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CONTENTSCONGRATULATIONS
TO . . ., 3 LIVE EVENTS I
Hear Museum Art (B.L.C./Greenfest) <> Mad Dreams and Brits
(Hickey), 6 DOTTED NOTES
INTERVIEW SPEAKING OUT!
THE PRINTED WORD RECORDINGSÀ outrance
à la Anderson (de Clef Piñeiro) <> RECENT RELEASES, 31 THE
PUZZLE CORNER: COMPOSER INDEX, 34 BULLETIN BOARD, 35 WEB SUPPLEMENTLive EventsEquinox
Chamber Players In Concert for Impact CD ReviewsHarrison
Birtwistle: Refrains and Choruses ObituariesArthur
Berger (1912-2003) |
Discovering Monk’s “mercy”Debra KayeMeredith Monk: mercy: Voices: Theo Bleckmann, Allison Easter, Katie Geissinger, Ching Gonzalez, John Hollenbeck, Ms. Monk, Allison Sniffin. Instrumentalists: Allison Sniffen (piano, synthesizer, viola, violin); John Hollenbeck (percussion, marimba, vibraphone, melodica, piano); Bohdan Hilash: (clarinet in B flat, A, and E flat; bass and contrabass clarinets). ECM 1829. (TT=57:23) Meredith Monk’s
mercy begins with her solo voice on the syllables “mee kee.”
It develops melismatically, reminiscent of the Kyrie of the mass. A
second voice enters in counterpoint; one by one others follow, giving
the sense that while this began as a personal statement, it is a kind
of “everyman’s” journey. It feels like a supplication.
In contrast to these long smooth lines the second theme enters like
a bird-call, “basliana coe, ba coe, ba coe.” It develops rhythmically,
while “mee kee” recedes chant-like into The approximately sixty-minute piece is built largely on ostinati and Ms. Monk shows us how much variety is possible with this technique. Phrases are often truncated or extended creating a rhythmic vitality that avoids predictability. Throughout the 14 movements, themes return and are developed, contributing again to the sense of journey. Elements from a variety of styles combine, sometimes simultaneously. Whispered patterns of unequal beats are layered with the swing beat of the jazz drummers’ brush (rendered vocally) in a jagged overlap. The sixth section, “doctor/patient,” is the emotional center of the piece. Strikingly, the word “help” emerges. “Help.....helpa, helpa, helpa, help.” The word calls back to the “mercy” of the title. As it is reiterated, breathiness creeps in, vowels change. These elements recombine to form new vocal motifs, blending concrete words with Ms. Monk’s unique vocal language. By the time words appear again in later sections, they are already part of the sonic landscape. The two forms of language have established common ground and found a way to move in and out of each other.
Ms. Monk’s use of the seven-voice ensemble makes it sound like a much larger group at times. The usual distinctions between male and female voice types are often blurred. She explores their common register where they can have the same pitch, but eerily different timbres. Sometimes she extends their range, and brings each into what is usually the other’s realm, with men singing high, and women low. Her use of the extremes of a single voice is also notable. A high voice might suddenly imitate itself down low. When this technique is used throughout the ensemble it creates a hocketing effect. The complete ensemble includes an array of instruments: piano, synthesizer, viola, violin, percussion, marimba, vibraphone, melodica, and a variety of clarinets. At first they support and blend with the voices. As the piece unfolds the instrumental ensemble acquires its own voice, and comes to the foreground in instrumental interludes and in equal partnership with the singers. Throughout, Ms. Monk seems to be conveying the phenomenon of mercy as an unfolding, transformational process. In the final segment, “core chant”, the piece returns to a primarily vocal texture, offering a sense of strength and affirmation before the steady 4/4 lurches off on the 4th beat, into a vast, mysterious silence. The CD is beautifully recorded and packaged. The tight ensemble performance is expressive and impeccably in tune. This is a cohesive work of art. Ms. Monk declares, in a 1996 mission statement that one of her goals is “to create an art that reaches toward emotion we have no words for.” This piece is a beautiful realization of that intention. <>
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