I normally avoid
percussion CDs like the plague, not because I don’t like percussion,
but because the recorded experience invariably misses so much
of the often spectacular visual element in the performance of
such works. My main workplace, the Royal Conservatoire in The
Hague, has an internationally recognized percussion department,
and I had the pleasure of sharing a stage with Claire Edwardes
a few years ago, having like her been shipped in to help out
with one of those excellent composition projects in which few
of the other students seemed to want to be involved. ‘The Seven
Deadly Sins’ it was called – seven pieces based on some new
bronze sculptures on that theme. I was delighted to see that
Claire has been making a mark on the Australian contemporary
music landscape since winning the ABC’s Young Performer of the
Year in 1999 and the prestigious Freedman Fellowship in 2005.
She has returned to Australia from studies and performances
in Europe and is now involved in several new music ensembles
in Australia as well as establishing herself as a soloist. This
is her debut solo CD.
One thing you have
to say about the programming of this disc is that there is plenty
of variety. Seven composers each with a different approach to
the incredible sound palette available to the contemporary percussionist,
each using Edwardes’ admirable technique without losing their
individual identity to the altar of pure virtuoso display. Gerard
Brophy’s Coil is for vibraphone, and, with limited thematic
content, has an attractive feeling of unity. Much of the melodic
content is clipped into short segments, and the rhythmic character
of the piece shows the vibraphone in a new light.
I liked Andrew Ford’s
Memorial
for cello solo, and while a piece for drum kit might seem
a little daunting, his compact work The Armed Man has
almost as much melodic interest as Brophy’s. The inevitable
militaristic associations are created with the snare drum as
a central element in the sound picture, but the opening tattoos
serve merely as an introduction – the full range of bass, toms,
hi-hat and cymbal create a fascinating solo as good as anything
by Carl Palmer.
Ross Edwards’ More
Marimba Dances are a follow-on from his earlier Marimba
Dances, which has become one of the world’s most-played
and most-loved percussion works. This second work contains all
the qualities that made the earlier piece such a favourite with
both performers and audiences alike. This kind of music is so
well-written for the instruments that it sounds as if it must
have been around for ages. This ‘classic’ feel with its easily
assimilated themes and light, lively rhythms makes it easy to
hear how such work is readily taken up.
With Andrew Schultz’
Winter Ground we return to the vibraphone, this time
with more of an ethereal, sustained feel. Schultz actually uses
the vibrato function of the instrument, which is quite refreshing
to hear, and the piece is far from being vaguely atmospheric,
with a set of variations exploring timbre and contrapuntal technique
in some depth. Dominik Karski’s Beginnings to no end employs
marimba and bongos, mixing the tuned and the untuned to interesting
effect, even if the music itself has too much of a fragmentary
feel to make it a huge success in my humble opinion.
Damien Ricketson’s Hol Spannen Luiden also employs the
marimba as a central instrument, each word of the title being
an individual movement: Hol = wood, Spannen = skin, Luiden =
metal. He describes it as ‘a recollection, or a recounting,
of a musical work where the original is never heard.’ There
are some nice elements in these pieces, which I’m sure work
well on an attractively presented stage, with the player focussed
under a single spotlight. There are a few ‘hoketus’ moments
where the composer might be alluding to the work of one of his
teachers, Louis Andriessen, and the metallic nuances in the
Luiden movement make for an interesting contrast in the
programme as a whole. I just feel that these works are too long,
given their actual musical content. I would recommend the Steven
King formula ‘On Writing’, reducing by a third on the re-write.
The CD concludes with Mark Pollard’s two short Moment works
for vibraphone, which have a gently minimal, almost Asian feel
with touches of Javanese Gamelan and an attractive miniature
quality.
The recording on this
Tall Poppies release is excellent as usual, with the clean acoustic
of the Sydney Conservatorium recital halls helping the instruments
to glow and sparkle. Claire Edwardes is a marvellous advocate
for her profession and this repertoire – much of which she helped
to create by commissioning, cajoling and encouraging composers
to take solo percussion seriously as an option for expressive
new work.
Dominy Clements
Claire Edwardes
(percussion) 
