Subdued tempos, sharp compositions

A mild flurry of controversy surrounded Wednesday's New Student Works concert, the first of the year. Junior Vincent Calliano organized the event after students learned of a faculty decision to discontinue the official New Student Works concerts. These concerts were open to students from the composition, jazz and TIMARA departments; the current faculty-approved plan includes only single-department concerts. Some students believe the decision was made without proper student input and have called for a boycott of all official concerts.

There was no observable tension at the event itself; there were even a few professors in the audience.

The program was surprisingly free of fast or loud pieces. Many of the compositions tended toward slow tempos, subdued dynamics and meditative atmosphere. Calianno's "Music for Sundays (1-3)" is a prime example. The first two of its three parts were for solo piano, performed by the composer. They were gentle, free explorations of diatonic harmony. In the third section, a cellist offstage played a repeating set of ostinato patterns behind the piano part. The piece ended with a gorgeous fade-out.

Junior Wally Scharold's "For Piano" was quiet, in the style of Martin Feldman. Scharold's piece comprised a series of distinct phrases made up of single notes or chords. There were often large leaps between each note or chord, and no single tonality dominated. Instead, the piece floated between consonance and dissonance, reverberating in the spaces between phrases.

Senior Jarred McAdams's "music for black and white keys," for solo piano, had some similarities with "For Piano," but was closer in spirit to the indeterminacy of John Cage. Like Scharold's piece, McAdams used single tones often moving in wide leaps and lots of empty space, but McAdams used the pedal less. There was a visual element too: the lights were slowly dimmed as McAdams played, then flipped to full power at the end.

There was a reflective mood, along with emotional intensity, in junior Cole Thomason-Redus's "There is no rose." The piece was at times reminiscent of Gregorian Chant and had a religious text. Thomason-Redus projected his voice into the piano by singing through a funnel.

Senior Rob Reich's "Soft Objects I-VII" used the largest ensemble (viola, violin, flute, saxophone and piano). Its seven short parts were varied in tempo and form, each one developing its own motives. Repeating patterns and string glissandos were characteristic features.

"Something," by junior Margot Bevington, was a duet for two singers. It emphasized simplicity and repeated notes.

The four tape pieces were exceptions to the generally mellow tone. "Serena," by senior Raja Das, had a syncopated, mechanical groove, which became dark and murky at the piece's end. Sophomore Mark Barden's "elle parle" was based on a tape of a young woman speaking. The source material was fragmented and manipulated though still comprehensible. "Endnote," by sophomore David Levin, also used a taped voice; in this case it was a few fragments from a poem. Senior Kate Peterson's "disruptive meditation in b.5" juxtaposed pure, synthesized chords with bursts of distortion.