SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Sound Census 3 -Feldman: Endymion, Kings Place, London, 5.6.2009 (GDn) 

Morton Feldman: Crippled Symmetry


The acoustic of Hall One at Kings Place has risen to another significant challenge with the music of Morton Feldman. His is a soundworld of minute details, in which the audibility of every pianissimo note and chord is essential to the overall effect. The fabric baffles around the top arcades of the hall were drawn back to brighten the sound and bring out these details, and the hall was bathed in a pale blue light for the ‘late night meditation’ ambiance, a veritable Rothko chapel.

Crippled Symmetry is one of Feldman’s later works, written in 1983 and scored for three players, each doubling on two instruments: glockenspiel/vibraphone, flute/bass flute and piano/celesta. It is in a continuous span of around 90 minutes, a conservative duration by Feldman’s standards but still an effort of stamina and concentration for performers and audience alike. The music makes a virtue of the economy of its means, revolving around permutations of a four-note motif. The initial inspiration for the work was Feldman’s love of oriental carpets. The relationship between the consummate totality of the work as a whole and the endless changes to the short motif upon which it is based reflect the paradoxical relationship between the geometric perfection of these carpets’ designs and the thousands of minor imperfections in their weave. The analogy of weaving also informs the work’s structure, with the three players often engaged in continuous yet unsynchronised textures, shifting phases as they slowly pass in and out of each other’s patterns. Theoretically, the progression through the work is one of entropy, with the motif gradually losing its identity, first through permutation and then through diminution, eventually reducing to a repeating single pitch. But Feldman achieves another impressive paradox by making the process seem constructive, as if ramifying the opening music through this gradual process of its decay.

Huge timespans are necessary to create these subtle psychological effects, and the stamina of the players in this performance was impressive. The three players, Helen Keen, Chris Brannick and Michael Dussek, are from the Endymion Ensemble, and this concert was one of a series the group are performing at Kings Place to celebrate their 30^th anniversary. It is a curious piece for a celebration, but Feldman’s music has been chronically under-represented in London, so any excuse is welcome.

The stylistic sensitivity of the players was the key to the success of this performance. Despite the apparent liberties that the notation offers, this is intellectually rigorous music, requiring a Webernesque discipline in the handling of its phrasing, dynamics and ensemble. When, as here, the performance is sensitively paced, the work takes on an inquisitive, questing quality. Spaces between the iterations of the varying motif allow the ear to reflect on the new directions in which the music is constantly turning. It is as if Feldman is suggesting a new path but then waiting for the listener to formulate a response before going on. Well, in most cases, Morton, your instincts are right, some changes of direction are surprising, but each contributes something unique and satisfying. Thanks for asking.

Gavin Dixon


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