NMF turns idea of ritual on its head

The second concert of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s New Music Festival, Rituals, interpreted the term loosely, often leaving solemnity aside, to the delight of an almost full house on Sunday.

What emerged was a thoroughly intriguing and embracing evening of new music that stimulated the senses.

First up was Ka Hia Manu, a traditional Polynesian song arranged by Stephen Hatfield. Members of Prairie Voices lined the front and sides of the church and walked on to the stage, men holding bamboo stocks and sceptres, women with flowers in their upturned palms. This versatile choir met the changing demands of the music – at times gentle, at others strong, almost yelling.

At one point they erupted into a tribal-like dance, complete with hoots, animal calls and swaying of hips.

Andrew Balfour’s Fantasia on a Poem by Rumi featured Camerata Nova, his 14-voice a cappella ensemble and string quartet (Claudine St-Arnauld, Rachel Moody, Merrily Peters and Margaret Askeland). This was a musical exploration of the words of 12th-century Afghanistan-born poet Rumi on the idea of death and transformation.

The piece opened with the eerily magical notes of the crystal bowl. As the pristine voices of the singers entered, luxuriantly textured harmonies portrayed the emotional pulls between the finality of death and the spiritual peace it brings. Tension in the string parts acted as an underlying question, while the perfectly tuned voices alternated between plaintive and joyous. This is not a sombre look at death but a hopeful one.

Epitaph for Moonlight by R. Murray Schafer recalled a walk in the forest on a summer night. Prairie Voices and the University Singers delivered peeps of laughter, voices like the wind, whispers, solo voices followed by a myriad of echoes – a delightful sensory treat that hinted at the scent of pine needles.

Vancouver singer-songwriter Veda Hille provided what she called "palette cleansers" between choral works. Singing songs from her new CD to be released next month, her clean and simple delivery was refreshing in its unpretentiousness. Accompanying herself on the piano, she struck a stark contrast to the choirs, performing with unself-conscious abandon.

Sid Robinovitch’s Noche de Lluvia (Rainy Night) was a sensual, swaying Spanish song. Pianist C. Kayler and the University Singers really got into this hot, yet gently civilized number.