Feminist Theory and Music Conference UNC Greensboro: Concert 2 Music Review

Concert II at the Feminist Theory and Music Conference 10, hosted by the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, featured an interesting mix of contemporary works that included compositions that borrowed from literature, technology, and the visual arts. Host Elizabeth L. Keathley and the UNCG staff did an excellent job in organizing this eclectic concert event.

Jaclyn Heyen opened up Concert II with Gotta Love Judy, a work dedicated to Judy Garland. Using a variety of sound clips, Heyen used live processing to mix various samples of Judy Garland. Technical difficulties aside, Gotta Love Judy was an interesting sound study depicting the inner psychological trauma of the troubled actress.

In direct contrast to Heyen's solely electroacoustic work was Hsiao-Lan Wang's poignant work for flute and piano, Tale of an Unborn Child. Oscillating between masterful lyricism and sharp musical gestures, Tale of an Unborn Child attempted to address the difficult issue of abortion from the perspective of a woman who must face this difficult decision. At times, Tale of an Unborn Child sounded funereal and somber, with a slight touch of slowly dissipating hope, at other times, an almost manic anger seems to possess the flautist with desperate breathy gasps. Although the composer meant for the composition to represent the emotional plight of the new mother, there are many times throughout Tale of an Unborn Child where the music portrayed equally the trials of the unborn child in the woman's body.

Following Lori Laitman's passionate work for soprano and piano, Becoming a Redwood, was the intriguing work, Taut, performed by dancer-musician Tomie Hahn and sculptor Melanie Klein. A visual work as much as a musical composition, Taut found Hahn and Klein in a physical struggle with a stubborn elastic tire tube sculpture. Hahn attempted to perform on the shakuhachi, while fighting the constant tugging and pulling of her partner Klein.

The final piece on the concert, One Blazing Glance by Beth Denisch demonstrated the compositional prowess of one who truly knows her craft. A song cycle written for soprano, flute, harp, viola, and marimba, One Blazing Glance, used the poetry of seventeen poems from women throughout the world. Texts were borrowed from as far flung as Africa, Greece, China, and Romania and organized in three parts, reflecting the life cycle of woman. The musical balance between the soprano and the instrumental ensemble complemented the poems beautifully, at times only serving to lightly accent the words, at other times fully expressing the text almost literally, but at all times not intrusive and expertly done. The performers, soprano Kathryn Wright, flautist Wendy Rolfe, violist Scott Rawls, harpist Helen Rifas, and Peter Zlotnick on marimba did an excellent job realizing the delicate intricacies of One Blazing Glance, truly a masterpiece in its own right.

SOURCES:
Elizabeth Keathley, Feminist Theory and Music Conference 10, UNCG.
Elizabeth Keathley, Feminist Theory and Music Conference 10 Concert II Program, UNCG.