What began as a trickle has now become an avalanche…
Questionable metaphors aside, it now actually takes considerable effort to remember how many completed works we’ve received for The ANAM Set – as the number changes daily! At last count, there are 18 works sitting on my ForScore setlist, but by the time I’ve finished typing this, there may well be more.
What I find fascinating though is that while I might have difficulty remembering exactly how many works I’ve seen, each work – once glimpsed – is never forgotten. There is no sense of genericness about these submissions, nor a danger of them all blending together as one. As we had hoped from the outset, each work is a unique mix of composer know-how and performer personality. Without having actually heard a note of any of the pieces yet, their character jumps off the page, and the results of careful collaboration are obvious and joyful.
There is no denying that we are in the midst of difficult and worrying times, and being isolated from each other currently plays a larger role in our lives than I’m sure most of us want. It is quite emotional, then, to see in these works the huge part that human interaction has played in shaping the final products. In fact, the idea of connection – to the self, or to others – is emerging as a major theme in this anthology.
Matt Laing’s Destructive Interference for flautist Lily Bryant is inspired by “the experience of lockdowns… whether everything went great or terrible before, you’re in lockdown and you’re brought closer to those lives you left behind, even if they’re completely unrelatable”; K. Travers Eira’s [sound is] A Body in Space for percussionist Alison Fane is all about how “a person is constrained to inhabit and enact particular types of body in particular ways… and express responses, including frustration or refusal”. In a lighter vein, Ian Whitney’s An architecture of butter and sugar for flautist Lilly Yang is an extravagant response to the pair’s shared love of desserts and pastries!
We are dearly hoping that the Melbourne concert scene can come out of hibernation soon. As I mentioned, lockdown can’t stifle the creative process, but it can most definitely assist in heightening the anticipation. The ever-fattening file of ANAM Set pieces is seething with a potential energy that you can almost feel – these pieces are aching for their world premieres!
As soon as the ANAM Recital season begins, the connection between composer and performer will be joined by a third person – you, the listener – and the full communicative loop will be complete.
PS... As I predicted, while I was typing this, another ANAM Set submission hit our inboxes. It seems as though Jet Kye Chong’s work requires a piece of fruit and a knife amongst its instrument battery. What was I saying about uniqueness and memorability? To say more would spoil the surprise. Perhaps we should hand out face-shields at the door…