Flutist Claire Chase is a community builder. This can be seen in her 24-year project Density 2036, which commissions a new repertoire for her instrument. And you can feel the communal spirit when she expresses her gratitude to the audience for coming to several shows in a row.
This week, Chase thanked those who attended multiple concerts at his recent 10th anniversary retrospective ‘Density’, which took place at a temporary kitchen location in the Westbeth complex and at Zankel Hall.
“I have too many flutes,” she admitted Wednesday in the kitchen. (Listeners outside of New York have similar experiences, and most of “Density” can be heard on recordings collected in New York.) Chase’s Bandcamp profile. )
truth. But over the night’s two programs, Chase offered a wealth of composers and respective approaches to the flute family. As a result, the music never felt in a rut. You can enjoy the breathy nature of the work of Matana Roberts and Ann Clear, and the harder, groovy material of the work of Wang Lu and Craig Taborn.
Each “Density” runs for about an hour. Some programs feature multiple works. Some people focus on just one. The latter creates an even more sense of risk taking, both for the listener and for Chase. It’s a full hour, even if the work doesn’t leave much of an impression.
That was my experience on Thursday night when Anna Thorwartsdottir’s ‘Yubike’ premiered at Zankel. This work, like much of Density, is not just a flute solo, but draws on the instrumental talents of Chase, pianist Corey Smythe, cellists Katinka Klein and Seth Parker Woods. be. (Levi Lorenzo led the use of electronic sound, and Nicolas Hoefek provided subtle lighting design, as was often the case in retrospectives.)
At the beginning of “Ubique”, Thorwartsdottir writes catchy passages, including a rhythmic and dynamic piano and flute passage barrage and a striking two-cello drone. But when those elements were reprized in the second half, it sounded like the material was stretched without adding much new to the bargain.
At the other end of the spectrum, Chase’s willingness to give a composer an entire hour is also dramatically gratified by the kitchen premiere of improvisational pianist and composer Craig Taborn’s Busy Sorrows and Endangered Charms. brought good results. It was one of the best shows I have experienced this season.
Taborn tells the story of contemporary jazz with a pianism of subtlety, complexity and power. His debut solo recording for ECM in 2011, ‘Avenging Angel’, is one of his finest piano works of the century, and even in his recent compositions for the Junk Magic Ensemble, he has: I am taking an approach like room-like arrangement.
So it was wise for Chase to ask Taborn to work on the program director’s “Density” piece. On “Griefs” he was part of a quartet with Chase, clarinetist Joshua Rubin and percussionist Susie Ibarra. (Ibarra is also an important figure on the jazz stage, most recently with Chase on a Pauline Oliveros piece.)
“Griefs” opens with synthesizer tones on a digital loop and thick, mournful acoustic piano harmonies. As usual, Taborn operated a small electronic manual on top of the piano. After Rubin’s appearance on the bass clarinet, the articulation of Taborn’s opening song accelerated, although the oppressive atmosphere remained.
It took five minutes for Chase to appear on the flute, but when she did, Taborn’s work shifted from sadness to charm. Over time, Chase was given space to duo with all the other players, all of which took advantage of Taborn’s invitation to her to improvise. With Rubin, she wielded a unison line that gradually branched into rhythmically independent screams. Its salacious effect had the quality of Taborn’s own pianism. With Ybarra, she reveled in funk-encrusted passages. He then worked with Taborn to create longer melodies and more free-sounding improvisations.
Thavorn himself performed some dramatic solos, which were both rambunctious and lyrical. However, he was also silent for a considerable amount of time, listening carefully to other musical partnerships he had started. There was always something to savor.
After the concert, I asked Taborn if he had missed any of his other similar chamber music. He mentioned some of the two piano pieces he developed with the premiere pianist Smythe, but said that “Griefs” was his first work of such scale. . (and on June 24th national sawdustTaborn will premiere the first part of the work in progress for string quartet and own piano. )
When Chase sets out to record and release this portion of “Density,” Taborn’s work deserves to be a major event in multiple musical circles. So far, the premiere represents Chase knowing what kind of concert to look for before any other classical music presenter. This is the kind of work that can only be commissioned by a soloist who listens to the broader community of living American composers. And it’s a trait that viewers rightly appreciate.
