A Hocket in the Pocket

Comments (0) By Paul Friswold Wednesday, Jan 20 2010

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The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts (3716 Washington Boulevard; 314-534-1700 or www.pulitzerarts.org) continues its Urban Alchemy Concert Series with a double bill of Mauricio Kagel's den 24.xii.1931 and Louis Andriessen's Hoketus performed by members of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. Andriessen's piece takes both title and structure from the hocket, a medieval compositional technique in which consecutive notes of a motif or rhythm alternate between two (or more) instruments — the headphone crowd will notice a distinct audial similarity to the panning effect beloved of modern producers. Andriessen's score calls for two identical ensembles comprising saxophone, panpipe, piano and electric piano, bass guitar and congas. The groups begin by playing similar-yet-individual chords with a slight pause between them, then build out to three chords, four and finally six chords while eliminating pauses. The effect is that of jump cut and echo, slash and riposte, and set against the backdrop of Gordon Matta-Clark's sliced 'n' diced building sections currently on display at the Pulitzer, Hoketus provides what amounts to the perfect soundtrack for the art. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are $10 to $20.
Wed., Jan. 27, 2010