Voices to illuminate the gloom (Stimmung/Match Girl)
20.02.09, The Australian
Stimmung/The Little Match Girl Passion. Theatre of Voices. Winthrop Hall, University of Western Australia. February 16 and 18.
AS the last of the twilight glow filtered through the stained glass windows of Winthrop Hall, six barefoot singers processed slowly in the cathedral-like gloom to a raised stage in the centre of the hall. Then, seated on cushions around a low table, with a globe-shaped lamp to illuminate their scores, they embarked on the hour-long journey through Karlheinz Stockhausen's extraordinary vocal work, Stimmung.
With melodic material based solely on six pitches from the overtone series of B flat, and fragmentary, often nonsensical text, Stimmung may not seem very promising as an evening's entertainment. However, this committed and technically polished performance by the Theatre of Voices, combined with the moody atmosphere of the hall, created an engaging and often transporting experience.
Two nights later, the ensemble returned with artistic director Paul Hillier to present a thoughtfully-conceived program spanning the 12th to the 21st centuries. Works by Dufay, Leonin and Perotin showcased the singer's vocal agility as they knitted together these complex scores filled with elaborate embellishments and interlocking phrases. For the most part, they sang with considerable flair, maintaining an almost playful sense of rhythmic vitality. Only in the Veni creator did there seem a slight sense of unease and a less than perfect tonal blend between the three female voices.
"How small a thought it takes to fill a whole life!" wrote Wittgenstein in 1946, and it is no surprise that this resonates so strongly for Steve Reich, who has spent his whole career writing music based on minimalist ideas.
Wittgenstein's quote forms the basis of Proverb, a work for five singers, two vibraphones and two keyboards and inspired by early vocal music. Reich creates a characteristically complex rhythmic texture through the manipulation of early vocal techniques. As with much of his music, Proverb requires intense concentration and precision and under Hillier's incisive, unfussy direction this was an impressive and rhythmically tight performance.
The focal point of the concert was David Lang's Pulitzer Prize winning The Little Match Girl Passion. Based on the Hans Christian Andersen tale of a little girl who freezes to death on a city street on New Year's Eve, and inspired by Bach's St Matthew Passion, this is a beautifully crafted, deeply moving work.
In this stunning performance, the four singers, who also played percussion instruments, transcended the works difficulties to capture the heart of this simple, achingly-poignant story.
Mark Coughlan