Photo: Present Music - Facebook
Paul Metzger with his modified banjo
Paul Metzger with his modified banjo
Jan Serr Studio has quickly become a jewel among Milwaukee’s performance spaces. Its versatility and glorious window out onto the city have enabled many memorable performances. Some kind of elevated stage or seating might be nice in the future, to help visibility of the interesting setups and novel instrumentation of concerts such as Present Music’s “Future Folk Machine” this past weekend.
The concert began in stillness with an arrangement by Kurt Cowling of Ligeti’s etude “White on “White,” substituting piano timbres for soft synth tones. Guest soprano Ariadne Greif made quite an entrance in a fluffy pink tutu costume for John Harbison’s Mirabai Songs. She really delivered in this music: engaging, committed, and fearless. Her voice had a wonderful mellow middle register as well as expressive high notes. Harbison’s song cycle was well-crafted, aesthetically appealing, and created cohesion with different instruments doubling the voice at times.
Present Music’s lineup then whisked us away to another world with Paul Metzger’s improvisation on a custom-designed 39-string banjo. This instrument produced colorful washes of sound, and Metzger used both plucking and bowing techniques that evoked Indian instruments like the sitar, oud, and sarangi. He ended his set by tilting the banjo toward the audience a few times ceremoniously, as if spreading incense.
Ariadne Greif returned for another song set, The Secret Diary of Nora Plain by Morris Kliphuis and Lucky Fonz III. Rock influences were apparent right from the outset, with straight-ahead drumset grooves and strings playing the roles of guitars. Greif’s vocal style in the first two songs was less successful; the vocal writing sat fairly low and in trying to adopt a more poppy sound, she lost some tone. But the third song, the boldly theatrical “Rat in my room,” was a true highlight of the night (maybe of the year), with Greif and the ensemble absolutely rocking out. It’s got to be one of the most exciting contemporary art songs out there.
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Francesco Filidei’s Love Story had a group of musicians ripping paper from toilet paper rolls. After the audience’s initial nervous laughter, the music made its case by evoking heartbeat sounds and nose-blowing (in moments of sickness or sadness?).
As if the concert wasn’t head-spinning enough already, we were then treated to the funhouse of Unsuk Chin’s Gougalon (Scenes from a Street Theatre). Chin is a master composer, and her sound world provided constant delights from trumpet wah-wahs to fast ostinatos in the piano to various showcases for percussion. Conductor/co-artistic director David Bloom held it all together with grace.
In a final musical course, the Present Music players showed tight ensemble work in Steve Martland’s Remix, a re-imagined Baroque march with modern grooves. Adriadne Greif joined the ensemble as a whistler.
I am aware of my penchant for constant praise, but Milwaukee’s arts scene really is that good. It’s heartening to see contemporary music thriving here to the extent that it draws veterans like Ariadne Greif. Present Music remains a confident, exciting series that always offers something unexpected.
