Montreal | December 23, 2016
Contemporary classical music can be hard to digest. I have attended many contemporary classical music concerts in respectable venues and to be honest, I never enjoyed any of these performances. Just last week, I discovered that I was listening to the right music, but at the wrong place!
In a hidden corner of St-Laurent Boulevard, lies what is possibly my new favorite place to hang out and discover more music: “Casa del Popolo”. It’s a chill bar and music venue at affordable prices. “A Night of Contemporary Classical Music” was the title of the performance that took place on December 20 at 8:30 pm. It featured 3 McGill student composers: Takuto Fukuda, Xue Han and Michael Kim-Sheng.
The first piece, titled “Beyond the Eternal Chaos” by the 32 year old composer T. Fukuda was performed by the impressively talented flutist, Mariléne Provencher-Leduc, who showed complete mastery over her instrument and the work, accompanied by “electronics“. What I liked about Fukuda’s composition was that it had a clear idea, climax points and form. This piece had sounds from my childhood, and sounds I have not yet heard. A weird mixture of nature VS alien.
The second piece was “Centrifugal Melodies”, also composed by T. Fukuda. Performed by violinist Edward Dai, Flutist Mariléne Provencher-Leduc and Harpist Asli Yumustutan, this piece highlighted dissonances between the flute and violin, and ended like the previous piece with a big climax of tones and dynamics, fading quickly into nothing. What I found quite enjoyable about this piece is the extended techniques used on the harp, such as the employment of a card board to play the harp strings, creating new interesting colours.
When you meet with the second composer of the evening, Xue Han, you would not believe that this cute girl is a 27 year old doctoral student in composition, who can turn everyday routine into serious music. “My inspiration for tonight’s composition titled Sub Rosa came from traditional Chinese drama and theatre. You can hear people talking and screaming in this composition” said Han with a smile. Han did not employ electronics in her composition, but created an atmosphere full of tension with a string quartet, which featured violinists Jung Tsai and Edward Dai, Violist Rebecca Leilah Chaqor and Cellist Fiona Robson.
The performance ended with the second movement from “Unseal II” composed by Michael Kim-Sheng. To me, this was the highlight of the evening. Kim-Sheng knows exactly how to make the best out of a string quartet, creating colorful harmonies and resonances. The music was highly influenced by Wagner, yet kept its original identity.
What I concluded from attending this performance at Casa del Popolo, is that maybe contemporary classical music does not belong in the concert halls, not yet at least, and a glass of good wine can make you enjoy it way more! So here’s to less expectation and judgment, more listening and open-mindedness…