MC MAGUIRE
Nothing Left To Destroy
The Discofication of the Mongols, for Violin and CPU (2009) [35:17]
S’Wonderful (that the man I love watches over me) for flute
and CPU (2010) [26:57]
Benjamin Bowman (violin)
Douglas Stewart (flute)
rec. dates not given, mixed May 2011.
INNOVA 813 [62:14]
With a grungy title and a cover which reminds me a little of Monty Python’s
‘Another Monty Python Record’, this CD projects a ‘bad boy’ image which belies
some fascinating work.
The Discofication of the Mongols was created for a choreography by
LeeSu-Feh, and the music derives its proportions from choreographic gestures.
The title of the piece “concerns the loss of all indigenous culture to the
monolith of western pop music... The ever –approaching climax has an accumulative
size, density, overlapping submixes and pop references, until it crushes everything
under its own weight (secretly inspired by the design of Stockhausen’s Gruppen
and Boulez’s Tombeau).” This description gives a hint as to the
content of the piece, but very little other than hearing it can really describe
the actual experience. There is an underlying carpet of sound which is like
a Jackson Pollock painting: fascinating and enigmatic; filled with recognisable
shapes which collect into patterns of enigmatic or intangible perspective.
Objects advance momentarily like flashes of sparingly used colour, but the
general swathe of tone is an oppressive, constantly shifting wall of detailed
purples. The ‘pop’ elements are present and also emerge like plastic ducks
in bathwater, but the disco beats and electric guitars are balanced so that
they also are family members of the vast canvas, rather than taking over as
you might expect. The violin solo is a free voice which sings over the material
with disarming expressiveness. This is not a violin concerto, but neither
is it an ungrateful piece for the soloist, and Benjamin Bowman does a terrific
job of holding his lines over a relatively alien accompaniment without losing
‘classical’ integrity.
There are some attractive harmonic progressions and finely nuanced sonic textures
in this piece, and I found myself enjoying it far more than I expected. There’s
a sense of wit hidden in the piece and a warmth of resonance which is quite
welcoming, but I won’t promise it will be to everyone’s taste. If you like
at least bits of Frank Zappa’s Jazz From Hell or something akin to
The Residents in WB:RMX form you will probably find this right
up your street. If I have one or two criticisms they might be the duration
which is arguably eight or so minutes too long, and the occasional left/right/left/right
panning which has never been any good for anything. This doesn’t crop up much
thank goodness, but there you go, nothing’s perfect.
S’Wonderful (that the man I love watches over me) is,
as the title suggests, based on some Gershwin songs which the composer associated
with his parents, the work being dedicated to the memory of his mother. Elements
mentioned in the piece’s construction are the quodlibet: the integration of
popular themes into a work in all kinds of ways, and some multi-tempo dance
sequences from MGM musicals. Tap dancing feet can be heard, as well as some
of that fantasy colour of those cinematic orchestras, with violin textures
and harp arpeggios. Dialogue from 1930s gangster and romantic movies pops
up from time to time, as well as do ‘standard’ singers from a light jazz idiom.
The CPU computer treatment means that this material melts into itself with
a kind organic unity which is both complex and refined, as well as serving
to disguise the obvious. The solo flute over this kind of territory seems
to throw an automatic switch of sentimentality which may or may not appeal,
and the thematic material thrown its way isn’t particularly decisive for the
piece as a whole.
This again is a fascinating sonic canvas –for a large part softer edged than
Discofication, but still building to a mighty climax and bringing with
it a similar multi-layering of sounds, textures and rich associations. Both
works have a sense of narrative and cadence which speaks to the ‘learned composer’
in me, and there’s a lot of hard work and craft has gone into these pieces
which automatically gains my genuine respect. The composer very kindly sent
me the scores for the solo parts for both works, and the detail and precision
in which the music is notated indicates a seriousness of intent which is reflected
in the quality of the results. This isn’t what you would call ‘everyday’ music,
but for that reason neither is it bland or disposable.
Dominy Clements
Fascinating sonic canvases.