Last night, Roulette--which will soon depart Soho for a new home in downtown Brooklyn--hosted a lovely concert of excerpts and short vocal works-in-progress by Meredith Monk, performed by The M6. This sextet--including Sasha Bogdanowitsch, Sidney Chen, Emily Eagen, Holly Nadal, Toby Newman and Peter Sciscioli--dedicates itself to the continuation of Monk's musical legacy.
In a companionable repertoire for a rainy city night, the singers evoked for me the flow of sound across open space; the coursing of time; the massing, receding of energies in nature; the traditions of deep-rooted communities; the passing on, from heart to heart and generation to generation, of old lullabys and love songs.
Some pieces I especially enjoyed: Three Heavens and Hells (1993)--inspired by a Zen-like poem by Tennessee Reed, Ishmael Reed's daughter, then just 11--tapped into my nervous system with its intriguing, rhythmic repetition. In the "Hocket" duet from Facing North (1990), Sciscioli and the astonishing Eagen rapidly traded deep, sharp sounds--as round and as delicious as gumdrops--in a process similar to Eskimo throat singing. I thought of the call and response of a pair of bonded sandhill cranes. Chen's performance of the solo "Boat Man" from Volcano Songs (1994)--revealed character and gusto within sound integrated with physical movement.
All in all, a sometimes joyous, sometimes deeply soothing evening!
Love Meredith Monk? Check this out:
at Le Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker Street, Manhattan (directions)
Doors open 6:30PM; showtime 7:30pm
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