There
is a distinct difference between listening to a recording and seeing a live
musical performance. This is not a revolutionary statement. Of course they are
different experiences, otherwise concert sales would be next to nothing. But
never has this contrast been made more explicit, more dramatic than in the
Formosa Quartet’s performance at EMPAC. The concept seems simple even a bit
gimmicky. Five different pieces, each played in four different spaces, with the
audience getting up and traveling from space to space between each piece. But
the way each space was used, carefully managed and paired with the music in a
way that displayed intimate knowledge of each piece, transformed it from a
musical experience to a multisensory performative one.
We
begin our journey in the concert hall, on the stage. That is, the audience is
seated on the stage. The quartet instead stands at the top of the balcony, up
past the nosebleed seats. The effect is that of angelic beings playing down to
you from heaven. The notes of Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet in E-flat major softly float down as you turn your
head up in awe. One of my favorite parts of seeing a smaller group, as opposed
to a larger orchestra, is that the performers have space to move and be
expressive with their bodies as they play. Seeing the gracefully gliding and
bending of the gently backlit bodies only added to the heavenly, other worldly
effect.
Before
the performance began, we were asked not to applaud in between each piece, only
at the very end. When the music stopped, there was no loud booming noise to
draw us out of the experience. As the lights came up and Formosa Quartet left
to move to the next venue, the audience sat in silence for a moment, stunned.
It was like awakening from a dream.
Eventually
we collected ourselves and moved into a new, completely different space, Studio
1, and sat in circles face the quartet, sitting in the center spotlight. The
room was much smaller than the concert hall, almost claustrophobic, and
completely turned inward, with all focus and energy directed towards the
musicians. This intense directed fixation mirrored the intensity and passion of
the piece, the 5th movement of Bela Bartok’s String Quartet No. 4. Of the five, this piece was the most
performative, and the musicians’ movements, the violent slashing of the bows
and passionate facial expressions, brought just as much energy to the room as
the music itself.
The
experience of the Studio 2 was nearly the complete opposite of that in Studio
1. It was as if I had been holding my breath, and upon walking into the third space
I could finally release it in a rushing sigh. The walls are white, instead of
black, and the audience sits in outward facing circles instead of inward ones. I
had the opportunity to sit near the center, with the four musicians situated around
me on each side. The intensity of the experience, of each instruments singular
voice reaching out, pulling me to different corners, and coming together into
one conversation, one song, was unlike anything else. It was surround sound on steroids.
The piece was a bit melancholy, like saying goodbye, and every note was
penetrating, completely consuming.
Unlike
the first two pieces, in which you had the visual stimulus of the quartet in
addition to the audio, the third arrangement of the third performance made it
impossible to see all four members of the quartet simultaneously. The fourth
piece takes this farther, hiding the musicians away completely in the orchestra
pit of the theater. And so, in one performance the Formosa Quartet was able to
highlight two ways of experiencing music, which are different than its everyday
use, mostly as background noise. While the first two pieces highlight
performative aspects, and how visuals can enhance the emotional experience, the
next two remove all other stimuli, forcing you to focus entirely on the music,
to allow it to consume you.
As
we return to the concert hall, a return to tradition is signaled by a conventional
seating arrangement, with the musicians positioned on stage. It is not however
our western tradition which we are returning to, but the Taiwanese tradition,
that of the Formosa Quartet themselves. The piece was a wonderful celebration
of their heritage and a fantastic finale to an extraordinary night.
You mentioned how performers in smaller groups must be more emotive in their performances. I agree with this. I found it interesting to observe how the performers reacted to each part of the pieces, how their expressions and movements became more intense during some parts and then relaxed again during others. I think that in a larger setting such as an orchestra, individual players can step back into the group and become part of a larger body. In such a case the viewers could never possibly observe everyone completely and would not get the same experience as with a smaller group. I also found it interesting observing how the performers interacted with each other. The way they could communicate with a simple glance towards each other I could tell that they had practiced to the point that they were like a well oiled machine.
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