Avant Composers

Something about being in New York has me listening to and seeking more of the avant-garde composers. I went to a free concert last night of compositions by Arvo Part and Morton Feldman. Feldman's "Rothko Chapel" being the climax of the show. It was in a giant glass atrium full of palm trees: The Winter Garden. (Appropriate as it is now 27 degrees here.) "Rothko Chapel" was written to coincide with the opening of the Rothko Chapel in Houston, TX. Rothko, however, killed himself before it was opened. So the work has a lot of melancholy. It is arguably the first ambient work as well. (Eno's "Music for Airports" arriving several years later.) The performers felt slightly awkward with their "zen" delivery; I enjoyed the Part compositions more. Part is an Estonian composer known for "sacred minimalism". Part also created the Tintinnabulation style of very bell-like compositions. My mother has explained to me that music was the only method of preserving language and culture during the occupation in Estonia by foreign powers. She was there once during a huge fest when people came from all over the world to sing together. It must have been fantastic. Now I await my Massiaen discs from the library.