The university's Spring Festival Of New Music, which ends tomorrow night, makes a nice opening gambit for the summer term, even if students were noticeable by their absence at Wednesday's kick-off.
The Dutch chamber orchestra De Ereprijs (Price Of Honour) delivered a minimalist programme of works. In a group with pairs of trombones, horns, electric guitars, flutes and saxophones, underpinned by tuba, piano and percussion, the results are rarely subtle.
The first half was generally noisy. It culminated in David Dramm's Zero Roll, which was inspired by the note-bending exploits of rock guitarist Duane Eddy. Effectively an electric guitar concerto, with Paul Vos the agile soloist, its rapid opening solo and group syncopations turned into a slow, beautiful shimmer. Darting guitar riffs, ending abruptly, were pleasingly rounded off by a pleasing coda for guitar and piano.
At the end of the evening Sal's Sax, by Joe Cutler, proved equally impressive. Its clear, easily intelligible plan of repeating jazzy patterns, with saxophone prominent, eventually reached a climactic riot of sound.
We also enjoyed wailing saxes in Anna Meredith's over-amplified Bloom, a kind of Morse code around one note in the premiere of Edward Jessen's Thype, jagged close-harmony in Ed Bennett's Shrigley, and Hanna Kulenty's balletic Mezzo Tango, winding down to an ironic close. All good, ear-teasing stuff. The festival continues tonight with a tribute to Nicola LeFanu.
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