Music Reviews : Theater Piece Mixes Works by Kagel, Rzewski

Past musical events by the versatile, eight-member California E.A.R. Unit have often included bits of absurdist theater--something for which they have a pronounced sweet tooth. Yet at their latest performance Wednesday at Bing Theater, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, an entire evening was dedicated to their style of madcap dramatics in what proved to be a seemingly fattening indulgence.

Three compositions that specify that the player(s) can incorporate other works into a performance--Mauricio Kagel’s keyboard montage “Mimetics”(1961) and two 1986 works by Frederic Rzewski, “Spots” for unspecified ensemble and “Chains” for vocalist(s)--were combined simultaneously into a large hybrid theatrical presentation.

The overall concept, which included donning the uniforms of some of society’s professionals, throwing objects onto the floor, pounding rocks together, showing a short film and playing several instruments, had funny moments but quickly became tiring and excessive, replacing the freedom inherent in the scores with license.

Gaylord Mowrey fastidiously provided the keyboard realization for the Kagel, using snippets from a variety of sources, often taking breaks to sip white wine at a nearby table or to participate in the theatrics of his fellow aspiring thespians. Robin Lorentz supplied most of the vocal parts for Rzewski’s “Chains,” an anthology of texts from several familiar sources that were intoned, chanted and read with a deadpan delivery.

The second half of the program presented a rehashed version of John Cage’s “Lecture on the Weather” (1975) as it was performed at the 1982 CalArts Contemporary Music Festival. After an introductory statement by Cage himself--speaking from New York via telephone--seven reciters read texts by Thoreau, while five video monitors provided talking heads of some of the members also reciting. Added to the din were taped electronic sounds of rain and thunder by Maryann Amacher and a film of flashing Thoreau doodles by Luis Frangella.

With the exception of Cage’s introductory remarks, the presentation proved routine and lackluster, inciting several walkouts and only a polite ovation.