Dallas Morning News 04/04

The Dallas Morning News (TX) April 23, 2004 (Section: OVERNIGHT, Page: 9B)

Evening of music vigoroso
New works' energy, echoes of past fill Latino Cultural Center

Author: OLIN CHISM; Staff Critic

It would be hard to put a label on Thursday night's program at the Latino Cultural Center. There were classically trained musicians performing music that clearly had classical antecedents - though all of it was written within the last 10 years. There were also pop elements, as well as music that seemed to draw its inspiration from spirituals. One thing about it: None of it was dull.

The performers included the chamber group Neo Camerata as well as composer and performer Errollyn Wallen and soprano Marion Moore.

The atmosphere was informal and youth-oriented. The musicians wore street clothes, discreet amplification was employed, a large screen at the rear formed a backdrop of shifting, projected colors.

The evening, titled "Music for Today: Without Borders" opened with Travel for string quartet by Mark Landson. This clearly owed something to music of another era. A kind of faux-baroque opening captured the propulsive energy and high spirits of music of Bach's time, as did contrapuntal passages of the vigorous finale. One movement, cryptically titled "The Eternal Question," was a kind of lament for solo violin.

The overall effect was a kind of baroque spirit shaded into the present.

The excellent performers were violinists Vesselin Demirev and Kurt Springer, Mr. Landson on viola and John Landefeld on cello. They clearly had put a lot of study into the piece. Though it was of substantial length, all except Mr. Springer played by memory.

Pianist Valeria Vetruccio joined Mr. Landefeld for Dervish by Ms. Wallen. This ambiguous work whirled in the middle but began and ended with dirgelike passages. Like all the music on the program, it had a strong tonal base with clear, melodic material but managed to convey a sense of individuality.

A set of five songs by Ms. Wallen - with the overall title Are You Worried About the Rising Cost of Funerals? - spotlighted Ms. Moore, an impressive soprano with a rich and versatile voice. Some of the music from this group seemed to come from the spiritual tradition, some came from more classically oriented art.

The program turned toward the pop idiom when Ms. Wallen sang two songs while accompanying herself at the piano and two more with the string quartet as partners. As both a composer and performer, she has a style that reflects her experience as a classical artist.