SONIC VIGIL VII
Fine write up on the event here
http://theurgetocreate.com/november-december-sonic-vigil/
November-December: Sonic Vigil
Written by Athos Tsiopani
Often atonal and perhaps droney, improvised music may seem inaccessible and challenging to the idle listener. The truth is that improvised music is far more creative and complex than people would imagine and the annual event Sonic Vigil was full of it.
I refrain from using the commonly-used term ‘free improv’ as I feel it is a misconception whilst the music might appear free, it is far from it. There are certainly rules in improvised music, though they are not apparent at first. Like many other forms of music, they are un-written but generally understood by the performers. They change from area to area, like dialects of language. To add an even greater complication, they change from individual musicians as well. Improvised music performers each bring their own aesthetic, expectations and motives to any individual performance and it is in this un-heard plane that the interactions between musicians take place, where motivations change. The material is perhaps secondary, interpretations of the reactions which are more interesting; obviously a good improviser will be good at both.
I spoke to Danny McCarthy, one of the founders and curators of the Sonic Vigil event, as well as numerous other venues around town including the Triskel Arts Centre and the National Sculpture Factory, about his take to improvisation. He placed an emphasis on listening:
“[I play with] Open mind/Open Heart/Open Listening. When I go to perform as I did on Saturday, I would have my set-up tested to ensure that it is working beforehand, then, at the appointed time, I go on and I do not have any idea which instrument/object I will pick up. I listen and then I play.”
Sonic Vigil is an event that hosts music of this kind and sets a bench mark for a national standard. The annual event was established, in 2005, by Danny McCarthy and Mick O’Shea, who perform under the moniker of ‘The Quiet Club’. Upon the origins of the event, Danny McCarthey commented:
“The motivation behind us founding was I think to provide a forum for people to perform together. […] Personally my motivation has always been to help give opportunities to others.”
He also mentioned how the event is funded:
“It is not Arts Council funded so a lot of it is good will and a belief in what we are doing.”
There were some quite big names from the scene there at the Vigil, including John Godfrey’s ‘Quiet Music Ensemble’, Jesse Ronneau, Katie O’Looney Tobias Schmitt, David Stalling, the Quiet Club themselves and many others. The event took place on Saturday the 24th of November in The Guesthouse and St. Anne’s Church on Shandon, Cork.
Unfortunately, I was working for most of that day and arrived to the six-hour long event at 7pm, four hours after it started. I arrived just in time for the beginning of the Quiet Music Ensemble’s third performance of the night. For their third set they performed ‘Carousel’ by Charlie Sdraulig, ‘Park’ by Conal Ryan and ‘Agentia’ by Robert Parmar. The first two pieces were composed through and the last held instructions for an improvisation. ‘Carousel’ was incredibly sparse and largely comprised of silence. It was almost strange to see the musicians turning pages with almost nothing but rests on them; I can’t imagine how challenging it would have been to keep count of the beats. The sparseness of the notes created a very tense atmosphere that was hardly relieved with the micro-tonal intervals the musicians played.
‘Park’ was more dramatic than its predecessor. It seemed much more concerned with the blending of timbre and un-even intervals and was mostly drone. I quite enjoyed this piece. ‘Agentia’ by Robin Parmer was probably my favourite of the night. The leader of the ‘Quiet Music Ensemble’, John Godfrey introduced the piece by noting that there was a backing track present and that the ensemble “would provide the rhythm”. The musicians scattered themselves around the room and Godfrey encouraged the audience to walk about the area to “see what you could find” within the space. The piece began with some birdsong, followed by shuffling from the audience before the musicians joined in. There was a combination of real and beautiful samples with pre-produced material and extended techniques from the ensemble. What was really interesting for me, was when the backing track dropped out and we were left with the sonorities of the instrument. Really beautiful stuff.
Anthony Kelly, David Stalling and Kevin Tuohy performed the next piece, standing on the balcony, looking down on the musicians. From what I could tell, they were using mostly home-made instruments. Their position added an extra layer to the performance: because I couldn’t see them, it occurred to me that they could have had anything up there and I wouldn’t know until I heard it. Their deep bass tone really resonated in the church and their pulsing drones and home-made sounds were quite interesting.
Francis Heary and Andrea Bonino were up next performing on laptop and a home-made guitar respectively. The body of Bonino’s guitar was made from an empty tin box of quality street. The piece itself moved quite gradually, though the slow movement was occasionally countered by sudden changes. I’ve known Francis Heary for a while and I know that one of his techniques is to process a sample, mix it down, process that, mix it down again…and so on. His final samples are processed almost to the point of being un-recognisable, though they each have an air of familiarity.
Finally, the QME performed an improvisation with Strange Attractor, a group comprising of Danny McCarthy, Mick O’Shea, Irene Murphy, David Stalling and Anthony Kelly. It felt to me that the two groups were interacting more within themselves than each other but there were some moments of beautiful unity. At a point in the performance, Danny McCarthy covered himself with a black sheet, balanced a cymbal on his head and held another suspended from his left hand and began to play them. That was…strange. The music was excellent though. I did quite enjoy the performance and indeed, the entire event.
Fine write up on the event here
http://theurgetocreate.com/november-december-sonic-vigil/
November-December: Sonic Vigil
Written by Athos Tsiopani
Often atonal and perhaps droney, improvised music may seem inaccessible and challenging to the idle listener. The truth is that improvised music is far more creative and complex than people would imagine and the annual event Sonic Vigil was full of it.
I refrain from using the commonly-used term ‘free improv’ as I feel it is a misconception whilst the music might appear free, it is far from it. There are certainly rules in improvised music, though they are not apparent at first. Like many other forms of music, they are un-written but generally understood by the performers. They change from area to area, like dialects of language. To add an even greater complication, they change from individual musicians as well. Improvised music performers each bring their own aesthetic, expectations and motives to any individual performance and it is in this un-heard plane that the interactions between musicians take place, where motivations change. The material is perhaps secondary, interpretations of the reactions which are more interesting; obviously a good improviser will be good at both.
I spoke to Danny McCarthy, one of the founders and curators of the Sonic Vigil event, as well as numerous other venues around town including the Triskel Arts Centre and the National Sculpture Factory, about his take to improvisation. He placed an emphasis on listening:
“[I play with] Open mind/Open Heart/Open Listening. When I go to perform as I did on Saturday, I would have my set-up tested to ensure that it is working beforehand, then, at the appointed time, I go on and I do not have any idea which instrument/object I will pick up. I listen and then I play.”
Sonic Vigil is an event that hosts music of this kind and sets a bench mark for a national standard. The annual event was established, in 2005, by Danny McCarthy and Mick O’Shea, who perform under the moniker of ‘The Quiet Club’. Upon the origins of the event, Danny McCarthey commented:
“The motivation behind us founding was I think to provide a forum for people to perform together. […] Personally my motivation has always been to help give opportunities to others.”
He also mentioned how the event is funded:
“It is not Arts Council funded so a lot of it is good will and a belief in what we are doing.”
There were some quite big names from the scene there at the Vigil, including John Godfrey’s ‘Quiet Music Ensemble’, Jesse Ronneau, Katie O’Looney Tobias Schmitt, David Stalling, the Quiet Club themselves and many others. The event took place on Saturday the 24th of November in The Guesthouse and St. Anne’s Church on Shandon, Cork.
Unfortunately, I was working for most of that day and arrived to the six-hour long event at 7pm, four hours after it started. I arrived just in time for the beginning of the Quiet Music Ensemble’s third performance of the night. For their third set they performed ‘Carousel’ by Charlie Sdraulig, ‘Park’ by Conal Ryan and ‘Agentia’ by Robert Parmar. The first two pieces were composed through and the last held instructions for an improvisation. ‘Carousel’ was incredibly sparse and largely comprised of silence. It was almost strange to see the musicians turning pages with almost nothing but rests on them; I can’t imagine how challenging it would have been to keep count of the beats. The sparseness of the notes created a very tense atmosphere that was hardly relieved with the micro-tonal intervals the musicians played.
‘Park’ was more dramatic than its predecessor. It seemed much more concerned with the blending of timbre and un-even intervals and was mostly drone. I quite enjoyed this piece. ‘Agentia’ by Robin Parmer was probably my favourite of the night. The leader of the ‘Quiet Music Ensemble’, John Godfrey introduced the piece by noting that there was a backing track present and that the ensemble “would provide the rhythm”. The musicians scattered themselves around the room and Godfrey encouraged the audience to walk about the area to “see what you could find” within the space. The piece began with some birdsong, followed by shuffling from the audience before the musicians joined in. There was a combination of real and beautiful samples with pre-produced material and extended techniques from the ensemble. What was really interesting for me, was when the backing track dropped out and we were left with the sonorities of the instrument. Really beautiful stuff.
Anthony Kelly, David Stalling and Kevin Tuohy performed the next piece, standing on the balcony, looking down on the musicians. From what I could tell, they were using mostly home-made instruments. Their position added an extra layer to the performance: because I couldn’t see them, it occurred to me that they could have had anything up there and I wouldn’t know until I heard it. Their deep bass tone really resonated in the church and their pulsing drones and home-made sounds were quite interesting.
Finally, the QME performed an improvisation with Strange Attractor, a group comprising of Danny McCarthy, Mick O’Shea, Irene Murphy, David Stalling and Anthony Kelly. It felt to me that the two groups were interacting more within themselves than each other but there were some moments of beautiful unity. At a point in the performance, Danny McCarthy covered himself with a black sheet, balanced a cymbal on his head and held another suspended from his left hand and began to play them. That was…strange. The music was excellent though. I did quite enjoy the performance and indeed, the entire event.
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