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OCA Study Visit Review - The Open College of the Arts

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OCA Study Visit Review

The following review is written by OCA Music Two student Deborah Johnson, share & enjoy!
On Tuesday, the 27 May, together with two other OCA students on the Composing Music courses, I enjoyed a really memorable and inspirational day at the Forge, Camden. We had come for a study visit that took an unusual form. It was organised by our tutor, Carla Rees, in connection with her contemporary music ensemble, rarescale. During the afternoon we met up with Carla, the members of rarescale and three of the composers, Michael Oliva, Tim Benjamin and Benjamin Tassie, whose works they would be performing in a concert that evening.
We attended the final rehearsal, listened to composers and performers working together to make last-minute adjustments, asked lots of questions, and after a very sociable meal all together in the Forge restaurant we enjoyed the evening concert. The concert was all the more interesting and engaging as we had been informally involved in the final preparations and had had the opportunity of getting to know the music a bit more as well as the performers and composers.
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Throughout the day I found that I was learning in all sorts of ways, including ways I wasn’t conscious of at the time. Unfamiliar instruments – I hadn’t really been aware of the different timbres of alto and bass flute, for instance – new combinations of instruments (e g alto flute and bassoon, with and without electronics!) and new music that was sensuous and a real joy to listen to. Listening to freshly composed music, just at the point where it is crystallising into performance, was absorbing.
The pieces themselves were varied and wide-ranging and could be said all in their different ways to be exploring relationships between ‘old’ and ‘new,’ a question of urgent interest for anybody involved at any level in the process of writing their own music. In Tristan Murail’s ‘Paludes, a central piece in the programme, we heard ‘indoors’ becoming ‘outdoors’ and vice versa, as human instrumental music seemed to dissolve into the music of the natural world and re-emerge out of it again through the subtle and sensuous exploration of pitched and un-pitched sound, including shimmering microtones from alto flute. The imaginative use of field recording in the pieces that included electronics had the effect of literally taking the music outdoors, giving an interesting extension to the idea of ‘chamber music.’ Michael Oliva’s ‘Dungeness,’a concerto for alto flute and chamber ensemble, explored the sound spectrum of filtered recordings of the waves at Dungeness while highlighting the expressive qualities of the alto flute in sustained and rapturous lines of melody.
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Tim Benjamin’s ‘Strange Loop’ for alto flute and guitar meditated on continually shifting patterns of stillness and movement while ‘Schuh-weet’ by Benjamin Tassie was animated by the dance-rhythms and contrasting styles of classical Baroque and popular modern culture. As much of the music had been composed especially for rarescale it made the most of the remarkably fluid and expressive qualities of the ensemble.
Contemporary classical music can sound daunting while electronic music can invoke ideas of sci-fi and a technology without human soul or feeling. This concert by rarescale would be guaranteed to put paid to any such misconceptions (or only partly accurate impressions!); it was full of soul and feeling.
Lastly, and very importantly, I really enjoyed meeting my two fellow students, Jo and Michael. I think we can all get a bit flat and discouraged at certain moments, during the long and time-consuming process of distance learning. It’s great to have the chance of meeting other students and to be able to talk together in person and compare notes. Let’s all make the most of our opportunities!
Thank you, OCA, Carla, and rarescale for a great day.
Check out our study visit diary for forthcoming visits, booking your place is easy, simply email enquiries@oca-uk.com


Posted by author: Joanne

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