Guest Recital at Wayne State University: Virago feat. Michael Malis and Dominic Bierenga.

Listening From Darkness consists of From Darkness We Awaken by Michael Malis and Listening for Bells by Harriet Steinke. Both works rely heavily on improvisation, and deep listening, and heart-first sonic explorations.

From Darkness We Awaken was born from improvisational sessions between Malis and Virago in January 2020. The first movement — “Ceremoniously, Like a Dance” — explores cascading, wide open horizons of resonance for the musicians to impose themselves onto. In the second movement, “With a Quiet Confidence,” that diffusiveness coalesces into claustrophobia. The music collapses onto itself, spiraling out a knotty and chaotic texture flowing from that single crystalline note. The pressurized environment reaches a breaking point, leaking like a balloon with a tiny hole poked in it. The release valve comes fully open when the piano leads the ensemble in a collectively improvised exhale. The piece then makes its final descent in the short third movement, “Returning,” which picks up where the first movement leaves off.

Listening for Bells was crafted over a three year collaboration period between Steinke and Virago. The work is a 40 minute exploration of minimalism at the intersection of composition and improvisation. Steinke utilizes the number four as a unifying element. At the macro level, there are four parts to the piece (A, B, C, and D). On the micro level, each part is made up of four cells containing phrases for the players to perform at the timing they choose. The four cells bear the same instructions as the four parts: play “most of the time,” “sometimes,” “rarely,” or “when you hear bells.” The result is a micro form that is a fractal of the whole.

7pm at Schaver Recital Hall. Free Admission.

https://events.wayne.edu/.../guest-artist-recital-virago.../