eighth blackbird, "The Only Moving Thing"

Camp Concert Hall, Booker Hall of Music

Since its founding in 1996, eighth blackbird has been active in commissioning new works from eminent composers such as George Perle, Frederic Rzewski and Joseph Schwantner, as well as ground-breaking works from Jennifer Higdon, Derek Bermel and the Minimum Security Composers Collective. For this remarkable concert, Richmond’s resident ensemble performs the world premiere of Steve Reich’s Double Sextet, commissioned by the Modlin Center for the Arts, and singing in the dead of night, a collaboration with Bang on a Can composers Michael Gordon, David Lang and Julia Wolfe and acclaimed choreographer Susan Marshall. The composers and choreographer will be in residence for this concert and will discuss their new works in a post-performance talk back session.

Tickets: $20 adults, $18 seniors 65+, $10 children 12 and under, $16 UR employees, UR students FREE

Double Sextet and singing in the dead of night were commissioned by eighth blackbird through the generous support of: (for Double Sextet) The Carnegie Hall Corporation, The Abe Fortas Memorial Fund of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Liverpool Cultural Company, The Modlin Center for the Arts at the University of Richmond, Orange County Performing Arts Center, The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music - Music 08 Festival; (for singing in the dead of night) The Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Millennium Park, Chicago; Jebediah Foundation; Frederica and James R. Rosenfield (specifically towards work of David Lang); San Francisco Performances; University Musical Society/University of Michigan.

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Audience Reviews :: eighth blackbird, "The Only Moving Thing" :: 8th Blackbird

6 Messages.	oldest firstnewest first
8th Blackbird Posted: March 27, 2008; 06:19 by: John 6 talented musicians making noise.
8th Blackbird Posted: March 27, 2008; 07:28 by: Nikki I have not evidently gained appreciation for the "new age" of music. The music, not necessarily the musicians, could be used as an alternative to gaining confessions from terrorist suspects. I could hardly wait for the noise and silliness to end.
re: 8th Blackbird Posted: March 27, 2008; 08:42 by: Kenneth As much as I tried, I couldn't enjoy these 2 pieces. The Steve Reich composition was a bit too "minimalist" for me and the recording they were playing with was louder than the live musicians and its fidelity was low, although the piece did a good job of building tension toward the end. The music from the "Bang on a Can" group seemed too gimmicky to me. I thought that the idea of using the sound of sand as an additional instrument was an interesting one but I found that I was distracted by watching the musicians play with the sand and the other toys and so I couldn't concentrate on the sound. But maybe that shows that I missed the point of the piece. All in all, I found the evening grating and noisy.
re: 8th Blackbird Posted: March 27, 2008; 09:04 by: Thomas What an exciting evening! Steve Reich's "Double Sextet" was intense and engaging, powerfully aggressive and exquisitely beautiful. It mostly hovered at a high level of tension which finally resolved in a most satisfying way at the end. Far from exhibiting the coldness often associated with so-called minimalist works (a designation that doesn't really fit this piece), "Double Sextet" was full of passion. "singing in the dead of night" was also a noteworthy experience in a completely different way. The three composers' pieces complemented each other perfectly, and the ordering chosen for the concert seems exactly right. The theatricality of the performance thoroughly enhanced the music. It was fun and sad and light and dramatic.
re: 8th Blackbird Posted: March 27, 2008; 10:31 by: Fran I agree with Thomas. I enjoyed the Reich piece from the first note to the last. I would love to hear it again. "Singing in the dead of night" was engrossing - the piano part in the last movement was amazing. I couldn't stay for the after performance talk and I want to know what happened to the leaves I saw on the blog? And how did they make the sand sounds?
re: 8th Blackbird Posted: March 27, 2008; 11:53 by: Katharine Loved it! I haven't listened to much contemporary music and was pleasantly surprised. The cyclical rhythms in "Double Sextet" were mesmerizing. I brought my 22 yr. old Death Metal guitarist son, thinking he would like the music more than I would. We both agreed it was "awesome." We also were intrigued by the performance art aspects of the second half of the show, though I had to struggle not to think of the poor people who had to clean up all that sand. Thanks for a very satisfying evening.
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