I had a very unusual experience yesterday evening which has set me thinking in all kinds of directions. A series of performances by an interesting and highly unusual music group was hosted by the local Baptist Church….which was a very adventurous thing for a church to do. The ensemble performs under the name Epiphany, and an account of their performances will make it clear why they adopt that name.
Nearly all of their performances (as far as I can tell) take the form of improvisations.* The group is made up of two violins, a viola, a cello, a percussionist, a keyboard player/vocalist, and a versatile performer on a variety of wind instruments. The event had two parts. In the first they performed a set of improvisations responding to ideas/themes/stimuli of their own choosing. In the second session, however, they undertook a set of “portraits” of volunteers from the audience. I guess that each of these lasted for about ten minutes, and began with the volunteer sitting on a chair in a space in front of the group, to which they then developed an entirely spontaneous and improvised musical “portrait” of that person.
On each occasion the improvisation took off from a musical phrase or sound from one of the players, and developed into a powerful ensemble performance. The volunteers were a very varied bunch, and included some of the audience who would probably be classed as having “learning difficulties”. My wife volunteered for the experience, but I was dropped upon by the members of the group. At the end of each “portrait” there was a brief discussion involving the subject, the players and the audience, and then the subject was presented with a CD recording their “portrait”.
The experience was quite unlike any I have had before, and will require (I’m sure) quite a long period of reflection and assimilation. Having never been the subject of any portrait before (apart from a brief film in which my art work was discussed) I don’t have anything to compare it with, although having attempted to paint a few portraits I am sure that there will be things emerging in the assimilation process that involves a comparison of painting and music. It was remarkable how the group did produce pieces that were distinctly individual in response to their subjects, and which sometimes raised some questions. My own portrait, for example, was the only one of the group that did not develop into a melodic theme. It also included the use of a surprising number of discords. It was full of ambiguity. I’m really not sure what to make of that!
I don’t suppose that the resulting “portrait” ranks alongside those making up Elgar’s famous Enigma Variations, but has given me plenty to ponder.
*Although their recordings do include some established orchestral items.