The Philip Glass fan

I’m a big fan of Philip Glass and his exuberant minimalism and have been since I was a transfixed by his early opera ‘Einstein on the Beach’ as a young boy.

I loved this new work (it has been touring for about 18 months). But my companion, an avid fan of Leonard Cohen, hated every minute and we argued heatedly, (but shared a glass of wine), after the performance.

Glass remains at the height of conceptual and intellectual powers- his productivity is legendary- but he seems to be retreating from performance. Already looking weaker when he played, a little, during his Orion, performed here during the 2005 festival, Glass now has conductor/keyboardist Mick Rossi handle the florid, faster paced sections. Glass himself provides an iconic and slightly theatrical presence on the stage in this highly crafted, densely composed, choreographed and designed work that has been engineered in layers anticipating a diverse readership.

The Book of Longing is, at one level, an ambitious song cycle in the grand tradition of the genre. There are more than 20 of Cohen’s poems, some read by Cohen himself but most sung by a monophonic quartet – symmetrically gendered (Will Erat, Daniel Keeling, Dominque Plaisant, Tara Hugo) and set against the Glass’ densely textured instrumentations. At intervals, the principal string and woodwinds perform exquisite and lyrical solos.

If you are accustomed to Cohen, it takes a while to listen into Glass’ settings. The music seems at first distracting, the words hard to discern despite the emphatic monophony and single-part line set for the vocalists. The cycle develops as a great arch. The singers perform, and move to careful blocking, almost like stylized musical theatre. At intervals Cohen’s drawings and sketches, mostly from 2003/4 are projected on the scrim above the musicians. Cohen mostly draws women and himself.

But along the way something else becomes apparent. It is as if Glass has fused Cohen’s words – rich in their own assonances and textures, with his musical patterns- assimilating the complexity of Cohen’s language as another sound-layer in his music. The singers render the actual spoken words in strict monophony – as if to solve the perpetual issue in his music of finding clarity in complexity. This word-music co-texturing serves as a structural counterpoint to the intercalated solos, whose lyrical clarity is greatly augmented by the sharp contrast of their dense framing.

At the point of the last instrumental sole, on bowed double-base, Glass leaves the stage in the dark and returns, jacketed. He sits in chair and turns to face the solo, now sonorous –deeply beautiful – as image after image of Cohen is flashed on the scrim. It is subtle and obvious at the same time that we are to watch Glass watch himself and his work as we watch him.

Glass seems reflective. Sadly, (let’s hope very slowly) eternity nears. Will the future revere Glass as innovator and genius, the way we do Bartok and Shostakovich? And what has he really created here and in his now vast oeuvre?

Those questions are unresolved but Melbourne – some seeing Cohen afresh, some enjoying an operatic song cycle, some thinking they saw a little deeper- offered a standing ovation to a Master of our age.

Gary Anderson is a Melbourne academic

The Leonard Cohen fan

Okay I will be upfront – I am a Leonard Cohen fan from when I was a child – my family used to listen to all his albums, went to all his concerts, talked about his lyrics and poetry, and whether his work was truly gloomy or incredibly joyous – or possibly both at the same time…

For me Leonard Cohen is about a deep sonorous sound, and dense, sometimes indecipherable poetic verse and a sensual languid voice.

His music is rich, melodic, and intensely personal. For some I know – it’s not something to listen to when feeling a touch depressed (although for me Leonard Cohen’s music makes me happy!).

Now my expectations of this Philip Glass and Leonard Cohen union, was of something totally intriguing. To meld Cohen’s intimate poetry (and Cohen’s Book of Longing is a wonderfully personal work) with Glass’ most impressive technical skill as an eminent musician whose work is notoriously known to be anything but personal or intimate.

In a way this was potentially a Ying and Yang moment – where opposites could create a truly marvelous whole.

However I was not prepared to see Cohen’s poetry performed by the four singers who performed the song-cycle in what seemed to be a purposefully theatrical manner. Think Leonard Cohen meets Broadway.

Music Theatre is not a genre I had ever associated with Cohen and to tell the truth I found the singing incredibly jarring.

This quartet unrelentlessly sang Cohen’s 20 odd poems, moving studiedly across the stage, sitting, standing, drinking water, walking on and off. This was interwoven with recorded recitations by Cohen himself.

And this was probably the high point for me – hearing Cohen’s poetry read by Cohen with Philip Glass’ magnificent score and talented musicians playing.

Unfortunately these moments were too few for my liking and then I would be jarred out of my blissful moment with a quartet from monophonic hell.

Rita Dimasi is Arts Hub Executive Editor

Book of Longing
Philip Glass: music
Poetry and Images: Leonard Cohen
MIAF
State theatre Melbourne
15 October 2008