Music Reviews : American Retrospective at Schoenberg Hall

Faculty and students joined forces at Schoenberg Hall Wednesday night for a highly eclectic concert of older--and brand-new--American music. This despite the fact that the evening was part of the current “Retrospective” festival of American music at UCLA.

While the performances were essentially first-rate and sensitive, not all of the music can be said to have warranted such dedication. Thomas Hilbish led the UCLA Concert Choir in Alden Ashforth’s Three Motets (1980). Effective in its opening cumulative whispering, but less so in its aleatoric moments, the choir managed some warmly expressive singing when required.

In all respects the highlight of the evening was “Lovers” by Ned Rorem (1964). Cellist Nils Oliver admirably sustained the sumptuous lyricism of its 10 brief movements, and his colleagues in the colorfully scored work (harpsichord, oboe/English horn and percussion) both matched this quality and provided all the other elements called for in this compelling piece.

A quartet of faculty brass players essayed Gunther Schuller’s “Little Brass Music” (1963). All brass, yes, but unfortunately little music in the literal sense as well. Nevertheless, the performers accorded it the same care as they did the world premiere of Mark Carlson’s “Desire,” which added a taped synthesized part to the ensemble effort. Its few promising moments were overshadowed by a regrettable tendency to vacillate between expressive abstractionism and a jarringly inconsistent populist style.

Robert Winter and Kari Windingstad concluded this melting pot of a concert with a selection of 19th-Century salon songs. Mixing such chestnuts as “After the Ball” and “I Love You Truly” with early examples of true American art song, the duo proved stylish and committed.