HCMF : Eddie Prévost's Workshop

Thursday 26th November, Bates Mill Blending Shed

Jennifer Allum - Violin
Marjolaine Charbin - Piano
Ute Kanngiesser - Cello
Daniel Kordic Vostoc - Synthesiser / Electronics
Massimo Magee -  also / soprano saxophones (electro acoustic)
N O Moore - Guitarism
David O'Connor - Baritone Saxophone
James O'Sullivan - electric guitar
David W Stockard - Drum


This was an interesting experience for me, in that I didn’t find it particularly interesting overall. If Eddie Prévost’s and AMM’s mantra is ‘searching for sounds’ then I’m not entirely sure the majority of these workshop participants will have found the experience much more interesting either.

The workshop had 9 participants and a simple format; first the improvisation would make its way around the performers being passed from pair-to-pair, and then 3 small groups of 3 were formed and performed their own sections. This, I didn’t take issue with, in fact the awe-inspiring Ensemble Anomaly performance I talked about a while ago had a very similar format. My issue really was with the creativity, or lack thereof, of the performers and their reaction to each other.

There was a percussionist who seemed to like the sound a cymbal made when blown on the skin of his drum, which I have to admit was quite shocking when I first heard it, but after several times became quite abrasive. What’s more is that I did not personally feel that it added to the sounds the other performers were making, on the contrary, I found it a very selfish sound in that it detracted all attention from the other members of the group. I also find it difficult to believe that he has not made or practiced this sound before, which would be excusable if he hadn’t used it so many times during the performance, but given that even though the programme notes themselves dismissed the practice of preparing sounds I considered this to be inappropriate for the overall aims of the group.

The most disappointing thing about the contribution that this sound made to the performance was that because I was so distracted by it I was almost incapable of noting the contributions of other performers. There was an synthesised electronics artist named Daniel Kordic Vostoc whose sounds alone I found very varied and interesting to listen to. I’ve since had a look at his website to see that he has created works from field recordings which seem very interesting, I may do a blog about some of these and others I have come across later.*

I was automatically drawn to the violinist as I am one, and at first I found her contributions a little stale and uninteresting although her bow control was very impressive. I realise why now, as I have found a video of her making very similar sounds as seen below – even on the same section of fingerboard and with the same bowing technique!

However, the group improvisation between cello, violin and piano I found very beautiful. The performers managed a perfect blend of small delicate sounds; harmonics, circular bowing and use of the piano strings and small vocal sounds by the pianist. I felt the members if the group were sympathetic towards each other in a way that the other groups were not, which suggests that they were listening not only to themselves but also to the mix of sounds created as a whole. There was a fantastic moment where the performance suddenly hung on a wonderfully diatonic-sounding chord (I think it was A major) which, in the context of the performance was so unlike anything that had come before it, was so unexpected that it provoked a real emotional response. In this performance more than any of the others I felt the performers really worked very well together in the same way as the members Ensemble Anomaly as mentioned above, perhaps this was to do with the more traditional grouping of instruments, but I am not sure.

I suppose the issue at hand here is whether your objective of creating new and interesting sounds should come at the expense of working together as a group – a balance of the two would be ideal but upon reflection I think that maybe finding this balance is a difficulty in itself. I am looking forward to putting this question into practice in my workshop with Eddie Prévost himself tomorrow.

*Edit 14/01/16 - I have done this now! Click here.