MUSIC REVIEW : Ensemble Gives ‘Personae’ Auspicious Debut

If complacency is the inherent danger of institutionalizing an avant-garde movement, UC San Diego’s SONOR ensemble has suffered its share in recent years. Fortunately, this contemporary music group is showing signs of a welcome revival.

In January, SONOR demonstrated its performance chops in a laudable “Pierrot Lunaire” concert, and Thursday’s offering of Roger Reynolds’ latest opus, “Personae”--along with Brian Ferneyhough’s “La Chute d’Icare” and Iannis Xenakis’ “Thallein”--proved that the old dog can master some impressive new tricks.

“Personae,” Reynolds’ first major work since receiving the 1989 Pulitzer Prize, has unlocked some of the composer’s more fanciful inspiration. A chamber-sized violin concerto written for fellow faculty member Janos Negyesy, “Personae” is formally a succession of lofty violin flights alternating with commentary by the nine-player ensemble and Reynolds’ prepared tape. Less cerebral than his award-winning “Whispers Out of Time” and more accessible than his “Coconino” String Quartet, “Personae” explores psychologically expansive states and moments of introspective repose.

Negyesy’s graceful, fluid solos exuded conviction and elegance; it would be hard to imagine a more sympathetic, polished rendering of Reynolds’ finely wrought lines.

About the work I have but two cavils.

In terms of structure, “Personae” rarely integrated the three forces--soloist, tape and ensemble--into a convincing, multilayered sound mass. And the ingratiating tape segments--transformations of actual violin sounds--too quickly devolved into opaque, anonymous electronic sounds that impeded the work’s logical progression.

Although “La Chute d’Icare” (1988) was performed by SONOR last season, Ferneyhough’s rewarding, densely scored music bears much repetition. A flutter of appropriately descending motifs, this tone poem for seven players and solo clarinet opens with a dramatic sonic explosion and gradually evanesces. Robert Zelickman’s precise clarinet solo erred on the side of caution.

Though Xenakis is not a UCSD faculty member, the noted Greek composer will be in residence at the university next month. SONOR’s performance of his 1984 “Thallein” for 14 instruments was a dress rehearsal for Xenakis’ troop inspection April 4.

Typical of Xenakis’ output, “Thallein” is an aggressive, unforgiving montage of abrasive clusters and insistent rhythmic attacks, albeit brilliantly constructed and vibrantly scored. Like the program’s other ensemble works, “Thallein” was conducted by faculty member Rand Steiger, whose academic but unambiguous direction elicited clean, thoughtful responses from his charges.

Several solo works needlessly cluttered the program, however.

At its best, Joji Yuasa’s “Terms of Temporal Detailing” for bass flute evoked ritual incantations and the reedy imitation of a shakuhachi , the traditional Japanese wooden flute. Unfortunately, solo flutist Jon Fonville frequently found himself reiterating the catalogue of multiphonics and clever attacks of which this odd instrument is capable.

Contrabassist Bertram Turetzky presented a pair of tedious solos by Polish composer Boguslaw Schaffer that made the prospect of Chinese water torture seem refreshing by comparison.