Erato Ensemble at Sonic Boom Festival

Erato Ensemble, Vancouver's professional art-song chamber ensemble, opened this week's Sonic Boom Festival of New Music by B.C. Composers with a juried performance. Last night's bill had a good balance of intellectually stimulating and aesthetically pleasing songs—something for everyone.

The Ensemble, which is also the festival's ensemble-in-residence, capped off the night with its most engaging piece, "The Death of Queen Jane" by Stefan Hintersteininger. Both my guest and I independently found it quite cinematic. Something about it made both of us think how good this would be on a soundtrack. Someone needs to mail a copy of this work to the "Games of Thrones" music producers.

"Ancient Songs" by Nova Pon is inspired by three pieces of ancient poetry which are up to 3400 years old. Pon doesn't merely revive the poetry but also gives it full life. I was absorbed by these pieces. I'm not sure if that's because they're a bridge across the ages or because they're such good music; in fact, I think it was both.

Michael Trew's "Japanese Plums" is inspired by his love of Japanese haiku. I found this piece intellectually rigorous. It has the difficult task of echoing haiku without aping it.

I want to hear a longer version of "An Afternoon Delight" by Brent Chauvin. It has an interesting A-B-A structure—also related to the Type A and Type B personality types, but I was simply lost in the music. That's a good thing.

"Bergère" by Réjean Marois is about the loss of the "ultimate love" and is a bit too modernist for my tastes, but it's good to hear a composer pushing the boundaries with interesting jazz influences. Nicholas Ryan Kelly's "When You Are Old" is inspired by the Yeats poem of the same name. I found it quite beautiful and aesthetically pleasing. Adam Hill deconstructed some folk-style idioms in "This is What Happened" and thereby cleverly breathes new life into a style that desperately needs it.

Whereas the rhythmic "Elephant Stamps" by John Mutter reminds my guest of "Dumbo," Wylie Ferguson's "Conqueror Worm," based on the Poe poem, reminds me of "Dune." Mutter gets the prize for best back story, which playfully describes the differences between stamping and stomping.

Cameron Catalano's "Eighty Years with Luck" turned me off at first but won me over by the end.

Special mention goes to the soprano, Catherine Laub. The piccolo player also deserves special praise.

Considering the overall high quality of this performance, Vancouver and B.C. can be proud of its vibrant local composer scene.

Erato Ensemble's next performance is "Ayre: Early Music Remixed" on Saturday May 24, 2014.

Pro Musica's Sonic Boom continues until this Sunday March 30.

To Wear a Heart So White

You'll have to forgive me for feeling like Stefon of 'Saturday Night Live' fame but no; this isn't the latest nightclub to open. However, Leaky Heaven's 'To Wear a Heart So White' certainly has everything.

Sometimes this reviewer feels like he's 'Stefon' of SNL.

In a mere 65 minutes, you get group hypnosis, a zombie ghost, little girls with strobe-light sneakers, an aircraft carrier in a storm, Earth-rise from the International Space Station, window washers, talking taxidermy, aurora borealis, David Bowie, slow motion live action, Costco product placement, beautiful live piano and singing, incantations with audience participation, sex that can only be described as boinking, and if you're lucky to get the right seat, free food, wine, and swine—all fit for a king.

 

All that is wrapped up in a loosely narrative framework of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth.' While much of this version of the Scottish play, itself mixed with Canadian, Russian, and First Nation cultural references, is clever and beautiful, it occasionally swings into silliness. However in the last few scenes, this hi-tech, quadrophonic piece of meta-theater redeems itself as an arty, trippy, psychedelic, and ultimately sweet play.

To Wear a Heart So White

March 25-30, 2014 at 8 PM; Saturday matinee at 2 PM
Russian Hall, 600 Campbell Ave., Vancouver
Tickets: $15-$20 at Brown Paper Tickets
More info. at Leaky Heaven

"Galaxies' Greatest Hits" Showcases Space Centre's New Capabilities

Space is way, way out there. But sometimes it gets spacey right here on Earth. "Galaxies' Greatest Hits," is a music show, which showcases the planetarium's brand new, full-dome, digital projection capabilities to spectacular effect.

The team at H.R. MacMillan Space Centre had a lot of fun putting this together, and it shows. "Seeing what the new, full-dome arena can do has been both experimental and entertaining for staff,” says Lisa McIntosh, Director of Learning at the Centre. The new, digital projector has been in place since July 2013.

The show is inspired by the music from classic and recent science fiction movies. The music is enhanced by surreal, fantastical imagery thereby transporting visitors to transformative, mood-provoking environments.

The music choices are taken from a wide range of movies including The Day the Earth Stood Still to the beautiful and serene Blue Danube waltz that was prominent in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Other selections include music from Return of the Jedi, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and the more recent, Gravity.

“It’s our homage to the science fiction movie experience,” explains McIntosh. “We take the audience on a journey through time and space.”

The best part is that this show has a lot of heart and, if you pay attention, a sweet sense of humour: After a dark and ominous music selection from 2001, the show lightens the mood with "Don't Worry; Be Happy—" something one wouldn't necessarily expect at a science fiction show.

Don't worry science geeks; our needs are also met. The show flowed seemlessly from a musical show into an entertaining, scientific examination of the universe. Of course, non-lovers of science could leave whenever they wanted (or, ahem, got a little space sick). It really was two shows in one—an excellent entertainment value.

The next time this show is at the Space Centre be sure to take a buddy!

Galaxies' Greatest Hits
Saturday 1 March 2014 at 7:30 PM
H.R. MacMillan Space Centre
1100 Chestnut Street, Vancouver, BC V6J 3J9
(604) 738-7827
www.spacecentre.ca