AFMM NY Times review, May 12, 1998

May 12, 1998

Microtonal Music: Learning the Language of the Notes Between the
Notes

By ANTHONY TOMMASINI

To many concertgoers, the concept of microtonal music
may seem intimidatingly complex. But the actual sound
of the music, in a sense, is familiar to anyone who has
heard a blues singer bend a phrase.

Here's a go at explaining the concept: In Western music,
the standard octave has been somewhat arbitrarily divided
into 12 pitches. Obviously, there are pitches in between,
say, G and G sharp, as any slide guitarist makes clear.
These pitches can be called microtones, and by using adept
performers or instruments with special tunings, composers
can write music that pinpoints these microtonal pitches.

Confused? The American Festival of Microtonal Music came
to the rescue with its annual two-day festival, which
opened on Thursday night at St. Paul's Chapel of Columbia
University.

Lou Harrison's tender Suite No. 2 for microtonal guitars,
skillfully played by John Schneider, made you forget all
about the concept and listen to the music. Its mixture of
the Spanish-inflected dances and elegies with the slightly
"off" quality of the pungent microtonal harmonies, echoing
in the reverberant chapel, was a delight.

The other intriguing work was "Atom Turning in the Sun of
Eternity," a dramatic cantata, of sorts, by Sasha Bogdanowitsch
for vocalist-actor (the composer in bare feet and white robe)
and instruments either played or tuned microtonally,
including harps, guitars, marimba, flute and cello. The
vocal text of made-up syllables, which sounded like some
primal earthy language, tells a vague fable of searching
for a beloved. Mr. Bogdanowitsch sang the melismatic vocal
line with chantlike elegance. The pleasant, quietly undulant
music is awash with Pacific Rim exotica, but it had a kind
of winning authenticity.

Virgil Moorefield's "(Slight Return)" was anything but
quiet, a work of blasts and bursts for electronic instruments.

A microtonal version for viola, guitar and cello of Avro
P�rt's modal, moody "Frates" proved ineffective. The repetitive
minimalistic figures for viola, as played by Anatasia Solberg,
just sounded raw and out of tune. Ms. Solberg was quite
effective in "Din Cinpoiu," a long work for solo viola by
Violeta Dinescu, but the music was a nondescriptive series
of scrapings, noodlings and nothings.

The longest work was "Adam and Eve," by Johnny Reinhard, a
caterwauling, self-indulgent musical drama depicting the
story from Genesis of the fall from grace, with a dancer
(Christina Coppola) as Eve; the composer, on bassoon, as
Adam; a cellist (David Eggar) as the Tree of Knowledge, and
a roster of other good sports on gongs, drums, guitars and
whatnot. The use of microtones did not turn this silly piece into
something innovative.



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