Magic, Rituals and Life Transitions: Liza Lim’s portrait concert

These two sides are represented by the bells of the instrument, and by opening and closing of the bells, one transitions from side to the other. The subconscious side is more vivid and dynamic than the conscious side, and there is an additional gap between them: while we’re on one side, the other one remains inaccessible. Only a change of perspective reveals the whole. Lim finds inspiration for the composition in the alchemical symbol of the green lion devouring the sun – an image of purification through destruction that transforms even the noblest materials.

“Shamanism and magic” and “rituals and life transitions” – two themes in four compositions will showcase the portrait of Australian composer, educator and researcher, Liza Lim. The works will be performed by members of the ELISION Ensemble, a “supergroup” of almost 20 international musicians.

The Table of Knowledge draws inspiration from the garden of a medieval abbey in Royaumont, France, where psychotropic and poisonous plants associated with rituals and medicine can be found. The movements bear the names of plants: Datura, Belladona, Henbane, Cannabis, and the last one, Flying depicts their effect – hallucination and detachment from reality. The character of the movements is also reflected in the playing technique, in which the double bass becomes an extension of the musician’s body: a cotton thread is tied on the highest string, while the other end of the string is held by the double bass player in their mouth. The threads allow for the aliquot sequence – kinds of overtones that lend the base tone unique colour and fullness – can be heard more clearly.

The composition Roda – The Living Circle refers to the “roda”, or “living circle” of the African-Brazilian martial arts discipline – capoeira. Within a circular formation, capoeiristas perform stylised combat movements, combining play, improvisation and serious combat. Liza initiated the idea of exploring the spatiality in sound through the aesthetics of Brazilian traditional music with the composition Ronda – The Spinning World from 2016. Here she uses similar musical material, elaborating the idea further through recursive patterns and melodic loops.

Calling the Ancestral River represents Lisa’s vision of a template for playing and listening together. She was interested in the potential of actions that the performer’s body already performs intuitively. This body language becomes the basis for improvisation. Graphic instructions function as a map for musicians to navigate together. The labels SONG, NAME, PULSE, BREATH, TUNING, CALL and FLOW are “rules of the game” that signal the technique or way of playing, interaction, listening or harmonisation within the group. Lisa’s blog also contains a video of the premiere and the accompanying lecture in which the composer explains the concept behind the work.

///

Liza Lim’s music focuses on collaboration and transcultural ideas, exploring the roots of beauty, time effects in the Anthropocene, and the sensoria of ecological connection.

ELISION, Australia’s premier new music ensemble, are Liza’s closest collaborators – her musical family since 1986. Along with Liza’s oeuvre, this international ‘supergroup’ comprised of seventeen musicians stands out for their excellence in interpreting the works of Richard Barrett, Mary Bellamy, Aaron Cassidy, Evan Johnson and Turgut Erçetin.

///

ELISION:
Joshua Hyde, saxophone
Tristram Williams, trumpet
Benjamin Marks, trombone
Karin Hellqvist, violin
Rohan Dasika, double bass

The Green Lion Eats the Sun, for double-bell trombone
The Table of Knowledge, for double bass
Roda - The Living Circle, for trumpet
Calling the Ancestral River, for violin, saxophone, trumpet, trombone and double bass