Queen's University Belfast has once again shown itself to be in the forefront of contemporary music providers in the North. The second Sounds Electric weekend of electro-acoustic music brought prestigious visiting artists, together with an active local experimental scene. Discussion groups and workshops on MIDI Sequencing and Hard Disk recording filled out a programme of concerts.
Dutch bass clarinettist Harry Sparnaay is one of the few players - indeed he was probably the first player - to specialise in this instrument, and drew a remarkable range of sound and attack in pieces for bass or alto clarinet and tape (he understandably declined to entrust the promised contrabass clarinet to an aeroplane luggage hold). Novelty and sound intrigued the ear, even in purely acoustic pieces by Kagel and Ambrosini, but for many, Wayne Siegel's rhythmical Jackdaw will have been the most enjoyable item on the programme.
On the following evening I enjoyed the sheer physicality of free-jazz saxophonist Paul Dunmall, given electronic support from Alistair MacDonald and Jo Hyde.
What do you look at during an electronic piece? Somehow it doesn't seem right to peer at whoever is operating the sound diffusing equipment. In an audio-visual presentation in the School of Music's McMordie, tape pieces by Joran Rudi and Jo Hyde were accompanied by abstract computer graphics. This could have been fascinating if we hadn't been asked to squat on a hard floor - too much for one middle-aged reviewer with a bad back. A few cushions would have added to the Sixties-ish atmosphere and made things more comfortable.
More solid comforts were available at an "Electronic Chill-Out" provided by students from North Down College under the direction of composer Brian Irvine.
A lunchtime concert of tape pieces composed and realised by students at Queen's University School of Music showed assurance in handling the medium. Speakers arranged behind as well as in front of the audience provided a spatial experience not replicable on domestic hi-fi.
I don't know, or care where these pieces will stand in the eyes of posterity. It's enough that they stimulate and entertain their listeners, even if the stimulus may sometimes be only on the level of "soundeffects" or even of pure physical impact. It's interesting, too, that what was once considered the most austere and challenging area of contemporary serious music has now become the most accessible to a cross-over audience.
