MUSIC REVIEW : Four Works by Constantinides Make Up Northridge Program

Four compositions from three decades by Dinos Constantinides made up a mildly interesting concert by the Cal State Northridge New Music Ensemble conducted by Daniel Kessner Sunday night. The Louisiana-based composer attended the event in Northridge’s Recital Hall, offering introductory comments before most of the pieces.

Constantinides, a 61-year-old native of Greece, writes in a simple, tonal language that explores folk music and lyricism without pretense or showy virtuosity. His work emphasizes carefully lucid melodic lines, though sometimes in ways unadventurous and woodenly pedagogic.

In “Listenings and Silences for Voice Alone” (1988), he sets three texts by Pinkie Gordon Lane--a black poet from Baton Rouge, where Constantinides has taught composition for the past 24 years. Predictable word-painting, with of humming, spoken words and melismatic singing accompany descriptions of whispering, descending light and the passage of time.

Throughout, a tonal, tuneful quality handsomely suggests a traditional spiritual style without patronizing or satirizing it. Soprano Theresa Villa gave a poised, dramatic performance that captivated the listener.

The composer’s “Antitheses” (1975) for chamber orchestra utilizes a sentimental, less-convincing neo-Romanticism seasoned with frequent percussive bursts.

The ensemble of 14 players gave a timid reading of the work, with specific players consistently out of sync.

Constantinides opened the program himself ruggedly performing his serial Sonata No. 1 (1968) for violin solo. A three-movement, jazzy study, “Homage: A Folk Concerto for Flute”(1988) for flute and piano, closed the program pleasantly.