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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2008 > September > 22
Monday, September 22, 2008
Review: ‘Field of Infinite Forms’
Several shouts of ‘bravo’ followed the ending flourish Friday night at the Long Center of ‘Field of Infinite Forms’ the engaging new piece by composer Christopher Theofanidis with electronic realizations by Mark Wingate.
And deservedly so.
Not only was ‘Field’; a delightful five-movement work that intriguingly nudged the boundaries of contemporary symphony orchestral music, it also signaled a major — and much-needed — artistic step forward into the 21st-century on behalf of Austin Symphony Orchestra who commissioned the piece from the 40-year-old celebrated composer.
Appropriately, Theofanidis and Wingate took the Long Center’s Dell Hall as a starting point for their piece, specifically making use of the new hall’s sharp acoustics and technically sophisticated sound system. Wingate works with a more a sophisticated version of Surround Sound that has the ability to make the origin of sound seemingly fluid. Theofanidis writes in a viscerally melodic style that unconsciously borrows from many classical and world music styles without ever being pretentious. Together they crafted an electro-acoustic symphonic piece that literally filled the Dell Hall — and all its corners — with captivating sound.
‘Field’ started with the sound of fluttering wings (and the unmistakable squeak of the Mexican free-tailed bats that live under Austin’s Congress Avenue Bridge) rolling up from the rear of Dell Hall before swooping down to the stage, where the orchestra burst into a fanfare of sorts. That surging fanfare continued in an antiphonal pattern with the electronics, emphasizing the enveloping effect of the Surround Sound affects.
From there, Theofanidis and Wingate took us on a sublime and surprising journey through a new sonic landscape. At times a single pulse seemed to hang in the air above the audience before being picked up again by the orchestra (masterfully conducted by Peter Bay). At other times the ethereal sounds of gongs and bamboo wind chimes gracefully sighed while the electronic stylings added a breathy sonic aura.
‘Field’ ended with an appropriate series of aural explosions that built in drama that started with the electronics and then shifting to the orchestra, building in harmonic intensity to a flourishing finish.
‘Field of Infinite Forms’ sounded like no other piece the 98-year-old often very traditional Austin Symphony Orchestra has ever done. Yet for all its electronic stylings and effects, ‘Field’ was alluring and beguiling music — boldly going where American symphonic music has never gone before.
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Review: ‘Pink Sun’
On a large stage, set back from the audience, opera has grandeur. Made smaller, it can just seem goofy.
That’s the problem with ‘Pink Sun,’a new collaboration with ethos and The Vortex. In a small theater it comes off as the kind of theater sitcom writers spitball around when coming up with a project that their one artsy fartsy character drags all their friends to: a cybernetic opera featuring a pale man dressed in a pink robe and seashell hat and a woman with pink furry antlers like, well, a dyed, electrocuted Goofy singing about a space war.
From a musical standpoint, it can be fairly impressive in the small space. While I don’t usually care for electronica, when Chad Salvata and, especially, Melissa Vogt-Patterson sing, the small space positively resonates with power.
That’s not enough to overcome its limitations, though. The story, a sorcerer and siren ritually reenact a war between various tribes and angelic creatures, has an epic tone— which, frequently, the music reflects. But when wrapped in the Gothic cotton candy presentation, it’s hard to take seriously. The villainous King Muscle’s rape of the angelic pink Olo — with moves like a “Dirty Dancing” version of the Robot — inspired awkward titters, not shock or even empathy.
“Pink Sun” might make a great music video, but as an up-close opera, it’s just a little much.
(“Pink Sun” continues at 9 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays and 11 p.m. Saturdays through Sept. 28 at The Vortex, 2307 Manor Rd. $10-$30. 512-478-5282, vortexrep.org.)
Chad Salvata in “Pink Sun.”
Joey Seiler is an American-Statesman freelance arts critic.
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