Interpretations & Reverberations

The trombone’s role in 21st century music fascinates me.  Given its wide range of textures and techniques – from the most singing to the completely inhuman – it provides a remarkably flexible voice for both ensemble and solo playing.  On top of that, the signature directness and depth of the trombone sound create a unique potential for interacting with different acoustical spaces. 

I was finally able to realize this potential when I joined Loop38 last spring.  I already knew this ensemble would be a perfect opportunity to expand my musical boundaries, and as such I had compiled a substantial list of repertoire ideas for the group.  This preparation was mostly owed to my recent discovery of an exhaustive online database of modern trombone-related chamber and solo works – talk about an opportune find!  I researched each listed work one by one, selecting those which appealed to my ears as well as my musical goals.  A particular standout was Solos (2010), a work for trombone and electronics by composer Julian Stein. 

Naturally, this would be my first foray into performing with any sort of electronics.  Solos in particular is built around a series of delays, triggered throughout the piece and overlapping with each other to create textures of varying density.  The music itself is unhurried, simple yet melodic, with a range confined to just over an octave.  Rather than relying on the technical, Solos instead emphasizes the textural capabilities of the trombone; how do the inherent vibrations and overtones in the trombone sound interact when layered upon themselves?   Due to the randomness built into the Max patch controlling the delays, this question gets answered differently each time Solos is performed. 

After initially performing Solos in November on the outdoor stage at First Congregational Church in Houston, I began to brainstorm venues around the city that would lend themselves well to a second performance.  One aspect of Loop38 that really drew me in initially was its history of performing in unconventional spaces, exploring acoustics that couldn’t otherwise be found in a concert hall.  Concerts at the Silos at Sawyer Yards or the Rothko Chapel were favorites of mine, and through the same vein, the doors were opened to us utilizing another unique Houston landmark: the Buffalo Bayou Cistern. 

The Cistern, a former water reservoir built in the 1920s, is a hidden Houston gem.  Its architecture is mesmerizing in its simplicity and repetition, providing a wide palette of visual textures as light bounces around all 87,500 square feet of the concrete chamber.  And, thanks to its system of 221 concrete columns and glassy-still water at its base, the Cistern touts a reverb that lasts up to 17 seconds long.  Call it an acoustical wonder of the world – I’ve never experienced anything quite like it before.  

Now, imagine how I felt when I stepped into the Cistern for the first time and played a few notes on the trombone.  As I mentioned earlier, the trombone’s sound is incredibly directional, and as a result it already carries very naturally.  In this space, it was almost like I could see my sound bouncing off the back wall, zig-zagging through the maze of columns, reaching my ears, and going back for a couple more passes before finally dying out.  Each time a note left my bell, it took on a life of its own that lasted long enough for me to appreciate even its finest details.  I soon realized that the same question Solos poses with its electronic delays – how do the inherent vibrations of the trombone interact when layered upon themselves? – could also be posed by the natural reverb of the Cistern.  This revelation allowed me to view Solos in an entirely new light, as each phrase layered itself note by note, leaving behind dense chords from which the next phrase would emerge.  The recording we created thus eschews the electronics in favor of letting the Cistern’s resonance shine.  

The process of recording Solos has led me through many firsts – collaborating with a composer, interacting with electronics, exploring unique spaces/acoustics, to name a few.  I’m very excited to share the results! See them live next Sunday, March 14th at our concert Loop38 Up Close.

- Cameron Kerl

A Powerful Prayer

This is not your everyday good-night prayer.

While the beginning and end of Prayer by Sergiu Natra are open and reflective as you might expect a prayer to be, there’s an underlying tension from the very first note.  This tension starts with some tight chromatic clusters, and it spreads throughout the piece, building more complex rhythms and insistent dynamics as it goes on.  By the peak of the piece it’s developed into a powerful force with a strong energy that erupts after this extended build.  It’s clear this prayer comes from deep within, and it uncovers some raw emotion while maintaining a sacred conversation.

This is also not your average harp solo.

Something I enjoy particularly about playing the harp is how versatile it is.  While a common perception of the harp is that it’s heavenly and pretty (I can’t deny it’s particularly good at heavenly and pretty), I’ve found that has so much more to offer. The harp can also be strong, energetic, mesmerizing, spooky, and even biting at times!  (I just watched the TV show Lost for the first time, and if you’re looking for some spooky harp notes, look no further!) I love to challenge these perceptions and find repertoire that uses the full emotional range of the harp. This piece beautifully shows that versatility between its gentle melodic lines and strong, punchy chords that will knock you flat on your back!

Composer Sergiu Natra

Sergiu Natra was a prolific composer, but he is perhaps best known in the harp world, having written over 30 pieces that include the harp.  He even wrote one children’s play scored for 10 pedal harps, 5 Irish harps, and percussion!  As a harpist I appreciate his music so much because it’s clear that he knew the instrument well, and that he understood how to get the sounds he wanted out of it. His writing feels so natural to play… not to say that it’s easy!

I love taking liberties with this piece, finding just the right sound for special harmonies, and feeling emotionally spent by the end of a performance. Tune in to our Virtual concert on March 14th to hear the full piece!

This performance is in memory of Sergiu Natra who passed away last month, on February 23rd, 2021.

-Caitlin Mehrtens

Into Your Hands

It has been four months since I first heard Ariana Nelson’s recording of Caroline Shaw’s in manus tuas, and it remains one of my favorite performances of the year. Listening to it, I am struck by the coexistence of past and present, sacred and secular.

The loose source material is a five-voice 16th century motet by Thomas Tallis. While Shaw did borrow some music from Tallis for her own In Manus Tuas, the composition relates more to a memorable experience she had hearing a live performance of the motet. In a nod to the religious origins of the Tallis, the first performance of Shaw’s work took place during a secular, musical version of compline, or the Prayers at the End of the Day. When I imagine the premiere, I am immediately transported back to college, to my own weekly visits to the compline music service of Schola Cantorum at Christ Church in Rochester, New York, where I experienced some of the most powerful listening of my life amid candlelight and echoing voices. I think most musicians and music lovers could relate to this easy conflation of music and spirituality.

The Tallis motet is most commonly identified by the title “In manus tuas, Domine,” or “Into your hands, O Lord,” but in Shaw’s secular version, we get simply “Into your hands.” I love how this allows us to imagine a different, more physical meaning—the cello is lifted into the hands of the performer, and we witness string crossings, pizzicato, and extended techniques that create an entire world of sound.

-Kara LaMoure

Click here to watch in manus taus now!

Anywhere/Everywhere

Hi there!

Today, we’re releasing the official video for Everywhere/Anywhere: 38 Loops for Loop38.  This piece is unique in Loop’s repertoire for a number of reasons… not least of which is that it’s one of the only pieces written specifically for us by our friend and collaborator Tim Holt!  Personally I find one of the most rewarding aspects of playing contemporary music is when I get the chance to be involved in more than just the performance, and work on a personal level with composers before the piece is finished.  This piece is very personal to us-- not only is it based on musical loops inspired by our name, but it’s very grounded in the composer’s time living in Houston.

You may have guessed from the title, but this piece is actually composed of 38 individual “loops”.  What are “loops”, you may ask?  Well in this case, they’re kind of like tiny movements-- to the side you can see the music for one that I was involved in!  (They’re like tiny works of art all on their own.)

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Washateria - a “Loop” for Harp and Double Bass.

Each of the 38 loops is repeated a number of times, and overlaps with the ones preceding and following it.  In a live context this would allow for each performance to be different; each loop would interact with the other loops in a slightly different way each time.  It’s interesting because while there are melodies that keep the piece moving forward, a lot of the beauty comes from these more vertical interactions where the sounds in each loop are stacked on top of each other.

Of course, this video wasn’t created live, and a lot of work behind the scenes went into creating the final product you see.  Once our live performance was cancelled due to the pandemic, the composer offered to adapt it for a virtual premiere which involved much more than just composing.  All of the performers recorded their individual parts, and then Tim took on the monumental task of stitching everything together, mastering the audio, creating the visuals, and coordinating all of the disparate parts into one stunning performance.

-Caitlin Mehrtens

Watch the video of Everywhere/Anywhere here!

Writing for Your Own Voice

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David Sampson’s Duncan Trio (2002), scored for trumpet, horn, and trombone, exemplifies a composer writing in his wheelhouse. The opening movement, “Reflection,” begins with the instruments muted and in close range, creating an essential brassy sound. It then enters a fast tempo area and pulls apart into the three distinct voices, expanding the range, dynamic level, and articulation style of the ensemble. In the hands of a composer without brass training, these shifts might happen clumsily, but Sampson, who studied trumpet performance at Curtis and the Manhattan School of Music, writes for brass as someone would write for his own voice. 

The world of new music can be a lonely one for a brass player.

The traditional educational path of a composer involves keyboard skills, lots of score study and perhaps a decent understanding of string bowings, but it can be hard to know where even to begin with the many and varied instruments at the back of the orchestra. What’s more, the typical ensembles at composer training programs--the Pierrot ensemble, the string quartet, the saxophone or percussion quartet, the reed quintet--typically don’t include brass. This makes it all the more critical for brass players to commission their own works and write for their own kind.

The Duncan Trio came about in just this way. Dorothy Duncan commissioned the piece as a fiftieth birthday gift for her brother, trumpet player James Duncan, and it has since endured as a recorded and commonly-performed work for brass trio. It’s worth considering the next time you reflexively go to order another Amazon gift card as a birthday present!

-Kara LaMoure

Watch our video of the Duncan Trio mvt. 1 here!

NEW SOUNDS: SEQUENZA TIME

Hey there reader/listener/new friend!

Luci B giving us some saucy side eye.

If you’re reading this you’re probably considering coming to our upcoming concert this Saturday BACH/BERIO at the Sawyer Yard’s Silos (HOT TAKE: you should DEFINITELY come). This concert is a site-specific installation: starting at 1:30pm and 3pm, seven of our fantastic players will each be occupying a different silo. In their personal silos, at specific times, they will each be playing excerpts of pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach and also Luciano Berio. Now, you all have probably heard of J.S. Bach, but maybe are not familiar with Luciano Berio. Lucky for you, Berio is one of my all time favorite composers! So, today I’m going to introduce you to Luciano Berio and his famous “Sequenza”(s) that you will be hearing on Saturday!

Boundaries is a word that I would never associate with Italian composer Luciano Berio. Born in 1925, his compositions always pushed what can be considered music, right up until his death in 2003. Although we’re focusing today on his “Sequenza”(s), he is known for pioneering avant-garde, mixed-media, and electronic music. If you’d like to take a quick listen to some of that, here is his Sinfonia:

What you will be experiencing on Saturday are his incredible “Sequenza”(s). Starting in 1958, Berio wrote fourteen wild solo works, each titled “Sequenza”. He wrote them for flute, harp, voice, piano, trombone, viola, oboe, violin, clarinet, trumpet, guitar, bassoon, accordian, and cello. Each of these pieces is wildly different and demands virtuosic playing in terms of technical skill and emotional range. They also each heavily feature the use of “extended techniques”. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with what “extended technique” means, it just means using the instrument to make sounds that are traditionally not associated with it. That could be a harpist slapping the wood of her harp, a flutist singing into their flute, or a singer grunting, gurgling, and screaming. What is incredible about the Sequenza(s) is that they contrast beautiful playing with these techniques, drawing the listener into a sound world that mirrors the absurdity and intensity of real life.

It’s as if each piece explores every possibility of each instrument, allowing us to hear them in a completely new way!

What is just as fascinating about how these pieces sound is how they’re notated. How do you put all these sounds onto paper? Berio’s solution was to come up with a “key”, where all the extended techniques are represented by a symbol. Each player memorizes the key for their Sequenza, so that they can decode the score. Below is the “Sequenza III” for voice you will hear on Saturday; follow along watching the score so you can take a peek at what our performers will be seeing to make these incredible sounds:

Like I said, these are some of my all time favourite pieces of music. If you’re on board for a trippy Saturday afternoon, I definitely suggest coming out to hear BACH/BERIO.

Make sure you register for a spot, we’re filling up quick! Can’t wait to see you there!

xxox Ally xoxx

NEW SOUNDS #3: BAYOU BORN - Angélica Negrón

Hey there, reader/listener/new friend!

Thanks for stopping in! All of us here at Loop38 firmly believe that it’s much easier to enjoy a concert when you have some background in what you’re about to hear and why it’s incredible! SO, leading up our concerts this year, I will be posting these short little tidbits about our featured composers. Hoping that this will feel like you’re chilling with a friend, getting psyched about great music! Feel free to take a peak, have a listen, and get a taste for what’s to come!

Our upcoming concert bayou born is COMING UP QUICK THIS TUESDAY NIGHT!!! It will be up at the Live Oak Meeting House, which is also a James Turrell designed space. Most importantly, it’s free! So, you really have no excuse for not showing up.

Today we’re getting to know one of my favourite new composers. Angélica Negrón is a composer and mutli-instrumentalist born in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1981. She is currently based in New York where she is spinning out evocative new works encompassing toy instruments, live electronics, and contemplative idiosyncrasies. One of the first pieces of hers I came across was this fantastic number for toy piano and electronics:

She is also a founder of the electronic indie band Balun, where she sings and plays the accordion. Check it out!

She has been featured in many magazines and editorials as an up and coming composer and has been commissioned by Bang on a Can and the American Composers Orchestra, among many. She is currently in residency at National Sawdust working on her “lip sync opera titled Chimera for drag queen performers and chamber ensemble exploring the ideas of fantasy and illusion as well as the intricacies and complexities of identity”.

Here’s a great interview with her on Youtube!

Here’s another favourite interview with Negron of mine. In response to being asked about boundary pushing art she responds,

“I love art that makes me see the world in different ways, that makes me question my perceptions and understandings, and that invites me to change something about myself and my surroundings.”

In case you need another reason to love Negrón, aside from her wonderful compositions, she co-founded Acopladitos, a music program for children, and is currently a teaching artist at New York Philharmonic’s Very Young Composers program at Lincoln Center. What a STAR.

-Ally

NEW SOUNDS #2: BAYOU BORN - Julia Wolfe and Annea Lockwood

Hey there, reader/listener/new friend!

Thanks for stopping in! All of us here at Loop38 firmly believe that it’s much easier to enjoy a concert when you have some background in what you’re about to hear and why it’s incredible! SO, leading up our concerts this year, I will be posting these short little tidbits about our featured composers. Hoping that this will feel like you’re chilling with a friend, getting psyched about great music! Feel free to take a peak, have a listen, and get a taste for what’s to come!

Our upcoming concert bayou born is coming up this Tuesday night! It will be up at the Live Oak Meeting House, which is also a James Turrell designed space. It’s free, you just need to sign up! Today we’re going to get to know two of the composers on our program, Julia Wolfe and Annea Lockwood!

First up, Julia Wolfe (born 1958) is a 2016 MacArthur Fellow and the winner of the 2015 Pulitzer prize in music for her work Anthracite Fields. Her music draws inspiration from folk, classical, and rock genres, and combines them with a modern sensibility that simultaneously reinvents all three. She is a founding member and co-artistic director of the Bang on a Can Festival and has been commissioned by major orchestras across the world including a 2018 commission from the New York Philharmonic. Her music is physically and mentally demanding from both the performers and the audience alike.

I thought that Wolfe’s Pulitzer winning Anthracite Fields was a good place to start today! The work is an all encompassing masterpiece for chorus and orchestra that draws on a myriad of sources to piece together the story of those who laboured in the Pennsylvania Anthracite coal mines. The work draws on testimonials, interviews, oral histories, and historical documents to paint a heartbreaking picture of a dark and dusty life. Below is a documentary featuring clips of the work as well as Wolfe talking about it!

Drawing on her success with Anthracite Fields, Wolfe was recently commissioned by the New York Philharmonic to write another immersive piece: her visual and musical event “Fire in my Mouth” premieres in February of 2019. It explores the devastating Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911 that killed more than 100 young immigrants. Listen to the feature on it below:

The deeply challenging physicality of Wolfe’s work can be heard especially in her grueling string works. A particular favourite of mine is “Cruel Sister” for string orchestra:

Although I had heard of Wolfe, it was stumbling across this interview with her last year that really made me fall in love. How she talks about discovering her sound, and self, is incredibly interesting and accessible.

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Up next is the amazing Annea Lockwood. She was born in New Zealand in 1939. In 1961, she moved to England to study composition at the Royal College of Music, additionally studying at Darmstadt and completing her studies in Cologne and Holland. Due to her strong connection with Pauline Oliveros and John Cage, she eventually moved to the United States and currently lives in Compond, NY.

In the 1960s, Lockwood began collaborating and creating outside the “expected” sphere of classical composition; in 1962 she began her series called “Piano transplants”, in which defucnct pianos were burned, planted, and placed into water. Here’s a clip below of her “Piano Transplant: Burning”:

Although the initial object of these Transplants were to gain recordings, they very quickly trasitioned into the realm of performance art. Her future works would focus heavily on enviornmental sounds, life narratives, and sound installations. Another personal favourite of mine is “A Give you Back”, an anthem for solo soprano written on text by Native American poet Joy Harjo. Listen below, but also take a listen to some of Harjo’s spoken word poetry too!

A moment of connection with our other featured composer Julia Wolfe, Lockwood was commissioned by Bang on a Can All-Stars for a surround-sound installation. Although I couldn’t find a video of Vortex, I was able to find a clip of a lecture she gave about being a composer and sound artist. Check it out:

Let me also say that Lockwood is one of the friendliest composer I have ever communicated with. I completely fangirled her one night and e-mailed her and she was absolutely lovely.

That’s all for today!! Make sure you come on out Tuesday night to bayou born !!!

-Ally