Tuesday, December 8, 2009
I have always been terrified of boredom. I admit that sometimes this fear may have led me to overcomplicate things (both personally and professionally…)
Now, I understand that simple can be good, but I don’t like things to be too predictable; it has got to remain interesting. There is, for me, a clear example in the music world of this apparent paradox :
The ground bass. A ground bass is a musical phrase that recurs many times in succession. Predictable? Absolutely. And yet I’m a sucker for a good ground bass. Boring? Hell, no. Not at all.
Why?
Well, the ground bass, which was much used during the Baroque period, but occurs in many different musical styles, is often associated with improvisation. It is accompanied by continuous variation in the upper parts; and there’s the crux of the matter. A ground bass provides security and continuity whilst allowing imagination free range within certain boundaries. (I refer to my earlier blog, Narrow the path to find direction.)
Monteverdi’s Lamento della Ninfa is in three parts. The middle part is based on a ground bass. Listen to this on youtube, and I’m sure you’ll get my point.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Although it sounds vaguely African, in fact, the M HKA is the newly done-up modern art museum in Antwerp. I visited it this week and I was impressed.
The building that houses M HKA is immediately inviting; the architecture is unusual and eyecatching.
Also, it’s located in a great part of Antwerp, not far from the Cathedral, along the Schelde. (The more classical Museum for Fine Arts is just a few minutes away.)
Inside the set-up of the museum is spacious and interesting. The formula is one ticket to visit all the (smallish) exhibitions that are on at the time. You can see what’s on offer via the new, trendy website :
- I was not particularly grabbed by the textiles;
- some of the Chinese pictures from Useful Life made me feel distinctly queasy;
- I loved Collectie XXIV, which features mostly Belgian and Dutch artists (Jan Fabre, Job Koelewijn);
- the photos of the Uzbek Said Atabekov in Lonely at the Top were thought-provoking and atmospheric.
The children were free, and there is a lovely kids’ corner where cultured-out young ones can chill with a pot of crayons.
And, of particular interest to me, you will see on the website that the museum is actively promoting the intermingling of different cultural disciplines, in particular including musical and dance projects on its agenda. Hooray!
Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen
Leuvenstraat 32,
2000 Antwerpen, België
From Thursday to Saturday this week, the organisations foAM, nadine & gRig (the Guild for Reality Integrators and Generators) will be hosting a special public meeting (they’re calling it gRig Froesjels).
The central idea is to explore what happens when art mixes with science and technology, and the public meeting is a chance to meet gRig members and experience some of its work.
The meeting starts on 29th October with a series of events that mix physical and digital realities. It concludes on 31st October with a Data Ecologies seminar followed by an All Hallow’s Eve costumed event at the Toone puppet theatre. And in the middle, on 30th October, that’s where I come in. GRig will hold a formal reception in the ancient halls of the Guild of Saint Georges. There will be gRig gastronomic refreshments, a talk by Maja Kuzmanovic (gRig’s energetic co-ordinator), and the première of Stevie Wishart’s ‘Viriditas’, a piece commissioned specially for this event.
‘Viriditas’ is for voices, hurdy-gurdy and ‘cello. It is based on Hildegard von Bingen’s Lingua Ignota and her vision of Viriditas, the greening energy behind all life.
You are invited to the performance, which is in the ancient Archers’ Guild hall : the Grand Serment Royal et de Saint-Georges des Arbalétriers de Bruxelles, Impasse du Borgendael – Koningsplein 7-9 Place Royale, 1000 Brussels.
Dress code : mediaeval or formal attire.
On Friday 30th October I will be performing with Stevie Wishart for the environmental organization foAM. On the menu newly-composed ‘alternative classical’ music inspired by the writings of Hildegaard von Bingen. More anon.
