Inter-media Concerts’

Press, 25 June 1983, Page 8

Inter-media Concerts’

“Inter-media Concerts” presented by John Cousins at the C.S.O. Rehearsal Rooms (opposite the Craft Workshop), Arts Centre. June 24, July 8 and 19, 8 p.m. to 9.30 pan. Reviewed by Philip Norman. Every once in a while, the composer, John Cousins, steps out of the university nest he has made his home and flaps his creative wings downtown. The results of these sporadic excursions are sometimes spectacular, sometimes stupefyingly dull, but never predictable, never commonplace. Take last evening for instance: in this, the first of three “Inter-media Concerts,” John Cousins presented a performance work of his own entitled “Edit for Pauline,” two pieces for magnetic tape C'Syndrum,” by Ross Harris and “Fanfares,” by Jack Body) and a film, “In Sympathy,” by Chris Cree Brown. For maximum variety in minimum time, this programme cannot be beaten. The four works presented had points in common, though: they were all writteoJ>y New Zealanders,

within the last few years. This is without a doubt music of the here and now; of this time and place. It comes as a breath of fresh air and is highly recommended for anyone interested in things modern, things New Zealand. John Cousins’s “Edit for Pauline” was a gripping work, a searing account of the progressive onslaught of multiple sclerosis. Against a taped background of Pauline’s voice describing the degenerative effects the disease is having on her, John Cousins the performer works furiously, stopping the taped description, hacking into it, splicing the tape around. All the while, the sounds of his work are horribly, ominously amplified. The irony is bitter: Cousins the t composer creates the piece, while Cousins the composr destroys. It is a piece in transit. The degenerative-regen-erative duality set against a backdrop of the progressive disease makes a powerful impression. A After this, Ross Harris’s

“Syndrum” seemed shallow. The only disappointing item of the evening, this electronic piece sounded like little more than a temperamental rhythm unit on a very cheap organ drumming its way to a seizure. Jack Body’s “Fanfares” is a delicate fusion of taped Indonesian street music with electronically generated sounds. It is a charming work, well-crafted, simple in essence, and very approachable in sounds. A young trumpet’s guide to “est” philosohy could well be the sub-title of Chris Cree Brown’s amusing, all-to-brief film. “In Sympathy” shows a trumpet, struggling to express itself but achieving only sounds not normally associated with the noble instrument. Suspended nearby are two grown-up trumpets, attached to cylinders of compressed air. These big brothers are not dependent on humans to give them life and identity. Rudely, they drown the gentle babblings of the infant trumpet “In Sympathy” deserves a wide and frequent screen- *