Personal circumstances constrain me from attending many concerts these days. So mostly I get my live thrills vicariously via SF opera bloggers, LA bloggers who visit SF, Joshua Kosman, and calimac.
So when I read about this concert in Brooklyn this Friday by the Ensemble de Sade, I had to think through if vicariousness is a good thing or a bad thing. The group's mission statement doesn't really help me resolve the issue:
While the standard deviation from the traditional concert modes has
been to relax the boundaries between performer and audience, Ensemble
de Sade seeks an intensification of the boundaries, an increase of the
tension between the two opposing sides.
I appreciate this alternative artistic approach, at least I think I do. The programming by producer Matt Marks also seems appropriate:
Knowing the Ropes - Michael Nyman (arr. Matt Marks)
Selections from Book of Heads - John Zorn (featuring James Moore - guitar)
Sextet - Krzysztof Penderecki
Pierrot Lunaire - Arnold Schoenberg
John Zorn on his Book of Heads:
...this music was originally written for and is
dedicated to guitarist Eugene Chadbourne. Meant to GAS him, and to
stretch his already prodigious virtuosity to even wilder extremes, many
of the extended techniques used here (toy balloons, talking dolls,
mbira keys, wet finger whoops) were learned from him and were an
integral part of his improvisational language at that time.
I admit to not having the nerve to even watch that Tori Amos video and yet I would like to experience the aesthetics of this concert first hand.
private note to spouse: it's the concert's musical aesthetics i'm interested in, of course.
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