Raw and eclectic sounds in ELISION ensemble’s first concert at Sydney’s Carriageworks.

Carriageworks, Sydney

March 18, 2014

ELISION ensemble has gained an international reputation for performing the more daring and extreme forms of new music out there, and this concert at Sydney’s Carriageworks was no exception.

The evening saw numerous unconventional objects, including CDs used as trumpet mutes, bottles and squeaky toys pressed into service to create its unconventional sonic palette. The works themselves ranged from the soft, slurpy and fluttery to loud and often violent rasping and gasping.

Attending a concert at Carriageworks is part of the experience. The converted railyard buildings are all concrete and metal – quietly imposing their modern message in a space that was perfect for the cutting-edge contemporary specimens on ELISION’s program.

The evening began with two works by Boston-based composer Timothy McCormack, whose focus on the frequently uncomfortable physicality of sound pushed the performers to the brink. Peter Veale was particularly engaging with his virtuosic struggle on the oboe and expert multiphonics in the trio with violin and percussion. Benjamin Marks’s cantankerous trombone solo was also well handled in its daring range and often-absurdist gestures.

Australian Liza Lim’s ehwaz followed, and was similarly demanding of the performers....