JAVS Spring 2010

N EW M USIC R EVIEWS

by Ken Martinson

sound, and the result actually sounds very much like American popular music, whose roots deeply stem from African American folk music. This music will certainly be received well by American audiences, and I hope that this work becomes a regular feature at our future international viola congresses. As I spent time in South Africa and became aware of the struggles classical music has been enduring there with the recent loss of government funding for the orchestras, it seemed that classical musicians in South Africa were making a concerted effort to reach out to black audiences who were previously excluded from classical music. There was a noticeable effort to present classi cal music in a way that a larger majority of the population could enjoy. This piece seems to have been written with this spirit of inclusiveness. Compositionally, this work is very well-voiced, and the range of the individual viola lines never feels clumped or restricted. Each of the movements is in 4/4 time (except for movt. II, Peace Hymn , which is in 3/4). The individual parts are not too difficult to perform or count, although the rock feel and swing in movt. V, Afterparty , may prove out of the ordinary for the pure classical player. These choices of a consistent time signature and relatively uncomplicated individ ual parts was a good strategy, as

these mass viola performances are too often pressed for time and done within the confines of the usually somewhat short viola events. The first movement, Arrival , begins with an upbeat pizzicato ostinato, which is followed by a catchy rhythmic tune in Viola 3. This movement continues to build with excitement above the ostinato pattern—which never gets boring. The second move ment, Peace Hymn , is a gorgeous, solemn movement that uses a repeated eight-bar harmonic pat tern, like a passacaglia, with a constant C pedal tone, which is grounding, but adds a tension throughout the work. The third movement, Stephanie Jive , has some of those “rock” rhythms I mentioned earlier that might take a little thought to work out from the pure classical player (including some syncopated rhythms at the beginning). I love usage of the E Maj (add C#) chord that sounds especially “rocky” and reminiscent of many Beatles tunes I have ana lyzed. The solo viola quartet with the beautiful viola solo against it at the end of this movement is quite poignant. The fourth move ment, Oliver’s Lullaby , is a very beautiful, somber, reflective move ment that is relaxing to listen to. The gorgeous opening melody in Viola 1 closes the piece as well and sandwiches the middle sec tion, which is a bit more rhyth

This issue’s column features newly available works for viola ensemble.

The Gathering: An African Suite for Massed Violas in Six Voices (2009) I. Arrival II. Peace Hymn

III. Stephanie Jive IV. Oliver’s Lullaby V. The Afterparty

Difficulty: Level 4 Duration: 18 minutes

Premiere: XXXVII International Viola Congress Aug. 1, 2009, in Stellenbosch, South Africa

By Elizabeth Rennie (b. 1969)

This work really caught my atten tion at the closing ceremony of the International Viola Congress in Stellenbosch, South Africa. It was performed by the Mass Viola Ensemble, conducted by Eric Rycroft, which included several congress attendees and several South African students from a development project under the tutelage of congress host Hester Wohlitz. This work has an imme diate appeal, and afterward I promptly listened to the recording of the work, analyzed the score, and introduced the work to my studio class. Rennie mixes beautifully the African rhythmic influences of her country with the classical viola

V OLUME 26 NUMBER 1 67