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The Toy Piano Composers<\/span><\/a>\u00a0turned seven last weekend. To celebrate, they treated an audience to a program of chamber music based on the premise of integrating homemade\/invented instruments. It was an evening full of whispers, creaks, rustles, hums, crackles, and rubbing.<\/p>\n The turnout was good, and even the Music Gallery\u2019s exceedingly\u00a0uncomfortable pews didn\u2019t detour a wholehearted gathering.<\/p>\n Co-hosted by TPC\u2019s Monica Pearce and Chris Thornborrow, the concert represented six composers exhibiting pieces preceded by a series of off-the-cuff interviews. With the exception of some thoughtful commentary by Anthony Marasco and Jason Doell, this was a somewhat palsy-walsy approach.<\/p>\n At one point, one of the composers called out \u201cHail Satan,\u201d during his interview, which was more than a little offensive considering the Music Gallery doubles as an\u00a0Anglican church<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n Grumpy critic aside, each of the works were worthwhile and stretched-out the traditional notions of conventional instrumentation – and as any good contemporary music\u00a0composer will tell you, these need a good stretching from time-to-time.<\/p>\n The show opened with a delightful mouthful by Toronto composer\u00a0Elisha Denburg<\/a>:\u00a0<\/span>Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Fun with Friends Musical Table<\/i>. The main focus of the piece was a toy, which Denburg nabbed from his 14-month-old son. It was mic\u2019d and played by percussionist Daniel Morphy as a totally repurposed sampler, which included a disembodied child\u2019s voice reciting basic colours, numbers, and phrases such as, \u201cit\u2019s learning time!\u201d The piece fluttered and teased laughs from even the most prickly\u00a0of Toronto\u2019s contemporary who\u2019s who.<\/p>\n After Denburg’s piece, composer Fiona Ryan took the stage to present her utterly strange\u00a0Ancient Dances III: For Post-Apocalyptic Orchestra<\/i>. It was a messy effort, and struggled to survive its brief life in the world. The Toy Piano Composers Ensemble did their best to make sense of the piece, but this was a difficult sell, especially after such a strong outing by Denburg\u2019s \u201ctough act to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n Next up was a new work titled\u00a0Sonata for Satan\u00a0<\/i>by\u00a0Daniel Brophy<\/span><\/a>. The piece combined a number of spectral influences \u2013 though there was no mention of this in Brophy\u2019s academically-styled program notes:\u00a0 \u201cThe process is linear and degrading, driving further away from its original form as it moves along its trajectory.\u201d\u00a0 Daniel Morphy, (tasked with playing Brophy’s hand-made instruments), tussled with the electronics during the performance. It was enthralling to watch him try to coax sound out of things like a tumbler shaped object rubbing against a saw equipped with a stubborn piezo contact microphone. \u00a0The harmonies were full of shifting tall-masted chords that cast a complex harmonic shadow\u00a0throughout the room (Hail Satan?).<\/p>\n Another highlight included two works by TPC\u2019s very first international guest composer,\u00a0Anthony T. Marasco<\/span><\/a>. As both a composer and sound artist, Marasco takes his influence from Digimodernist culture, which, as he explains on his website, explores the relationships between the eccentric and the every-day, the strict and the indeterminate, the raw and the refined, the retro and the contemporary.<\/p>\n His first piece,\u00a0Mid-Century Marfa<\/i>, required plenty of elaborate DIY\u00a0instrumentary<\/i>. Its premise was evocative of\u00a0Martha Texas<\/span><\/a>, which has become notable as a kind of hipster paradise where people flock to take selfies in front on a lone Prada store that sits unexplained in the middle of nowhere. Wesley Shen played the piece with multiple knuckle-knocks, and various sportive gestures that offered a strong counter\u00a0to the fan-swept drones that shaped the sonic inspired desert landscape.<\/p>\n The piece includes an instrument called a\u00a0plastorgan<\/span><\/a>, which is basically a collection of resonant plastic pop-bottles installed in front of a fan. It sounded a bit like the sci-fi drone from an early 1960\u2019s Star Trek episode. The piece also included an aeolian harp (an open-tuned instrument played by wind), which added a wonderfully strange character to the piece, further heightened by live processing by Marasco from the stage.<\/p>\n His other work,\u00a0Ultraviolet Cleopatra<\/i>, (not as strong as the first), included a similar drone-based structure that was mostly textural. Adam Scime did a fine job performing on the electric bass, and firmly grounded the work.<\/p>\n Next on the bill was\u00a0Monica Pearce<\/span><\/a>\u2019s Cognitive Dissonance<\/i>, scored for violin, piano, and oxblood (an instrument made by Anthony Marasco). Though interesting at times, the sound of the oxblood offered very little nuance besides a vague rubbing sound. Think of what an amplified slinky might sound like, you wouldn\u2019t be far-off. The piece was performed by a stone-faced Wesley Shen on piano, and truly phenomenal Sharon Lee on violin.<\/p>\n The show closed with Ordinance<\/i> by\u00a0Jason Doell<\/span><\/a>. The\u00a0charming piece is composed of 5 music boxes, which Doell hand-punched using a special kit available\u00a0online<\/span><\/a>. It was a delightful work, and its gentle hypnotic tones and mechanical winding sounds lulled a wonderful conclusion to the evening.<\/p>\n With a number of compelling pieces and near misses, it was a worthwhile night for new music in Toronto.<\/p>\n The TPC have made a real specialty out of presenting new music concerts in a surprisingly disarming and fun way. This time it was a Pandora’s Box, but next time they just might\u00a0let the genie out of the bottle.<\/p>\n The Toy Piano Composers\u2019\u00a0next concert<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is planned for November 29th<\/sup><\/span>\u00a0at Heliconian Hall. Do check them out.<\/p>\n