Kevin Volans, Lenguas de Fuego. Louth Contemporary Music Society, LCMS20215.
This release by Louth Contemporary Music Society comprises a single work by Kevin Volans, Lenguas de Fuego (Tongues of Fire). LCMS is a unique organisation, putting on inde- pendently minded programmes on the Republic of Ireland’s east coast for over a decade. The label is a more recent venture with eight releases within the last two years, featuring Jürg Frey, Linda Catlin Smith and Wolfgang von Schweinitz. This gently minimal company is a fitting context for the work of Volans, which is given a detailed performance in fresh clean sound, as well as being furnished with some really striking cover art by Edel Rodriguez.
This chamber work fits very much within Volans’ wider project, which can be characterised as a series of encounters – or a list of ‘post-’s – each of which have left their mark on his style. The first, post-serialism, relates to his time in Cologne in the 1970s, when, with Clarence Barlow, Walter Zimmerman and, later, Gerald Barry, he was associated with a move away from what they saw as an overly rules-based compositional approach.
The second relates to the almost obligatory mention of Volans’ interest in African music. The Spanish title may put some distance between Lenguas de Fuego and such concerns, but most commentators on the composer point to the enduring influence of African music. In this piece, and others, this is chiefly evident in the approach to rhythm, particularly the repeti- tive, interlocking figures that so regularly arise. Volans himself was born in South Africa, though apartheid led to little in the way of immersion in traditional South African music. Rather, this was a process of self-discovery during the 1970s, with two field trips to South Africa supported by the Westdeutscher Rundfunk.
Volans was drawn to this music as ‘it was a kind of music that had no perception of form, no perception of time as we know it, no guilt about change, was free from guilt. In the 70s we had serial guilt, and then in the 80s it was guilt about change, an anxiety about change; the minute a piece of music started you felt it had to change.’
His music may now appear post such overt African influences, but the marks of this process are still felt. At the same time, Lenguas de Fuego begins with an obstinate flourish, with the inci-sive articulations of Silvija Scerbaviciute’s flute and Mia Cooper’s violin creating a fabulous ten- sion. This material returns at various points throughout the piece with similar effect; indeed, the temporal dissonances of the cross-rhythms here might have been fruitfully extended. Other rhythmic currents of a rather more disrup- tive nature are at play, then, than the rather sunny and relaxed grooves.
Volans is also a key player in the post-minimal scene in Ireland and beyond. While exhibiting a wide range of material, this piece still fits within this broad aesthetic direction, with an important role for repetition, uncluttered material and a form that gently unfolds rather than speeding towards any particular destination. Volans states that ‘I was astonished how busy most music of the twentieth century is. It’s true of Schoenberg, Stockhausen, or Steve Reich. Busyness, and being seen to be busy – I got very cynical about this.’3 During the 1980s Feldman was a friend of and influence on Volans, with both sharing a keen interest in the visual arts. Volans’ work has always sought a particular character, or ‘colour’, which can still include more frenetic material than that of the American.
Chords with spacious resonance are dwelt upon, with every material given its chance to pass the listener by in an easy-going procession. There is no formal necessity; they seem to cohabit quite peaceably. When describing Feldman in 2006, Volans argued that a climate of macho competition prevailed among minimal composers, stating that ‘I suppose what I’m also trying to point to is the idea of overcoming tes- tosterone. You don’t have to prove anything.’4 This sense of enjoyment and ease comes across in this music. It is this that can add to the freedom and joy of Volans’ work, though less amic- able interactions might be required for listeners requiring a greater sense of urgency.
Neil T. Smith