Stroma’s second concert of the year could scarcely have felt different to the first. The uniquely lyrical modernism of Jenny McLeod, David Downes’ ferocious rhythmic onslaught and Michael Norris’ fierce technicality were replaced  by music of pure aggression, at least for the first half of the concert. American-based New Zealander Chris Gendall, who I have a weird feeling may be an Onslow graduate, won the 2008 SOUNZ Contemporary Award with Wax Lyrical. To be perfectly frank, and although the piece was delicious, delicious soup, it probably shouldn’t have won. Wax Lyrical is based off a single device – a forced gesture that expands into a held note. The interaction between melodic lines – which all seem to utilise this device aside from the harp and piano, which cannot – is quite spectacular, but there is simply too much of it; there is very little contrast of instrumentation, with either the whole ensemble playing or a solo string.

UnCage my HeArt was loud, chaotic, and absolutely hilarious. I really hope that nobody was listening to the radio broadcast of the concert, because it really would make no sense at all. Jeff Henderson’s score is a box, or rather many different boxes, with one unique box for each of the performers and conductor. From what it was possible to take in, each side of each box had particular characteristics and techniques associated with it, depending upon the various colours and images painted thereon. For much of the piece there was seemingly only a single dynamic – as loud as possible – although there were moments of relative calm at box-turning points.

Three theories about UnCage my HeArt:

1. Just a fun piece of music, with no real extramusical meaning. If this is the case, it succeeded admirably. I was laughing. Jo was laughing. Probably everybody else was laughing.
2. “I know what would be fun! I’ll troll a bunch of pretentious snobs by creating a preposterously complex improvised work which will have them nodding in approval as they ponder its implications whilst stroking their beards!” This would, I suppose, explain why it lasted so long, and why it was so utterly idiomatically passé. And why the title makes such pointed hints.
3. Henderson was actually 100% serious. There actually was some significance to these sounds! I want suggestions.

Quaderno di Strada demonstrated a much greater sense of instrumentation than Wax Lyrical. The work is a song cycle, with texts taken from a number of found sources, including a letter from Rainer Maria Rilke. The voice part is surprisingly light on extended technique, but does include a number of potentially difficult registral shifts. Sciarrino uses a cellular method of constructing the instrumentation, slowly developing and layering repeating passages. It is sparsely orchestrated, to make the most of the various timbres, particularly the flute. The dynamics are largely very quiet – a complete contrast to the violence of UnCage my HeArt – in fact, the loudest moment came when Bridget Douglas dropped one of the many flutes in her lap while changing. Nicholas Isherwood sang very finely, bringing out the sense of loss and regret that pervaded most of the texts.