|
UCLA
falls short of mark
with ‘Organica' performance
Organica • Christoph
Bull, UCLA's organist, performed both
organ classics and modern works at "Organica" on
May 17. UCLA Live
By
Daniel Savino
Daily Forty-Niner
Assistant Opinion Editor
UCLA
Live, in what was one of its most outre
modernist performances, brought organist
Christoph Bull to the stage May 17. Bull,
who performed a number of modern and
classical pieces, as well as several
audience requests, was accompanied by
live video and, at several points, live
painting. Those three elements of music,
art and video combined to form a marvelous
idea that fell pathetically short of
the mark.
Until
now, I have never been disappointed by
a UCLA Live performance. I must also
admit, I am a die-hard fan of live organ
music. The thought of a show that brought
together three types of art into a single
performance struck me as being tremendously
unique. But the entire event fell apart
in a number of ways.
By
far and away, the biggest problem was
the video performance. The group S Video,
which is a clever reference to a method
of sending a video signal over cable,
provided the absolute worst visual accompaniment
to a musical performance I have ever
had the misfortune of seeing.
Yes,
it is modern art. And it is true that
ventures into that realm are generally
open to interpretation. But S Video's
work was terrible, both on a qualitative
and quantitative level.
A
variety of still and moving images were
run in accompaniment to Bull's organ
work. The images ranged from flowers
to trees, and at times, focused on the
ever-evolving painting by Norton Wisdom.
The only redeeming part of the display
was when they would multiply and divide
the shot of Wisdom's work, creating a
kaleidoscope effect.
The
music's emotions had no resonance with
the magic lantern show put on by S Video.
Poor focus, jerky camera work and uncreative
images all combined into a single breathtaking
failure.
The
video work could be forgiven, or at least
overlooked, if only it was not projected
onto a screen that filled the back of
the entire stage. Its dominating presence
overshadowed the efforts of Bull and
Wisdom, marring the evening with amateurish
and trite film work.
Bull's
performance, in and of itself, was excellent.
His technique and passion were evident,
making him an excellent candidate to
receive an A for effort. But the organ
is not a guitar.
Though
beautiful and intense, the range of music
the organ should perform is fairly limited.
Improvisations
on Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy
Diamond" are best left to other
instruments. "Chorale in A Minor," by
Cesar Franck, was played at the dedication
of the organ 75 years ago, and it still
works. It's cute and fun to hear improvisations
on "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," "Send
in the Clowns" and "Star Wars," but
if they are to be played on the organ,
save the air and use a Hammond.
"Tokyo-ondo," by
Guy Bovet, was a perfect example of decent
organ work ruined by the video. The fast-running
pace of the choppy and disjointed clips
taken from Japanese daily life was irritating
at best.
Ramon
Noble's "Toccatina" was destroyed
by S Video's irrelevant and distracting
images of flowers and fruit. Especially
disruptive was a repeated zoom sequence
where the camera shot in towards a flower,
shaking and twitching all the while.
The
organ and hall themselves were another
part of the problem. Royce Hall has mediocre
acoustics, and the organ is far from
perfect. Sacramento Memorial Auditorium
and Benaroya Hall, in Seattle, for example,
have better organs and acoustics.
The
only redeeming part of the evening was
Wisdom's art. A UC Berkeley graduate
who studied art, he is known for painting
to music. Tuesday night saw him painting
on a large backlit canvas. He produced
a number of pieces that were washed,
wiped or smeared into subsequent paintings.
Though his first began with a treble
clef and ended up being an organist,
his other work moved out of the trite
and into more intriguing subject matter.
Wisdom also created a horse and rider,
a collage of faces and a man reaching
to the heavens.
The
beauty of his work is its subjective
nature. The paintings were all slightly
open to interpretation. Much like staring
at ceiling tiles or clouds, the audience
could see more going on in his paintings
depending on each person's perspective.
Should
Wisdom perform in a small venue, it would
be worth seeing. Unfortunately, a large
concert hall is far from the ideal venue
for such work. The entire evening was
a long series of failures and missed
opportunities. As such, it fell far short
of the mark for a UCLA Live performance. |
