Domestical Music (1999) - Liviu Danceanu
Seasons (1970) - Takemitzu
Du temps perdu (1994) - Donnacha
Dennehy Prison Song (1994) - Hans Werner Henze
Ta Ann (2000) - Gerry Murphy
There were music stands and an assortment of saucepans and lids in the centre of the Hugh Lane Gallery, and kettledrums and cymbals on the perimeter - the "Sunday at Noon" recitals promised to be different.
The seven members of the RIAM Ensemble sat in the centre passing the utensils one to another and neatly delineating the rhythms of a baroque dance suite in Danceanu's short and entertaining Domestical Music.
Takemitzu's Seasons did not deal in rhythmic patterns. Over taped sounds that rumbled like thunder, various shimmering sounds were overlaid in a gentle but featureless improvisation (the score consisted of two sheets, one of graphic symbols and one of instructions).
Dennehy's Du temps perdu was for tape only. Though far from featureless, it was hard to discern any structure, and, as always with tape, the lack of interaction between performer and listener diminished its effectiveness.
Henze's Prison Song was more a political statement than a musical one, the opposite of Beethoven's Fidelio. The tape of breathing and heartbeats was realised in Kilmainham Gaol by Richard O'Donnell and the percussion solo was by Cathal Murphy. The few spoken words were mostly impossible to distinguish, but the recorded screams were suitably horrifying. A brief hint at music theatre was not developed, but even if it had been, I doubt if the cause of revolutionary socialism was helped by Prison Song.
Gerry Murphy's programme note reflects on linguistic variants of the phrase ta Ann. In the performance, the players were stationed around the audience, so one wondered: "Ca Bhfuil Ann?" As with the Takemitzu piece, though without tape, the interest was not in positive rhythms but in rumbles and shivers and bangs of indeterminate pitches and unclear origins.
