Claire Chase - Density 2036, Pt. 7 (2020) (2023) [Hi-Res]

Liza Lim’s Sex Magic revolves around a constellation of symbolic associations, sonic rituals, and stylistic referents to craft a musical statement on the essence of women’s power. The work is a direct outgrowth of one arena in Claire Chase’s practice; Lim was particularly captivated by Chase’s interpretive voice as manifested through her contrabass flute, lovingly named “Bertha.” Extrapolating upon the vocabulary of sounds Chase has cultivated through Bertha, Lim draws on musical traditions around the world that feature large flutes, often in ritual contexts, exploiting the instrument for its deep resonant tones, multi-dimensional pitch articulation, and capacity for a unique range of percussive sounds. In live performance, small hand percussion is arranged on altars, as if part of an offering. Those altars are affixed with transducers to amplify the instruments arranged open on top of them, processed to vibrate at pitches that relate to the flute material. Lim and Chase’s conception is beautifully integrated and holistic, an expression of the rich, elemental values that the piece explores.

The opening movement, “Pythoness,” begins with clarion calls of awakening, in dialogue with feedback from the skin of a floor drum upon which the massive flute rests. On an audio recording, the listener hears a poignant duet, moving directly past constricted presentations of discrete pitch and rhythm into an immediate expression of organic gesture. It sets a powerful tone for the work to come, carving out its own musical language as a vehicle for inhabiting an evocative space.

Six “Oracles” follow and comprise the main body of the work, each exploring different actors in the ritual, as laid out on the altars in front of the audience. Cowrie shells, used as currency in some cultures and rich with symbolism, are featured in “Oracle i”, a patient dance in which sudden rhythmic outbursts in the flute are tempered by sensual waves of articulation on the shells. In “Oracle ii: Womb-bell” the flute and altars vibrate in symbiosis, the latter activated by resonant frequencies on the contrabass flute. The pigment vermillion is the focus of the third oracle, frequently used in decorative arts and associated with blood and life force in Chinese culture. Lim’s evocation of the highly toxic pigment is fierce and energized, with charged and focused passagework on the flute that is punctuated by percussive hits, and culminating in a chilling scream.

For “Oracle iv: Throat Song,” Chase shifts to the alto ocarina, playing and singing into the instrument closely associated with Chinese and Mesoamerican traditions in poignant intimacy.

The longest of the oracles, number five, “Moss – on the Sacred Erotic”, is scored for contrabass flute alone, and gives Chase the opportunity to revel in the otherworldly sound cavern inside Bertha. What is particularly remarkable is how nimble Chase manages to be on the large instrument, executing fleet passagework alongside haunting multiphonics and breathy trills. Lim closes the oracles with a minute long silent meditation, a reset to the ground from which all of the sounds of the work grow.

“Skin Changing” unleashes the rhythmic possibilities of the entire hyper-flute setup, with Chase triggering events from key clicks and mouth sounds on Bertha. Polyrhythmic figures, ricochet reactions, and overlapping patterns create an elaborate drumming ritual. A somber low register melody closes the energetic movement, eliding into a bass flute solo to open to final movement, “The Slow Moon Climbs,” the longest of the work. Chase’s flute and the altars engage in a responsive energy exchange, organisms intertwined in mutually reinforcing feedback. It is an apt image for the close of Lim’s work, a piece that is about the connection, vibration, and oneness that flows from the ancient wisdom inherent in the experience of womanhood.

– Dan Lippel