eighth blackbird, "The Music of Stephen Hartke"

Unbelievable! Contemporary music is usually not my comfort zone, but tonight I was glued to my seat. This group made it all not only believable, but fascinating. The precision with which they attacked or slid into any given phrase and even the emotion, was unbelievable. In The Horse with the Lavender Eye we were jerked, spun and floated on a cloud.

Meanwhile took us out of this world into a land of childhood dreams. The instrumentation and the unusual use of and sounds from those instruments was worth the trip, but Stephen Hartke's imaginative musical score fit this group as if it had been painted on them. He knew exactly how they worked. This was a marriage made in Heaven.

Tituli for five male voices, violin and two percussionists was impossible to sing, but that didn't stop these five gentlemen. With only the violin, often in another key, and the percussion with their unworldly sounds as accompaniment, these gentlemen sang impossible harmonies and sounds; their only frame of reference their tuning forks. This was accapela music at the top of the ladder.

A beautiful evening!

I must be missing something or maybe I'm just too shallow, but last night's performance forced me to keep looking at my watch and hoping that the time would go faster. I respect the hard work all the musicians put into the performance, so maybe it just appeals to someone with a more sophisticated musical pallet.

As for me, I can only think of an old children's book and say "the king has no clothes".

This was the first time I had heard eighth blackbird. Although I prefer more traditional music, I found the concert most rewarding. The music was beautiful in a modern way and it was a real pleasure to watch the performers. The choral performance was especially beautiful; the voices were excellent and well rehearsed. Perhaps my favorite part of the whole performance was enjoying the vigor and energy displayed by the pianist, but all the performers were most excellent. I say Brava and Bravo and I hope to attend another eighth blackbird concert. And I might add that the composer was a delightful speaker; I am so glad he spoke to the audience.

This was the first concert we attended by this incredible group. All of the performers, both instrumental and vocal, were wonderful. Contemporary music is not usually a favorite of mine, but this group changed my mind. We will attend another eighth blackbird concert.

The concert was more avant-garde than I expected.
I am not a serious music snob; the performers were interesting, but I felt that the first piece was simply noise.

The later pieces offered an opportunity to watch the musicians perform, but most of the music was beyond my ability to appreciate It may well be my lack of background.

Now that I have been once, I doubt that I need to go again.