’s the best way I can describe all of the contemporary pieces I have experienced because they are unusual from what I am used to. This piece was the reason for the intricate stage set up, as the two musicians moved from the back of the stage forwards, each playing an instrument at each station as they came towards the front of the stage. I would have to say the climax of the piece was the monkey and banana, which turned out to be rattles or shakers, and when they picked them up, the audience couldn’t help but laugh. Hopefully that was the intention, because otherwise we were all very rude, but the use of random items that can be found around the household in this piece did kick up some chuckles. I think visually and conceptually, this piece was very cool because of how it was composed and how the piece moved not only musically but also physically.

Do I know how to appreciate and write about the contemporary music genre yet? Not at all, I was still very much confused through this concert just as I was in the first one, and I think it is an acquired taste. The experience of a concert like this is very different than that of a pop artist or seeing the VSO, but I’m glad that I have gone to watch two different contemporary music performances because had I not had to do this for class, I don’t think I would have ever been exposed to music like this. It is always nice to discover what else is out there in the world outside of my usual interests.

I’m not sure if I know where to start with this journal because this performance left me a little bit confused. For my first performance I watched, I saw Light and Perspective, which was a contemporary music performance, and I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything quite like it. There were only 3 instruments used in this performance – flute, piano, clarinet, and some of the pieces were accompanied by electronic sounds and visuals. I don’t think I know how to fully appreciate contemporary music because I don’t really know anything about the practices and techniques, or anything about it at all, really. I can just talk about how each piece and the entire concert made me feel and what I thought of everything because it was all very abstract to me, which I guess is kind of the point of this particular genre. It is supposed to disrupt the norm and be unexpected? How was this music supposed to make me feel? Is there a definite answer?

As soon as the first piece began, I was completely thrown off because I went into the performance not expecting anything, so when the performer started playing, I realized that I wasn’t expecting that. There were a lot of cacophonous sounds and sounds that clashed with each other and it was all very sudden and sharp. The second piece, played on the piano, was accompanied by a video of the inside of an empty home, showing random shots of different features or appliances. The musician, Megumi, also talked while she played so it sounded almost like spoken word, the piano and the talking was very subdued, and accompanied with the video, it felt almost a little bit uncomfortable and haunting. She also did something I have never seen before, where she would stand up and touch the inside of the piano to get a different effect, and that was really interesting to me because I had never really thought about the piano being used in such a way. It is a very creative and unusual thing to do and I wonder how somebody decided to make this a part of a way to play piano.

The third piece, “Displaced Light,” sounded very much like running through a jungle because of the sound effects that accompanied the flute. The flute itself was very airy and sounded I guess from watching movies and TV shows, I have come to associate that sound with exploration and adventure that takes place in a jungle setting. The final piece I got to watch, “Spark and Sizzle,” was very energetic and the visual of different light beams shooting across the screen behind the musicians really added to the movement of the piece because of how the colours, speed, and direction of the sparks matched the music. It was like a visual representation of what was being played. I think if I were to watch another contemporary music performance, I will still be pretty confused, and still not know what to expect, but I’m sure it will be a very different experience because of the wide range this genre has the ability to cover.

It was a night of impossibility! The VSO presented a repertoire that seemed to be charming but contradicted each other — an unlikely combination of Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Wagner’s Götterdämmerung, which make up the two parts of the concert. The two fellow composers, arguably the two most influential German composers of their time, contrasted sharply in their styles and ideologies. They were perceived as distinct composers, and their music also had different fates. 

This concert was so unique that it stood out among other VSO concerts — both works of music performed tonight were operas — so it involved the participation of three brilliant sopranos. Tracy Cantin. The night opened with a selection from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Overture, Scherzo, Lied with Choir*, Allegro appassionato, Con Moto tranquillo, Wedding March, Ein Tanz von Rupeln, Finale), the two soprano, Eve-Lyn de La Haye, Robyn Driedger-Klassen accompanied the full orchestra to the front of the stage. One dressed in purple, while the other dressed in green, making me think of Delibes’s famous Flower Duet.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream started with the Overture in E Major, a romantic orchestral piece, that was written when Mendelssohn was only 17 years old. The most well-known piece was certainly the Wedding March, which we hear almost every when we attend a wedding. Even though people might not know Mendelssohn or A Midsummer Night’s Dream, they could recognize the melody immediately. Also ingrained in people’s head was another Wedding March in Lohengrin, interestingly, composed by his junior competitor Wagner. Nonetheless, both Wedding March became deeply rooted in people’s heart; once they hear about it, they feel genuine vividness, joy, and happiness. 

Mendelssohn finished the composition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture when he was only 17, but sixteen years later, he was commissioned by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia to compose a full set of incidental music to be used at a German-language production in Potsdam. For this reason, the musical numbers after the Overture, including orchestral works and vocal numbers, showcase features of atmosphere music and were designed to be heard under speaking dialogues. 

The vivid theme of A Midsummer Night’s Dream attributed to the fairy-tale story settings — it took place in Ancient Greece, a time when humans and legendary creatures such as fairies lived side by side — two pairs of lovers found happiness and the story closed in a spectacular wedding which concluded that joyful couples lived happily ever after. A beautiful image of joy and love that seemed to only exist in dreams — a love story that can melt the heart of the merciless. 

During the intermission, the conductor Otto Tausk briefly explained the conflict between these two music geniuses (at least Wagner thought so). Once upon a time, Mendelssohn was the most famed and well-known musician in Germany, writing music that delighted and inspired people; Wagner, having admired Mendelssohn’s status in German music, sent his works to Mendelssohn and sought for the latter’s advice. It is unknown why Wagner never received a reply from Mendelssohn, but this “humiliation” prompted Wager to embark on a journey to tarnish Mendelssohn’s music — saying that Mendelssohn’s music was too light-hearted and could not be counted as great music works. Probably partly because of this “imagined” rivalry, Wagner adopted a distinct musical style that featured in leaden themes and attained inspiration from grand and magnificent epics. 

Wagner’s most famous and widely admired 15-hour operatic cycle — The Ring of the Nibelunges, which drew inspiration from Norse legends — was overwhelming in musical richness and emotions. This operatic work was a legend itself. It consisted of four parts, and Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods) was the concluding part of this colossal masterpiece. The three scenes: Dawn and Siegfried’s Rhine Journey, Siegfried’s Death and Funeral Music, and Brünnhilde’s Immolation together portrayed a grand mythical picture of Gods, legendary creatures, and humans on the bank of the Rhine River, and story about lust, greed, and power. With the death of Siegfried, Wagner presented a grand funeral march that stood in stark contrast with Mendelssohn’s vivacious Wedding March. The vocal scores of the last scene were delivered by soprano Tracy Cantin and her firmly magnificent voice, which resonated in the music hall.

Wagner’s music was awe-inspiring,  epical, disturbing, and overwhelmingly energetic. I admire Wagner’s genius of composing magnificent music, but it is honest to admit that it would be physically unhealthy to attend his opera more than once a week. I was going to see his Parsifal in Palais Garnier in Paris, but unfortunately, it was canceled due to technical reasons. After attending this concert, I realize that if I would be able to participate in his opera again someday, I should at least spend a week or two to be more mentally prepared. 

The clear difference between the two music virtuosos made their music end up in distinct directions. Wagner’s music and especially the magnificent Ring Cycle was appropriated by Nazi Germany as inspiration for the “vision of the future” of Germany — the fate of Earth and Norse Gods were used to parallel the Nazi’s Third Reich. Mendelssohn’s music, in contrast, was banned by the Nazi regime. However, Mendelssohn was the first to be performed in the liberation concert by the Berlin Philharmonic after the Second World War and the end of Nazi’s Reich. Thus, the combination of these two composers in a single concert was either a disaster or a brilliant success. The VSO had accomplished this impossible task — and delivered this concert of unique, dramatic, and thought-provoking experiences. 

On Monday, March 18th, I visited one of the UBC Composers’ Concerts that play during noon at the Roy Barnett Recital Hall for the first time. These series of concerts feature works composed by UBC School of Music students, and are either performed by the composer themselves or by their fellow classmates. This noon featured two Jazz works by Eugene Shen named after local places in Vancouver (“29th Avenue Station” and “Second Beach”), a guitar and vocal composition by Frederic Lau named “Night Piece”, a harp and vocal composition named “Chance Encounter” by Tze Liew, and “Avdiutt” string quartet work accompanied by vocals composed by Isaac Zee.

Of the pieces I heard that day, I think my favourite was “Chance Encounter”, composed and performed by Tze Liew (soprano), and Nathania Ko on the harp. I am bias towards this one for two reasons: I’ve always wanted to play the harp ever since I was a child, and the poem that Liew set the song to was reminiscent of the poetry I used to learn in my Chinese language class when I was in elementary school. The song itself reminded me of a through-composed aria, as it didn’t really settle on a specific melody for either the harp nor the vocals, and changed throughout, wavering from calm to powerful at times. It was very elegant, and I loved the lyrics that went along with it (she provided the poem on the back page).

Another very interesting piece was called “Avdiutt”, composed by Isaac Zee. It featured a string quartet with Robin Neuvonen and Adrian Kwan on violin, Francesca Kohn on viola, and Susie Yoo on cello, and three vocals with Roan Shankaruk and Kathleen Isaza as sopranos, and Andrea Ciona as alto. I think the vocals were definitely meant to be the highlight, from what I recall of the performance. I couldn’t hear the lyrics (they were not in English) but it sounded kind of like a conversation as they used laughter (imagine a very musical way of saying “ha-ha!”) and other speech-like noises. Distinctly, I also remember the usage of high pitch sighing. The way they would “talk back” at each other was polyphonic for sure, but only sometimes imitative; other times, the vocals seem to be interjecting and interrupting each other. Each “segment” of singing would be interrupted by the clear ting of finger cymbals. I would love to hear this again, since there was so much going on and I wasn’t able to focus on the string quartet as much as I would have liked to.

Despite only focusing on two of the five pieces I heard that afternoon, I truly enjoyed all of them. I wish I had known that this existed earlier on in my university career, as it is a very relaxing way to spend a lunch hour. I would love to hear many of these pieces again if given a chance, as I find that, for myself at least as someone with rather untrained ears, there is a lot that can be missed the first time around. Nonetheless, I would highly recommend going.

On March 10, I had the pleasure of attending UBC’s Opera Tea Series at the Old Auditorium. My prior exposure to opera, outside of this MUSC 326A class, was from seeing a few performances with my parents as a child. I recall struggling to sit still through the long productions, being the antsy child I was. Perhaps biased by these childhood memories, I went to this Opera Tea Series expecting to have a similar experience. However, I was proven quite wrong.

I walked into the auditorium, was greeted by members of the UBC Opera Ensemble clad in tuxedos and extravagant dresses, and took a seat a few rows from the stage. The first performance was an aria called Or sai chi l’onore, from Don Giovanni by Mozart. It was a lovely introductory piece, and I was surprised when the next performance was swiftly introduced just a few minutes later. I soon realized that this entire event would be comprised of many short performances, by a variety of performers. This differed from the long narrative driven productions that I remembered watching as a child.

I was thrilled when I read that Habanera from Bizet’s Carmen was on the program. Growing up, it was one of my favourite pieces to play on the violin. I’ve always adored its provocative and playful melody, and I was excited to see it as a live opera for the first time. I was surprised to see the entire UBC Opera Ensemble join the stage for the piece, forming a scene around Carmen (played by Jillian Clow). The piece began with a short musical introduction on the piano, followed by Carmen singing her aria coyly as she swayed across the stage. I was captivated to see this union of song and stage production, with the singers fully dressed in costume and acting as well. While I had always loved Habanera, I discovered a new perspective to the piece by experiencing this visual element in combination with the song. It made me gain a newfound appreciation for opera productions and the way they bridge various mediums of performance into one.

I was delighted to see that the Opera Tea Series showcased a wide variety of opera performances – with singers of all tones and performance groups of varying sizes. For example, there was a piece called Old Man River from Showboat by Jerome Kern, sung by a quartet entirely of tenors, intermixed with other performances of arias sung in soprano. The diversity in performances allowed me to appreciate each style of singing for its own unique qualities.

Asides from Habanera, another performance I enjoyed was a piece called Battle of the Dolls from Les contes d’Hoffmann by J. Offenbach. It was a whimsical piece which featured two female soprano singers, who played the part of two dolls clumsily competing with each other. Their songs and movements were frantic and childlike. Every now and then the dolls would slowly crumple and wilt – at which point, two men would come frantically running on stage and wind the dolls up to bring them back to life. It was a very foolish yet entertaining piece, and it contrasted interestingly with the arias and more ‘serious’ pieces that preceded it.

Overall, I enjoyed this Opera Tea Series event and it instilled in me a new affinity towards opera performances. I can gladly say that it has changed the perception of opera that I grew up with!