DAST to be disbanded?

The report on the front page of the Sunday Times today reads that An Bord Snip Nua (a ridiculous name for the committee charged with assessing spending in the government departments – every time I hear it it I think of circumcision) is to recommend the abolition of the Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism. Rumours are abound that the arts and sports functions of DAST will be assimilated into a new Department of Recreation along with the functions of the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht affairs.

There is no mention of what would happen the QUANGO’s associated with each Dept in the brief piece in the Sunday Times. The report goes to the Department of Finance early this week and it will be up to Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan to pick his way through the many recommendations spanning all government departments. More on this when rumours can be confirmed (or refuted) next week…

Irish Times article here

Upcoming gigs

I can’t believe it’s over a week since I had a chance to last post something. Serious work has started on the performance I’m planning for later this year in Tipperary – more on that anon – and I’ve been so busy with Music Network I haven’t had a chance really.

Last week we launched the second year of the Music Capital Scheme. The deadline for applications isn’t until Monday 02 November but the enquiries are already coming in thick and fast. There are two streams of funding this year; Stream 1 – support for the purchase of instruments for amateur performing groups; Stream 2 – support for individual highly-skilled musicians to purchase an instrument to help further their career. All the information is on the Music Network website and you can also have a chat with me about it by calling 01 6719429.

I’m heading to see the National Chamber Choir perform this evening in the National Gallery. The programme is titled L’amour Francais and features works by Saint-Saens (I’ve been singing the Babe version of his Organ Symphony all day – reggae mice version here!! – also, the NSO are performing the Organ Symphony in September!! Can’t wait, it’s one of my all-time favourite works, hense all the exclamation marks!!) and new works including works by Ohana and Kerhoas. I’m really looking forward to being serenaded for the evening!

Lorcan MacMathuna’s Northern Lights project is on tour at the moment – check if out if you can

This is an awful lot of fun

ToneMatrix from Andre Michelle’s Laboratory. Hours and hours of fun!

Culture Notes

A couple of performances are on this weekend that it would be worth trying to get to:

Tonight (Friday 19 June) La Catedral Studios present Midsummer Mini-Salon at The Back Loft. The “madness, mayhem and mesmeric mystification” starts at 8pm.

I mentioned previously (but unless I’m reminded I tend to forget things so for now I’ll assume everyone has the same goldfish memory) that the CMC are presenting Music for Midsummer as a part of Temple Bar Cultural Trust’s Midsummer in Temple Bar programme on Saturday at 6pm in the CMC Library.

In my previous post I mentioned the Spatial MC gig in the NCH on Weds last. I just read this morning that a work by Jonathan Nangle, one the composers featured in the Spatial MC performance, was selected by the International Rostrum of Composers as a recommended work in the Under 30 catagory. More information on the Irish submissions for the ICR on RTÉ lyric fm’s Nova .

The Hugh Lane Sundays at Noon series features bassist Malachy Robinson performing Ian Wilson’s work Schattentiefe. This coming Sunday 21 June at Noon… 

Stepping away from music for a moment, visual artist Fergus Byrne sent on a quick email about Bodily Trace Drawing Day - a workshop with Fergus which takes place all day tomorrow, Sat 20 June, in The Lab. More info here

Spatial MC at NCH

I’ve decided I’m not going to be upset with myself at my distinct lack of imagination in blog post titles. I put my hands up and confess that I do not possess this skill. Blog titles, witty limericks, knock-knock jokes – I simply don’t have the specific type of imagination required for their creation. So my blog titles will do exactly what they say on the tin.

To that end this post is about the Spatial MC performance, titled 8.4, in the concert hall last night (Wed 17 June). This is the first of the collective’s programmed performances I’ve managed to attend and I can say with confidence it won’t be the last.

The programme consisted of seven works of multi-channel electronic/electro-acoustic music by Irish and international composers. I find that my language in discussing new electronic and electro-acoustic music is as yet underdeveloped so those of you reading this with a knowledge of such things will have to excuse the lack of technical terms in this account. My personal experience of experimental electronics is relatively new, the past few years being a very steep learning curve in this area. I haven’t yet developed a knowledge of the techniques and conventions in the area so am still reacting to the music on a very emotional level. For this reason there were a couple of works in the programme that stood out for me.

scatter (for aengus martin) is a work by Irish composer Jonathan Nangle which evoked very specific images through the use of high pitched tones underwritten with thudding, crackling low pitch explosions. At first the muffled boom and crackling of the lower tones brought festival fireworks to mind but as the work went on they started to take on a more sinister representation that brought to mind falling bombs and occasionally took on a sound like machine-gun fire. In combination with the high-pitched tones it had the effect of sounding like a conflict zone. The transformation of the frivolous evocation of fireworks into a deadly disturbing sound of war brought to mind the video work created by Albanian artist Anri Sala in the current Medium Religion exhibition presented by The Model in Sligo. (In that work Sala stares into the camera executing a series of descending whistles, calling to mind the sound a bomb makes when it’s falling.)

I’ve no idea if Nangle had intended the evocation of these images through his work but it had a lasting effect on my experience of the evening and it was some time before I could focus on the next work in the programme, Spear Fragment by Ian McDonnell.

In contrast to what went before McDonnell’s work was closer to my initial experiences of electronics in music as experienced in the electro tents at festivals such as Electric Picnic. Spear Fragment constantly brought me to the edge of an electro-dance tune through a consistent improvised beat without ever crossing over, leaving me in an uncomfortable position between mainstream electro and new electronics.

Another work which struck me during the performance was a 2008 work by invited guest Eric Lyon. An American composer of “computer chamber music, spatial orchestration and articulated noise”, Lyon presented Clusters, a work of electroacoustic piano music. (I wonder if when programming Spatial MC weren’t thinking of some sort of conflict based theme with titles such as scatter, spear fragment, Clusters and clusterphobe (Linda Buckley)). Lyon made use of what occasionally felt like cheap parlour tricks but which made me wish I was seated in the dead centre of the room, even though in the programme notes Lyon mentions there is actually no one “sweet spot” in the room but a multiple prime locations to experience the sound. Ascending and descending clusters of piano samples which jumped in rapid succession from speaker to speaker in a spiral made my head spin and gradually got louder, occasionally reversing until I wasn’t sure how much more I could take.

A comic interval in the evening was the common experience when attending performances of contemporary music – not being entirely sure if a work is over! Sean Reed’s Imperishable Raptures was injected with silences, one of which lasted a whole 5 seconds towards the end of the work and was taken by most of the audience to be the end. Hands were just coming together to clap when it took off again, leaving a few audience members red-faced, giggling nervously at that horribly classical faux pas! My general rule of thumb is to watch the composer during the performance of their work (this obviously only works for contemporary music). Usually sitting tense and barely breathing during the performances their bodies visibly sag with relief at the end of the work. Clap!

New music on Newstalk

A quick post - Roger Doyle and Donnacha Dennehy will be discussing contemporary music in Ireland with Fionn Davenport on Culture Shock this evening (Thurs 18 June) at 10pm, Newstalk 106

Culture Notes

Journal of Music are giving away a pair of tickets to the Spatial Music Collective concert in the NCH this coming Wednesday 17 June at 8.30. Email editor@journalofmusic.com to be in with a chance to hear 8.4 – a performance of multichannel electronic and electroacoustic works.

The Irish Composers Collective (ICC) have a new website, check it out

The Hilliard Ensemble are coming to Dundalk on 01 October to perform their Arkhangelos programme as a part of Louth Contemporary Music Society’s Temenos 09 Sacred Songs and Archangels programme.

Midsummer in Temple Bar kicks off this coming Saturday 20 June to celebrate the longest of the year. The CMC are getting involved presenting an evening of “music, conversation and refreshments“ Download the weekend programme here.

I still haven’t had a chance to sit and write a little about the Crash Ensemble Double Portraits performance – time is running away from me!

I did make it to Julie Feeney’s launch of her new album Pages in Crawdaddy last week. I like Feeney’s music but knowing the extent of her abilities as a composer/singer/producer/musician/songwriter/educator/theatre artist I was disappointed with the performance on the night. A full complement of strings took to the stage with her (some of the best performers working in Ireland at the moment) but, apart from long bass support on the cello on occasion, didn’t play a note until half way through the performance . When the strings did eventually play the arrangements seemed elegant but safe, not venturing too far from supporting chords. I felt there is much more to Feeney than was ventured in the performance. We were treated to a hint of that “much more” by the first piece on the evening; a solo vocal exercise, which sounded like a Scandinavian folk song, and absolutely tested Feeney’s own vocal abilities – more of that sort of thing please!

The best part of the evening for me was a ten minute support from Eoin & Moley O’Suilleabhain under their performance name Size2Shoes- a lighthearted interlude of what they term “inspirational pop” that was hilarious and desperately entertaining while still demonstrating that these are two young musicians very confidant in their knowledge of music and their vocal abilities. Their very close, high-pitched harmonies can be unnerving at times but exquisite in their perfect pitch. I loved them!

Gig reviews

I’m going to hold off on writing about the Crash Ensemble gig on Friday last for a few days as I forgot to pick up a programme at the performance in Samuel Beckett. I’d rather not go into it without the programme as I can’t remember exactly the works and order of those works. So, more on that later…

I did, however, pick up a programme for the Sunday evening performance of Persian and Sephardic music in Samuel Beckett. The performance was organised by the Herzog Centre and the School of Religions and Theology in Trinity College Dublin, in particular Dr Roja Fazaeli, Lecturer in Islamic Studies and Dr Zuleika Rodgers, Lecturer in Jewish Studies. It included performers from Ireland, England, the Netherlands, Iran, Russia and Italy. The music poses a challenge to me as it’s not often we have an opportunity to listen to live performances of music from Jewish and Islamic cultures and it was a complete learning experience. (Reading around Persian and Sephardic cultures following the performance was an even steeper learning curve!)

It may seem ridiculous to be making fashion comments in a music review but a special mention has to be made of soprano Judith Mok! The rest of the band appeared in all black and the six of them were perfectly balanced, three to the left and three to the right of Mok’s, what can only be described as magnificent, appearance. I know I’m prone to over-use of adjectives at times but I don’t think there are enough adjectives in the English language to describe the scarlet and cream, gold-waisted, silver-tasselled dress in which Mok stood in her straight-backed Jewish princess style! And that was before she started to sing.

Mok was on flying form on Sunday, as were all the musicians, demonstrating extraordinary control over her voice. They opened with three Sephardic songs, one of which, the lullaby Nani, I last heard Mok perform from a bathtub (fully-clothed mind) in Nick Roth’s house at a pre-Christmas party (believe it , I have the photos to prove it). Bathtub or no, the two lullabies Nana and Nani were beautiful, the strings and Roth’s Saxophone were mewling and keening under Mok’s gentle melody. The instruments alternated with Mok on the melody and occasionally one or other wandered off on a solo which was informal, improvised and perfect for a lullaby. Francesco Turrisi skipped between keyboard and percussion and Simon Jermyn provided a solid bass line, occasionally taking the reins in jazz-style solos that worked well with the Jewish melancholy.

The group performed twelve works, Mok or Roth explaining the works before they were performed. There is quite a legacy to some of the pieces – Adio Querida is a Spanish Sephardic song lamenting the Jewish goodbye to Spain as they left during the Spanish inquisition. Roth also introduced all the performers individually and had a palaver of a story around the Santur player Javi Afsari Rad; apparently the group were to perform with another Santur player who, through circumstances out of their control, had to cancel last minute. After tracing him through a variety of countries they finally found Javid in Norway and invited him to perform with them. This was three days before the performance on Sunday evening. Javid accepted the invitation and left Oslo to drive the two and a half hours to the Ryanair airport on Saturday evening only to find the flight cancelled! Back to Oslo and book an early flight Sunday, arrive in Dublin Sunday, rehearse and perform Sunday evening! Phew! His performance was wonderful and there was no indication of the extreme exhaustion he was surely suffering!

One of the real pleasures of the evening for me personally was hearing Cora Venus Lunny bring the viola into a space that was entirely its own. Whether plucking quietly at the strings, complementing Mok’s melody with an extra voice or during an improvised solo, Lunny displayed a mastery over an area of performance I have not heard her engage with previously. Lunny is soon to release a solo album so watch this space for more information.

Dublin living

As  much as I talk about missing the country and spending a lot of time on trains up and down to Tipp/Sligo/Cork I still adore living in this city and this morning was a prefect example of why. I had to pop out to do a site visit – at a deadly new space in the Blackpitts, Dublin Art Mill - and decided as I had some time to spare I’d pick up some messages on the way home. I picked up more than anticipated and ended up having to get a taxi home. I gave my address, near the Peppercanister, and the driver, a Dub, asked what was overthat direction. I said “home” and he launched into an incredible list, from memory, of all the artists who lived in the area.

The whole area around the Peppercanister, from Clare St, through Merrion Sq, to the canal and over to Baggot St was once a poorer part of Dublin with loads of families in the tall Georgian houses. It turns out Brendan Behan lived 5 doors up from where I am now. I knew of the Joyce and Wilde houses nearby because of the plaques on the building fronts but was oblivious to the fact that Beckett lived and wrote four of his books on Clare St, just across from that old bookshop (that now tragically has been replaced by a Henry Jermyn clothes shop). The driver, a film maker called Mick Foran, even had a book listing the streets of Dublin and all the artists who lived on those streets.

Just as I was getting out of the taxi he offered me a deal; he gave me a CD of an interview with Brendan Behan telling anecdotes and singing Irish folk songs and in return I was to check out his last film online and leave a comment. I’m listening to the CD as I speak and it’s wonderful (Behan blows his nose, excuses himself and says “That’s what they call the national guitar. If anyone is thinking of coming to Ireland you better stop unless you’ve got very good nostrils”). So please check out Mick’s film on Vimeo – it’s called Bullets and Brothers. My computer is acting up this afternoon and I can’t viewing the film but will watch it from a different computer tomorrow.

In other news – a fun night planned – My Heart is in the East in Samuel Beckett at 6.30pm, then a nice dinner with a friend and then JJ Smyths to check out Pendulum.

Pics competition

A friend of mine is working on the celebrations surrounding the Volvo Ocean Race and flagged this photo competition to me. It seems the race is everywhere – Lyric fm are broadcasting from there today and it’s been all over the media for the last few weeks. The competition sounds kinda cool – the idea is to demonstrate through photos the amazing quality of life in the west of Ireland. I’m really late coming to this and the deadline for photos is tomorrow but if you were there over the last few weeks and have deadly photos as a result head over to the pix.ie pages and upload. There’s loads of camera gear on offer for comp winners.

Heading into Crash Ensemble’s Double Portrait this evening – see you there!