Friction Quartet Explores Vocal Repertoire

Mezzo Melinda Martinez Becker (center) performing with Friction Quartet members (left to right) Kevin Rogers, Mitso Floor, Doug Machiz, and Otis Harriel (screen shot from last night’s video stream)

Last night at Old First Presbyterian Church, the Friction Quartet, whose members are violinists Otis Harriel and Kevin Rogers (sharing first chair), violist Mitso Floor, and cellist Doug Machiz, shared their Old First Concerts (O1C) program with mezzo Melinda Martinez Becker. Roughly half of the program was devoted to the music of Caroline Shaw, with Becker providing the vocals for two of the four selections. The second half of the program involved three premiere performances.

The most important of those premieres was the song cycle Canto Caló, composed by Nicolás Lell Benavides. Both Becker and Benavides were born in New Mexico, and the music reflects their respective grandparents’ life experiences. The texts of the songs drew upon a distinctive dialect that was popular among those involved with the Pachuco movement of the Thirties and Forties. Unfortunately, the O1C event page did not provide the texts for this song cycle, putting those of us watching the live stream at a disadvantage; but there was still much to be gained from the expressiveness of Becker’s delivery. The good news is that this piece will be released on an Innova Recordings album; and, hopefully, the texts will be part of the package!

The other two premieres were Becker’s arrangements of two mariachi songs for voice and string quartet. Friction has accumulated such a diverse repertoire that there was no surprise in encountering its venture into the mariachi repertoire. The composers of the two selections were Gilberto Parra and Raymundo Pérez y Soto. Here, again, remote viewers had no access to the texts; but, also again, it was the spirit of Becker’s performance that made the listening experience so engaging.

The spirit also brought life to the two vocal selections by Shaw, “Other Song” and “Cant Voi L’aube,” the latter taking a twelfth century lament for its text. The two instrumental selections by Shaw were “First Essay” and “Blueprint.” The first of these justified its title with its reflections of the rhythm of speech. “Blueprint,” on the other hand, emerged as a reflection of the early string quartet music of Ludwig van Beethoven. I have to confess, however, that neither of these registered as much expressiveness as the vocal works did. On the purely instrumental side, the greatest impact came from Dan Becker’s “Lockdown.”