Student composes a classic

By Steve Kauffman
On-line Forty-Niner

The concert in Daniel Recital Hall on April 17, featured a wide selection of works by a contemporary composer: There was a piece for marimba; a piece for violin, cello and bassoon; a solo clarinet piece; a piano sonatine, an orchestral work; and a fantastic string quartet. What made these performance a little bit unusual was that the composer, Hermes Camacho, was at the show. Hermes Camacho is a student at Cal State Long Beach finishing up his bachelor's of music degree in composition, and the concert was his senior composition recital.

The first piece on the bill was entitled "Linearity for Two Marimbas." This percussion duet played out like a clear ostinato that was hypnotically rhythmic without being too predictable. Camacho seems to have a good sense of the unique timbre of the marimba and used it well in this piece, especially in the quieter passages. The piece was not really a melody-oriented composition, but rather seemed to be an exploration of the character of the marimba, from the musky lower register to the colorful sonority of the middle and upper registers.

This was followed by "Three Days for Violin, Bassoon, and Violoncello," a chamber trio that featured the composer on the violin. The work was essentially a small tone poem intended to describe the process of conceiving and composing a piece of music. Through changes in texture, tempo, and overall character the piece conveyed the agonizing emotional progression of the creative process. This piece had a distinctly "eastern" sound, seemingly influenced by such masters as Stravinsky and Shostakovich.

The next piece, "Emouvant for Solo Bb Clarinet," which featured the music department's own Justus Matthews, was slightly more representative of the avant-garde school of composition. This piece required a bit more of the listener's attention to fill in the blanks than some of the others, which is to be expected from any solo piece on a melody instrument. Ultimately, however, the expressionistic musings of "Emouvant" succeeded in engaging the listener's imagination, which seemed to be the point.

Camacho's real compositional sophistication was best demonstrated by his small ensemble works, namely "Three Days" and "Quartet For Strings." The piece began with a slow, muted introduction, followed by a high-spirited, vigorous allegro balanced by romantic, lyrical themes. The second movement was the traditional slow one, utilizing careful dissonance in drawn-out melodies. The third movement returned to the exotic sounds of "Three Days," breaking into episodes of dance-like rhythms, and finished with a restatement of the opening theme.

Although the quartet capitalized on traditional forms, the tempered use of dissonance, syncopation, and colorful interaction between arco and pizzicato style left no mistake that this was a work of the 21st century.

Saturday's performance was an example of the best that the University system has to offer: A night of music composed by a student, performed by students, and enjoyed by students.