Jack Body is one of New Zealand's leading composers. His
fascination with Asian traditional music has had a profound impact on his
compositions, which often tell 'dark stories of repression and unjust
political imprisonment' (
New Zealand Listener).
Body's opera
Alley recounts the extraordinary life of Rewi
Alley, whose powerful experiences, living in China for sixty years from
1927, are reflected in these specially orchestrated arias. The three Arias
here are reflections by Rewi, haunted by memories. The orchestration is
powerful with Chinese influences and very clearly enunciated by David Greco
with some impressive counter-tenor singing in the third piece. The notes are
invaluable in explaining the subjects based on events in Alley's life
although it would have been good to have had the words. Britten is mentioned
as a possible influence and he too was affected by China.
My Name is Mok Bhon references Cambodian traditional music to
express the trauma and anguish of the Khmer Rouge years. There are spoken
words at the beginning and the end. These are by Somara Ouk as Mok Bhon, one
of the 14,000 victims of Pol Pot. The music is a funeral song and uses
Cambodian instruments as well as the orchestra. I really find it hard to
describe this piece but it is certainly atmospheric and conveys the
composer’s sadness at the mass slaughter.
Palaran: Poems of Love and War draws on the subtleties of
Javanese gamelan and traditional vocal styles. The composer advises that the
texts are drawn from tradition and that they juxtapose images of love and
pity. The booklet helpfully provides text but frankly I found this a hard
listen with no real structure. The vocalist was unappealing. Like several
pieces on the disk I felt the music would benefit from visual input.
Meditations on Michelangelo follows. This is scored for solo
violin and orchestra and is more accessible than the previous works. This
sadly doesn’t mean that it has great depth although it’s clear
what the composer is trying to convey. The work is based on an earlier
setting for two female voices of the love sonnets of Michelangelo, which
honour male beauty and lament the ravages of age. The music seems to me to
lack true originality and the attractive quality that would encourage
repeated listens. I see that when this was performed in New Zealand in April
with the same violinist, Martin Riseley. The poems themselves were read by
David Groves and I think this would have worked well here.
Poems of Solitary Delights give a musical context to Japanese
poet Tachibana Akemi's light-hearted meditations on solitary
pleasures. The English translation, narrated in a warm manner by Robert
Easting, is in contrast to the rather formless music although it does use
some interesting instrumentation.
This disc is best described as an acquired taste and in general I found it
lacking in appeal. The ideas behind the subject matter are interesting but
by and large fail to deliver.
David R Dunsmore
