Earplay Returns to Old First to End Season

Last night Earplay concluded its 2023 season with a return to Old First Presbyterian Church, where it had previously presented its January program. The title of last night’s program was Once Upon a Time, which was also the title of the final selection on the program. The work had been composed by Jihyun Kim in 2018, but it was subsequently revised in 2022.

The “Once Upon a Time” ensemble of Terrie Baune, Brenda Tom, Vanessa Ruotolo, Peter Josheff, Tod Brody, and Jim Kassis conducted by Matilda Hofman (screen shot of last night’s performance)

“Once Upon a Time” was the only “large-scale” (by Earplay standards) work on the program that required a conductor (visiting artist Matilda Hofman). She led a sextet, whose members were Tod Brody (flute), Peter Josheff (clarinet), violin (Terrie Baune), cello (Vanessa Ruotolo), piano (Brenda Tom), and percussion (Jim Kassis). In the program book the composer referred to her structure as “quite chaotic.” One might describe it as a romp through fairytale rhetoric, but that rhetoric had more to do with “tone of voice” than with depicting any underlying narrative. Since Earplay does not have a “resident percussionist,” the presence of percussion was relatively unique and contributed much to that rhetorical romp. Placing this composition at the end of the program pretty much guaranteed that listeners would leave the concert in a good mood!

Three of the preceding works were trios. The last of these was the most conventional, a string trio of Baune performing with Ivo Bokulic on viola and Thalia Moore on cello. This was the seventh installment in a series of compositions by Brian R. Banks collected under the title A Bonsai Garden, completed in 2013 and given its United States premiere on this program. Banks is currently based in Mexico, but his interest in the Asian miniaturist approach to bonsai dates back to 2008. He is also interested in manga, with particular attention to the blank space between the panels. For the most part, his underlying concepts translated effectively into music for three string instruments without leaving the listener wondering if he had overplayed his hand.

The other two trios were distinguished by Brody’s flute work. Andrea Portera’s “Algoritmo Intuitivo,” completed in 2012, was the winner of last year’s Earplay Play Aird prize. Brody performed this trio with Baune and pianist Michael Seth Orland. Portera’s note for the program book never recognized that his title was an oxymoron. However, his music was engaging even if it never had much to do with the rigidity of an algorithm.

Brody was then joined by Josheff and Moore for the “Lapis Reprobatus” trio composed by Jean Ahn in 2015. I last encountered Ahn when she brought her Ensemble Ari musicians to Old First Concerts to perform for a “virtual audience” in September of 2020. I had previously encountered “Lapis Reprobatus” when the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble played it in June of 2015 as part of a series of compositions collected under the title Anti-Mass. That program presented a series of compositions inspired by the visual arts; and at that time, I felt as if Ahn’s contribution had gotten lost in the shuffle. Last night it was given a more attentive performance, which was far more satisfying.

The entire program began with a world premiere composed on an Earplay commission. Wyatt Cannon’s “Parietal Eye” was performed by Josheff and Bokulic. The title was apparently inspired by the concept of a third eye. However, I was more engaged by the dark tones that characterized both clarinet and viola, a rhetoric that quickly seized my attention and helped me to sustain it as the remaining selections progressed.