>>PREVIEW
KRONOS QUARTET WITH TANYA TAGAQ
High Performance Rodeo
January 29
Jack Singer Concert Hall (Epcor Centre)
Global by nature, Kronos Quartet are entering their 33rd year of existence as musical ambassadors of the modern world. The ensemble’s tireless exploration of new musical forms continues to result in experimental collaborations with composers and musicians from around the planet. They happily embark on a rigorous, worldwide touring schedule year after year, while also managing to add to their already impressive recording catalogue.
The American foursome consists of founder, artistic director and first violinist David Harrington, John Sherba (violin), Hank Dutt (violin) and new addition Jeffrey Zeigler, who signed on as the group’s cellist last summer. Speaking from his San Francisco office, Harrington is particularly excited about their current musical stature. He points out that in the past six months, Kronos has received six major pieces that he believes will end up being in the repertoire of quartets all over the world within the next 20 years.
"We’ve got a lot of things coming up, and the music that is happening right now is without parallel in our career so far. There’s never been a time like this – it’s just incredible. I can’t believe the way composers are stepping up to the plate and hitting home runs for us," he says with a laugh.
One such composer is Canadian Derek Charke, who recently wrote "Inuit Throat Song Games" specifically for Kronos. The work is being performed in Calgary as part of the quartet’s second appearance at One Yellow Rabbit’s High Performance Rodeo. Four selections from Charke’s composition will open the concert and involve techniques where the Kronos musicians use their bows to become throat singers themselves. Charke has also composed a brand new piece for Kronos called "Circle du Nord III."
"We just got this piece the other day and it’s just sensational," says Harrington. "I can’t wait to play it (in Canada). We’ll be premièring it on the tour and you’ll get to hear it in Calgary. Derek will be there, too. It’s a really beautiful piece of music by an amazing composer. Canada has a lot of wonderful musicians."
Also on the program are "Fluggufrelsarinn" by Iceland’s Sigur Rós and "1. Work," composed for Kronos by Xploding Plastix, an electronica duo from Norway for whom Harrington has much respect. "There’s a Swedish group that I also love called Triakel," he adds. "We’re going to do one of their songs called ‘Tusen Tankar,’ which in English means ‘a thousand thoughts.’ It’s a very sad love song, actually, but, my God, it’s so beautiful."
Kronos will also perform "Fratres" by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt and a piece by Latvia’s Petrius Vasks called "Quartet No. 5." "There’s actually a lot for the ears of our audience to delight in at this particular concert, as we’re kind of looking north in a way," says Harrington. "We’ve noticed there’s a kind of clarity and crystalline beauty to the music."
Concluding the northern theme of the Calgary concert will be "Nunavut," another new piece based on throat singing that Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq, composer and longtime Kronos collaborator Osvaldo Golijov and the quartet themselves put together.
Tagaq came to the attention of Kronos during a sound check in Spain, where she was living with her family at the time. Tagaq began singing for them and Harrington realized he had never heard anything like it in his life.
"I say Tanya’s the Jimi Hendrix of throat singers," says Harrington. "She sounds like four people at the same time. In the same way that Jimi Hendrix totally redefined his instrument, I think that Tanya has redefined her instrument, and I’m always attracted to people that find new definitions for themselves and for the instruments or the voices they are a part of."
Speaking from her part-time home in Nunavut, Tagaq is flattered by the Hendrix comparison. "That was probably the nicest thing anyone’s said to me in my life. Those words are better than ‘I love you.’ I could swear once or twice I’ve channelled Jimi," she adds with a laugh.
Inuit throat singing is a call-and-response breathing game traditionally practised by two women. They face one another in a fun competitive manner, using the other’s mouth cavity as a resonator. Except for the noise-making, Tagaq’s approach is not traditional, as she normally does it alone. The Kronos collaboration will elevate the form to a new level as the instruments of the quartet become her competition. Not even Tagaq is quite sure what to expect.
"It’s going to be an interesting juxtaposition because they’re very regimented in their musical style and I’m loose with mine. In this way we can come into some conversation between those two different languages," she says. "The piece is already written, so we’ll see how deep I can go with it. In some of my shows I can get really down and dirty and literally have no recollection of what I sang, because of how deep I go into this trance thing."
The Calgary concert will be the third and final performance by Kronos and Tagaq until they reunite on March 25 at Carnegie Hall in New York. That particular night is a concert that Harrington has been contemplating for the past 25 years and is calling Alternative Radio: Music in a Time of War.
"What we’ll do that night is bring together observations about the world we’re all part of," says Harrington enthusiastically. "It’s hard to describe, but it will actually be live radio and Kronos will end up being DJs in a certain way. We’ll eventually bring that night to Calgary, too." |
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