Chamber Cartel – Pléïades

Posted on September 24, 2017 by Robbie

This evening, in the back-room of Orpheus Brewing, Chamber Cartel presented us with an hour of sonic grace in the form of a fantastic performance of Xenakis’ piece for six percussionists, “Pléïades.” The slightly different kit for each of the six percussionists were arranged in a very large V that encompassed two rows of audience seats in the same shape except for one short row at each end that was perpendicular to the V, like dimples on a smile. I had the good fortune to sit at the tip of the audience’s V, such that I had two performers in front of me, two to the side, and two behind, absorbing me in a dramatic 6.0 surround sound experience. Each of the four movements of the work has different instrumentation and Xenakis suggested two different orders for the movements. The Cartel played a reversal of the first suggested order: Peaux (skins), Claviers (keyboards), Métaux (metals), and Mélanges (mixtures). Unlike the previous concerts in this series, the price of admission didn’t include tickets for beer tasting but they did include earplugs, which were absolutely necessary.
Continue reading →

Chamber Cartel: Simulcast with Guest Artist Margot Rood

Posted on July 29, 2017 by Robbie

This evening was the fourth of seven shows in a series by Chamber Cartel called “Don’t Look Back: Beyond the Zero” that Orpheus Brewing Company has been presenting at their brewery off of Monroe Drive near Piedmont Park. The program opened with a solo percussion piece by Anthony Donofrio entitled “Meditation on Italo Calvino’s Castle of Crossed Destinies”. It was contemplative and lovely and Caleb Herron brought a sweetness out of it that made it a wonderful way to start the show.
Continue reading →

Chamber Cartel with Margot Rood: Living in Light

Posted on August 27, 2016 by Robbie

One of the sad truths that I have had to face in life is that if any organization were to market directly to my tastes then they’d go under very quickly. With this in mind, it’s not surprising that I’d eventually find myself in the audience for a Chamber Cartel concert that didn’t really suit me. I am not of the opinion that “Living in Light” was poorly programmed — I think that a lot of people would really like it — but it just wasn’t for me.
Continue reading →

Chamber Cartel: Wonderblock

Posted on June 25, 2016 by Robbie

I will probably never go to the Mammal Gallery again if it has been over 90°F during the day, but I’m glad that I suffered the heat for this evening’s Chamber Cartel concert. Titled “Wonderblock,” the program was fairly eclectic, with works by George Crumb, John Luther Adams, Franco Donatoni, Helmut Lachenmann, and Hans Thomalla. Overall, the performance was enjoyable, though the heat took its toll on my attention span by the end.
Continue reading →

Chamber Cartel: George Crumb

Posted on September 5, 2015 by Robbie

This evening’s concert by Chamber Cartel was at the First Existentialist Congregation of Atlanta next to Candler Park. It is a neat little space that loves to eat sound. Worn pine floors, decorative panels in the ceiling, and beadboard half-walls greedily gobble up any passing tone like a child…um…greedily gobbling…things. That’s not to say that you can’t have a nice, intimate chamber concert there, but it’s best to program with the limitations of the venue in mind. Another problem facing this concert was the unfortunate presence of a child who was not ready to be a good audience member and who tended to be noisiest during the quietest parts of the works. With that said, Chamber Cartel did manage to produce a very engaging, if not quite excellent, concert of works by George Crumb there.
Continue reading →

Chamber Cartel: Prajñā

Posted on July 25, 2015 by Robbie

I think that this is the first Chamber Cartel concert that I’ve attended in a venue that has climate control. Thinking back, I know that they’ve performed in a few other places, but the only times that I’ve been able to attend their shows have been in the various Goat Farm venues. Fortunately, given the heatwave, the Goat Farm opened up the Warhorse for tonight’s show. It proved to be a pleasantly intimate venue for chamber music, if a bit cramped. I had a comfortable seat but many did not. It wasn’t a particularly long concert, though, and there were no epically long pieces, so I’d probably not have been terribly upset if I’d have had to stand.
Continue reading →

Chamber Cartel: The Stone Tapestry

Posted on June 13, 2015 by Robbie

When an entire concert consists of one piece that I’ve never heard before, I always feel a little wary attending. Fortunately, Herron has good taste and does a good job of selecting works for Chamber Cartel that are not only interesting and enjoyable but also well suited to the ensemble. Tonight’s production of “The Stone Tapestry” by Jeff Herriott was definitely interesting and enjoyable and Chamber Cartel with the guest musicians of A/B Duo performed it well.
Continue reading →

Robbie Writes

Tag Archives: Chamber Cartel