Voice of the Whale

When American composer George Crumb died in early February aged 92, heart-felt tributes flowed from the musical world.  Crumb was beloved and revered as a great original of the avant garde, a composer who inspired performers and audiences with vividly colourful music, fearless explorations of new sound worlds, theatrical performance directions and over-sized, beautifully hand-drawn musical scores.

George Crumb

… beautifully hand-drawn scores.

Bridget Douglas, the NZSO’s principal flute, joins cellist Rolf Gjelsten and US-based NZ pianist Nicola Melville this month in Crumb’s 1971 work Vox Balaenae in an online concert called “Voice of the Whale” in the Aotearoa NZ Festival of the Arts. Douglas believes the performance, planned last year, is a fitting way to honour Crumb and his contribution to music.  She first played the work in New York as a Masters student in the 1990’s. Crumb was, she says, “a ground-breaker who forged a very personal voice with a direct connection to the natural world.”

Composer George Crumb (1930-2022)

“a ground-breaker who forged a very personal voice…”

As in many of his compositions, Crumb requires the musicians in Vox Balaenae to use extended techniques to evoke natural sounds. He conjures whale song, seagulls, the splashing of waves and the echoes of the Appalachian Mountains. “The pianist,” says Douglas, “spends a ton of time inside the piano with paperclip, chisel and glass rod, using it more like harp or percussion instrument. The cello is tuned differently, sounding more like an Indian sitar, while the flute player sings and plays simultaneously. Both flute player and cellist whistle and play antique cymbals. Crumb uses electronic amplification which enhances the sounds and highlights the evocative, haunting nature of his music.”

The work has many theatrical elements specified by the composer, including deep blue stage lighting which transports the audience into the ocean depths. Crumb also required black upper-face masks for the performers, to, he wrote, “efface a sense of human projection, symbolizing the powerful impersonal forces of nature.”

Flutist Bridget Douglas

“…completely immersing myself in the collaboration on stage”.

 “After the last two years,” Douglas says, “we all know the sense of anonymity masks provide. I love that – it means I’m communicating this music to the audience by completely immersing myself in the collaboration on stage. Vox Balaenae should be a transcendental experience for the audience.”

Voice of the Whale: Music by George Crumb, Villa-Lobos, Bacewicz and Rachmaninoff, Nicola Melville (piano), Bridget Douglas (flute), Rolf Gjelsten (cello), Helene Pohl (violin). Aotearoa NZ Festival of the Arts Online Chamber Music Series.  Available March 7 – April 3.   ‘Pay what you can’ tickets here: https://www.festival.nz/events/all/voice-whale-online/

This article was first published in NZ Listener issue 12 March 2022