The Boston Musical Intelligencer: "Three New Works Resound in Newport"
Three New Works Resound in Newport
Author: Stephen Martorella
“For Fung’s work, violinist Kristen Lee joined the four percussionists, who were arrayed with a large assemblage of different instruments, many of them homemade from hardware store items, what the composer termed “found objects.” Fung had written earlier regarding another work, her String Quartet No 4 Insects and Machines:
Buzzing……whirring……glitching……ringing……thumping……. We are constantly saturated with noises that permeate our daily lives. On a recent trip to Cambodia, I was especially attuned to the persistent noises of buzzing insects that accompanied my walk through the thick jungle, and this cacophony gelled with my emotional reaction to the terrible genocide of the Khmer people. ~ Vivian Fung (from her website)
Goddess //Insect contains many of the musical elements of the aforementioned quartet, but weaves them together sonically in a completely new and different aesthetic, and with a different purpose. The Goddess persona, represented by the violin, interacts with the various insects sometimes in dialogue, sometimes assimilating and becoming them, and sometimes they are becoming her. She writes of this concept:
…the term “God-Bug Syndrome” where a “god complex” (inflated self-importance) acts as a defense against deep-seated feelings of worthlessness. I believe our world right now is facing these conflicting emotions, and so this work is ultimately a work that reflects our turbulent and chaotic times. ~ Vivian Fung
The composer achieves this becoming right from the ethereal opening, where bowed metal objects, sometimes using water to bend the pitch, blended eerily and matched the violin’s enharmonics, a technique that was used as a framing device, for the opening and near to the closing, saving a fiery and frenetic flourish for the end. Using both pitched and unpitched percussion allowed not only for fine gradations of timbre and effect but also allowed melodic elements to come to the forefront. Beginning with intervals of a second, there was a subtle shift to thirds and three note melodic patterns, later increasing in intensity but also in the number of notes, going from three note motifs to four and eventually five note patterns. Many of the sections were separated by long rhapsodic violin solos, many rich and warm, some of the later ones using double stopped sixths in the violin, recalling the amazing solo that precedes Ravel’s Tsigane. Framed as a single work in many sections, they are titled: Arachnid Procession, Insect Scurrying and Searching, Nature Rustling, Junkyard Gamelon with Insect Intrusions, Goddess Inner Circle, Cadenza, Rage with Fire Ants.
Insect // Goddess and Five were both written expressly for and in collaboration with the artists who presented them, forming a human bond of friendship and love that was clear in the performance. Having complete mastery over the instrumentation and the music they conveyed a confidence, presence, and sound that enveloped the listeners and drew us into their world of magical mystery and sonic introspection that beckoned exploration of inner self and soul.”