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Mobius Trio
Robert Nance, Matthew Holmes-Linder and Mason Fish |
The
guitar is without a doubt one of the most popular musical instruments in the
world today. Its prevalence in popular music along with its relatively
inexpensive price and its portability has made the guitar a very attractive
instrument for many. In recent years, I’ve developed an interest not just in
the classical guitar repertoire but also in contemporary compositions that
showcase the diversity and range of this instrument. And one group that does
just that is the Mobius Trio.
Mobius Trio, a guitar ensemble based in San Francisco ,
is composed of Matt Holmes-Linder, Mason Fish and Rob Nance. The trio is
dedicated to the commissioning and performing of new music for the guitar. And
the configuration could either be for classical, acoustic, electric or a
combination thereof. They’ve released an album called Last Light with eight commissioned pieces compiled over a two year
period. And through the wonders of the internet, I was able to get in touch
with the trio and have a listen to their album.
The
album Last Light opens with the
track Making Good Choices composed by
Brendon Randall-Myers. This piece opens with dissonant chords introducing an
ominous percussive romp. Sparse, accented notes highlight the second movement
before segueing into a more frenzied and perilous third movement. A short,
sedate and tranquil three movement piece is offered by Persian Dances by Sahba Aminikia. Matthew Cmiel’s How to Shatter Light: Homage to Benjamin
Britten, is highlighted by repeated notes, occasionally shattered by
dissonant notes/chord. An undulating wave leads to an agitated middle section
before returning to the repeated notes, which is faster towards the abrupt end.
Screaming from the Skies by Clayton
Moser doesn’t sound screaming at all. It starts calmly then things stir up
leading to a fiery dance. And then it’s calm again as it heads towards a
pensive end.
Anthony
Porter’s needle-play is a minimalist
piece interspersed with percussive touches with the music trickling and
building towards the second half. A place
that inhabits us by Danny Clay has a very pleasant and accessible opening
theme. And after a middle section that went to different places, it was nice
returning back to that pleasant theme towards the end. Garrett Shatzer’s The Transition for me was the most
challenging to listen to with the transitions not being the ones that I
expected. The album ends with the title track Last Light by Dan Becker, a piece that features multiple modulations
that gave way to more emotion and excitement. I had to put the album into
multiple spins and really focus on listening to the tracks. I think that for
this kind of music featured in the album, seeing the players perform and
observing the interaction between them would help a lot in understanding and
appreciating the works.
I’ve
had the opportunity to communicate with one of the members of the trio, Rob
Nance and I asked him about how the commission process goes. He responded that
they are good friends with all the composers of the album. And whenever they
look for new composers, they try to commission their friends or composers that
some of their friends have already worked with. They try to establish a connection
with the composer first and learn more about his/her music before asking to
write music for them.
Rob
also mentioned that the Mobius Trio is trying to bridge the gap between the
guitar world and the new music world. The guitar is still an often overlooked
instrument not held in as high regard as the violin or the piano. There is
still that very limited amount or repertoire for the guitar. The trio tries to
remedy this by playing music and gathering commissions as a trio, making it a
little easier for composers to write for a guitar ensemble that they tend to
shy away from out of lack of familiarity.
As a
listener of music, I admit that I am not familiar with a lot of music written
for the guitar. This instrument has long been associated with popular music
(rock, folk, blues) and the Spanish influence in the classical repertoire.
Encountering Mobius Trio and their work helped me expand my knowledge not just
of guitar music but also contemporary music. The trio gave me an opportunity to
see how guitar music has evolved and expanded in the 21st century.
Their contemporary, avant-garde and minimalist sound showed that the guitar can
do so much more than the usual strumming of chords to the latest radio hit.
Last Light
Tracks:
Making
Good Choices
1. I.
Running with Scissors
2.
II. Following Directions
3.
III. Hanging on for Dear Life
Persian
Dances for Guitar Trio
4. I.
Largo e Dolce
5.
II. Presto
6.
III. Lento
7.
How to Shatter Light: Homage to Benjamin Britten
8.
Screaming from the Skies
9. needle
play
10.
a place that inhabits us
11.
The Transition
12.
Last Light
Text
by RAd
Photo
by Matthew Washburn
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