Unheard of combinations of Western and foreign sounds
Brand new music from age-old sounds
Magical currents of tinkling sounds from plucked instruments

AMSTERDAM

The single performance given by the Altas ensemble on Tuesday night at the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam demonstrated just how beautiful a world without frontiers would be. The members of this ensemble, who had flown together from every corner of the globe, treated the audience once again to brand new music made from age-old sounds.
Since their first performance in 2002, the ensemble has come together as little as once a year due to the high costs and logistical problems associated with these sorts of multicultural operations. Nonetheless, the ensemble has acquired a formidable reputation and played to a packed hall.
Of the eight composers united by the motto Archipel, several had already written pieces for Altas. And the growing finesse with which this ensemble played these new combinations of western and exotic instruments bore testimony to this fact. For instance, the way the Japanese bamboe mouth organ, the sho, combined with the clarinet was extraordinarily effective. Less surprising was the effectiveness of blending sibling instruments like the viola, erhu and kemençe; even so, their wealth of tonal possibilities has yet to be exhausted.
The Atlas ensemble has also become more expansive in its presentation. Three short pieces were strung together and marked by subtle changes in lighting. The soloists played from pedestals on either side of the podium, or from the balconies.
One of the most stunning pieces on the programme was Tour à tour, composed by Joël Bons, the ensemble’s founding member. This piece struck a fine balance between artful improvisation on the part of the musicians, and sparse but perfectly chosen notes on the part of the composer.
Even more convincing was the theatrical piece Procession created by the Uzbek composer, Artjom Kim, in which magical currents of tinkling sounds, produced primarily from plucked instruments, were conducted by Ed Spanjaard with the aid of clicking claves. Kim, who six months ago was prevented from attending the Jew’s Harp Festival by immigration authorities, was able to attend a performance of his own work this time.

Frits van der Waa