{"id":51457,"date":"2018-03-06T09:51:04","date_gmt":"2018-03-06T14:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=51457"},"modified":"2018-03-06T09:51:04","modified_gmt":"2018-03-06T14:51:04","slug":"primer-soundstreams-sonic-ripples-through-the-water-passion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2018\/03\/06\/primer-soundstreams-sonic-ripples-through-the-water-passion\/","title":{"rendered":"PRIMER | Soundstreams Sonic Ripples Through The Water Passion"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tan
Tan Dun, Water Passion after St. Matthew (Photo: International Bach Academy Stuttgart)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Water Passion <\/span><\/i>demands something of you. It also demands a fair amount from the musicians. The percussionists are elbow deep in the water for a good portion of the concert, the soprano must display virtuosity at the top of her range, and the choir plays stones. You have to take in the full theatre of the spectacle that Tan Dun has assembled. This work will lead you on quite the journey through the unsettled murmurs of the choir to \u201cIs it I?\u201d, the harsh temptation of Christ in the desert, the Water Cadenza, which features percussive sounds in and outside of water, and cackling soprano. <\/span>Water Passion<\/span><\/i> will challenge your cognition of music, your capacity for storytelling, and your conceptions of the Passion of Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

David Fallis leads Choir 21, instrumentalists, and soloists through Tan Dun\u2019s highly unusual <\/span>Water Passion<\/span><\/i> inspired by Bach\u2019s <\/span>St Matthew Passion<\/span><\/i>. In an interview, Fallis shared thoughts on the upcoming Soundstreams performances in Kingston and Toronto.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWater crosses different religions,\u201d shares Fallis. From the font at the entry of a church to the washing of hands and feet before entering temple or mosque \u2014 water is central to many rituals. \u201cThere\u2019s a kind of ritual performance… theatre even [to this work],\u201d shares Fallis, \u201cDun is quite precise about how it should be set up on stage.\u201d Water shapes the stage, it is the element through which all other sounds flow in this work, and it is constantly present throughout.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an intense experience, and I think that\u2019s what he wants,\u201d says Fallis. Audiences will be challenged watching and listening to this piece. It is as much a visual as an aural experience. \u201cThe Bach <\/span>St Matthew Passion<\/span><\/i> was not a ritual, but was part of a ritual \u2014 worship service. Any time a person is in a ritual, it can be emotional,\u201d says Fallis. Like any type of unknown ritual, you\u2019ll be confused, you\u2019ll be interested, you\u2019ll be reverent, and you\u2019ll be challenged. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe story is a very Christian story and has a weight of Christian theology behind it,\u201d shares Fallis. Dun has changed the work in a very fundamental way, \u201che doesn\u2019t quote the bible literally,\u201d Fallis continues, \u201chaving rewritten the words. As such, you don\u2019t feel like it\u2019s set in the wider theology of Christianity.\u201d Fallis speaks of a more universal writing that Dun has evoked with this work. Tied into this, Dun has interspersed rhythms and sounds from across the assembled musicians that evoke Eastern instruments and music. From harmonic overtone singing to Peking Opera to prayer bowls, to violins and cellos played to mimic more traditional instruments. And of course, the ever-present sound of water. These are not common sounds for Euro-centric settings of sacred music. \u201cIn this case,\u201d says Fallis, \u201c[Dun has taken] the story and put it in a context that all of us can understand, whether we believe in the redemption story \u2014 the Christian story \u2014 or not.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

In 2000, Helmuth Rilling and his <\/span>Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart <\/span>commissioned new works from four composers from around the world with a specific Bach Passion as inspiration. Tan Dun was given <\/span>St Matthew\u2019s Passion<\/span><\/i>. Performances of <\/span>St Matthew<\/span><\/i> are an \u201cintense\u201d experience,\u201d shares Fallis, who is no stranger to the Bach. He continues, \u201cpartly because of its length and there\u2019s also so much happening moment to moment.\u201d Listeners won\u2019t find Bach directly evoked in Dun\u2019s work. There is little aural or literal imitation. Dun has created something truly different, but no less impactful and \u201cintense\u201d. \u201cIt is a journey, and a somewhat arduous journey if you get drawn in,\u201d Fallis continues. <\/span><\/p>\n

Much is demanded of the musicians. During the crucifixion, The rhythmic placement of the \u201chaha\u201d is incredibly effective, driving the emotional intensity behind this humiliating musical spectacle. Fallis talks about the intention of this section: \u201cyou can\u2019t tell from the music. But, the way that he gets the chorus to laugh for instance, you can tell there\u2019s something.\u201d The effect is chilling. Other parts are very quiet, with earthy qualities intoned by different percussion instruments. And there is always the ever-present water. <\/span><\/p>\n

Water is an unusual choice to match with voices and instruments that operate by displacing molecules in air. But vibrations can also displace molecules in water, taking familiar sounds we all know and changing them. Tan Dun has been intentional with the writing that shapes the water sounds. \u201cEspecially because of the sound of the water instruments, [the music] doesn\u2019t ever get very loud,\u201d says Fallis. \u201cThere are a few important moments of silence. There\u2019s a lot on the quiet end of things and parts where there is dripping water. Dripping is always quite quiet. The minute it gets more, it sounds like pouring. Everything has to be specifically gauged in order to hear it,\u201d shares Fallis. Some of the vocal writing, due to the extra low pitch of the notes means the lines are inherently quiet, more like a subtle vibration coming from the bass soloist than a sound. Writing in the soprano line is dramatically wide and very high, almost inhuman sounding. Some parts are whispered, like \u201cit is finished\u201d at the end of the crucifixion. While right after is a cacophony of sounds as thunder sheets erupt with screaming voices \u2014 the earthquake. The dramatic demands are wide and demanding. This is the challenge, one that David seems intellectually and musically prepared to master.<\/span><\/p>\n

Warning: Make sure to use the washroom before the performance. There is sustained dripping in this performance…<\/span><\/p>\n

Soundstreams presents Tan Dun\u2019s Water Passion. March 8, 7:30 pm, Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, Kingston. March 9, 8 pm, Trinity-St Paul\u2019s Centre Toronto. See details here<\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

LUDWIG VAN TORONTO<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Fallis tells us how Water Passion will challenge your cognition of music, your capacity for storytelling, and your conceptions of the Passion of Christ.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":51459,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[14761,4557,15953,63],"tags":[966,3079,4339],"yst_prominent_words":[17403,17365,11621,17402,8499,17404,16259,8688,17406,17407,17399,14931,17401,17400,8986,17362,17360,17405,8534,17359],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/03\/150429_WaterEdit11600x868.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-dnX","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51457"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51457"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51457\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51467,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51457\/revisions\/51467"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51457"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=51457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}