Archa Theatre

Dark River (programme)

Agon Orchestra Changes Its Face, But the Features Remain the Same

The other concerts and performances of Agon Orchestra in the Archa Theatre

Dark River

June 25, 1999 in the Archa Theatre

Agon Orchestra conducted by Petr Kofroň

Program:

Anthony Coleman
The King Of Kabay (1988)

John Zorn
Dark River (1995)

Antony Coleman
The Bosnians (1993)

John Zorn
Kol Nidre (1996)

Elliot Sharp
SyndaKit (1998)

Agon Orchestra

Martin Čech, flute, piccolo
Petr Doněk, clarinet, bass clarinet
Pavel Fiedler, soprano saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet
Matouš Křiváček, fagot
Pavel Borek, trumpet
Přemysl Tomšíček, trombone
Jaroslav Krasničan, accordion
Michal Nejtek, keyboards
Marcela Pflegerová, keyboards
František Čech, drums
Martin Kopřiva, drums
Jan Šimůnek, violin
Miroslav Šimáček, electric guitar
Ivan Bierzhanzl, bass guitar, double bass
Petr Kofroň, conductor

This concert is presented in collaboration with Society for New Music and with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Czech Republic and City of Prague.

Agon Orchestra Changes Its Face, But the Features Remain the Same

With every new programme, Agon Orchestra changes its face a little. But today, its main features remain very well recognised, as the ensemble has found a rich recourse for its' dramaturgy in the music of authors of New York downtown. Last Friday, they presented the compositions of Anthony Coleman, John Zorn and Elliot Sharp in the Archa Theatre.
From the position of classical musicians, Agon is the leader of the repetitive attempts of presenting various displays of classic and popular music, thus standing alone in our conditions. During the live performance, this means how the music was made and what added to the notation, the result of the composition depended more on this than the charisma of interpreters. The personal concern of the musicians, as if it arose from the written music, is the final dedication of the performance.
There were two tendencies in Coleman's compositions The King of Kabay and The Bosnians - possibly only by the influence of this approach: one, the anchoring in the natural, slow vibrations, and second, the more ambitious, concentrated on the harmonic activity in blocks, which sometimes individualises the suggestion of the melodic motive. The bass guitar and drums in the composition The Bosnians added "empty kettles" to the atmospheric music, as well as the aggression of the fight for survival; it had to be added, that sound in the Archa Theatre was very sensitive and the podium and auditorium were prepared in such a way that it was free, yet well-balanced. The two compositions of John Zorn led us into quite a different world; Dark River - slow and empathic for two performers on four large drums, and Kol Nidre, with a much more ethnic feeling. Their arrangement before the intermission was a very good dramaturgical feature. The entire second part of the concert belonged to the lengthy composition of Elliot Sharp, SyndaKit. In the extended act, Petr Kofroň conducted Agon admirably, and had a very good response from the audience.
What was clear about the concert was that the ensemble probably has lost its fans who are listeners of "classical" concert music. But it came closer to the present, not only by the date of performed music has its birth, but also by its energetic charge.

Wanda Dobrovská, MF Dnes, 29. 6. 1999
(The author is a musical publicist)