This Sunday: Ars Subtilior No. 2Our resident cellist Laura Cetilia curates the Ars Subtilior series and gives us a preview of this Sunday's concert: The second edition of Ars Subtilior this Sunday, March 9 at 4:30 pm at Machines with Magnets in Pawtucket will feature works for piano and cello by composer Alvin Lucier. I am extremely excited to be presenting this program, as I consider Lucier truly one of today's greatest living composers. My initial intention of starting the Ars Subtilior series was due in part to the influence of Lucier's ideas on my own musical life and aesthetic. Much of Lucier's work is influenced by science and explores the physical properties of sound itself: resonance of spaces, phase interference between closely tuned pitches, and the transmission of sound through physical media. What results from such deep exploration of sound is something that I find completely mesmerizing and beautiful. Listeners sometimes forget that sound is having a physical effect on them, especially sounds other than those that are loud or abrasive. What happens in Lucier's music is so subtle it can easily be lost if one doesn't know what to listen for. On Sunday's concert Sakiko Mori, myself, and the adventurous and generous engineers and producers from the Machines with Magnets recording studio will be presenting three of his works. In Music For Piano With Slow Sweep Pure Wave Oscillators, two pure electronic soundwaves start on the same note, and then diverge and converge over 16 minutes. Meanwhile, sparse droplets of piano notes follow their movement, but never quite hitting the same pitch, leaving ripples of disturbance in the pure waves' wake. This gentle "beating" also occurs in Twonings for cello and piano, but on a much subtler scale. The cello plays only (high and difficult to reach) harmonics throughout. The pianist attempts to play in unison with the cello, but due to the different tuning systems of the instruments (equal temperament of the piano, compared with just intonation of the cello), slight audible beating occurs. Finally, in Music for Cello and One or More Amplified Vases, you will hear the sounds of the cello magically resonate through a variety of amplified glass vessels. Each one of these vases have been hand-made specifically for this event by RISD Glass faculty member Jocelyne Price. You can see samples of the vases that will be used at the concert below. I invite you to experience this stunning and unusual music in person on Sunday, and don't forget to change your clocks before heading over. Ars Subtilior No. 2 a concert series on subtlety in experimental music featuring Sakiko Mori, piano and Laura Cetilia, cello
Sunday, March 9 at 4:30 pm at Machines with Magnets 400 Main Street, Pawtucket $5-15 suggested donation |
