Vexations 840 is about pushing boundaries. Giving a new enterprise this name may seem like asking for trouble, but the people behind this venture are inviting challenge. One of these is Lyle Chan, music producer and composer who describes Vexations 840 as \u201ca classical music enterprise\u201d that will speak to core classical audiences.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vexations 840 was originally the name of a musical work by the French composer of the avant-garde, Erik Satie. \u00a0The work consists of a short theme, intended to be performed 840 times. The notation is unconventional and the premiere of this work in 1963 \u2013 arranged by John Cage \u2013 lasted more that 18 hours and required several pianists to take the keyboard. Alex Ross describes the fate of one pianist who attempted to perform it solo: \u201cHe stopped after fifteen hours, experiencing intense hallucinations\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whilst these details are fascinating, Vexations 840 is not intended to be a project that drives one to insanity. Chan explains that the name for the project was chosen because \u201cSatie was someone who truly thought outside the square. He pushed the boundaries\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Based in Sydney, Vexations 840 was established by Lyle Chan, Anna Cerneaz and Ken Nielsen in 2010 to\u00a0create\u00a0 music projects\u00a0\u201cthat would otherwise not happen\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0Their first project has already materialized. \u201cBaroque Duets\u201d is a recent CD release featuring mezzo soprano Fiona Campbell with counter – tenor David Walker, founded in their partnerships in the Pinchgut Opera productions of Juditha Triumphans<\/em> (2007) and L\u2019Ormindo <\/em>(2009). The CD\u00a0includes something of a coup – the world premiere recording of a significant Handel work, Caro autor<\/em>, HWV 182b affirming their promise to\u00a0showcase neglected\u00a0material, Chan says\u00a0”\u00a0it contains a splendid Handel piece that’s waited\u00a0over 200 years for someone to record it but\u00a0nobody has, till now”.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n But Vexations 840 is not just about recordings. Chan\u00a0adds “What it will stand for is grander in scope, presenting interesting things for an informed public\u201d.<\/p>\n \u00a0One such project on the horizon will be\u00a0an interactive search for \u201cThe greatest forgotten string quartet\u201d. The idea will harness the resources of the World Wide Web and social media to canvass votes and generate a lively dialogue. The intention is to generate a live webcast and\u00a0recording\u00a0out of this. \u201cThe internet has really collapsed boundaries. We have a global audience\u201d, says Chan.\u00a0<\/p>\n The creation of this consortium highlights two issues. One is that performers and entrepreneurs need to start thinking beyond the established media of concerts in concert halls. Concerts are undoubtedly an\u00a0essential part of the musical life a community. But with\u00a0pressures of time, distance and cost, sitting down passively to absorb a couple of hour\u2019s music is a choice that is increasingly remote. As well, society now moves more quickly and is more interactive. This dictates that\u00a0newer\u00a0forms of participation in music be devised.<\/p>\n Secondly, this project will unashamedly attempt to reach the core classical audiences, who are informed and musically educated whose needs and interests have perhaps been subjugated in the interests of commercial success. Refreshingly, there is no need to apologise for being a purist, or\u00a0for appreciating the skill, the learning and hard work that go into presenting quality performances of masterful music.\u00a0It\u00a0does not in anyway negate the mass market, or the crossover genres, but simply recognizes what a different sector of the market appreciates and seeks.<\/p>\n \u00a0As with any enterprise, there is risk. The funds for Vexations 840 have come from private sources \u2013 people with a passion for \u201cclassical\u201d music. There is, of course a broader aim: that Vexations 840 \u2013 both its existence and the media through which it is conducted – will draw more people into loving and understanding the classics \u2013 ensuring, in its own unique way, that this music is not lost to posterity, but will live into the future.<\/p>\n Read our review of\u00a0 Vexations 840’s inaugural recording project\u00a0\u00a0“Baroque Duets”.<\/em> Vexations 840 is about pushing boundaries. Giving a new enterprise this name may seem like asking for trouble, but the people behind…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"sls_format":[],"class_list":["post-2862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":{"deck":"","is_featured":false,"media_type":"standard","audio_embed":"","video_url":""},"yoast_head":"\n
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