Omega Ensemble | Howl

2 May 2026, ACO on the Pier, Walsh Bay, NSW

Program:

Missy Mazzoli: Tooth and Nail
Anna Meredith: Tuggemo*
Daniel Wohl: Interference Patterns*
Pierre Jalbert: Howl*
Danny Elfman : Piano Quartet

Artists:

David Rowden: Clarinet
Mark Ingwersen: Violin I
Asmira Woodward-Page: Violin II
Neil Thompson: Viola
Paul Stender: Cello
Vatche Jambazian: Piano

The Omega Ensemble, under the direction of clarinetist David Rowden, is a champion of contemporary chamber music of which this program of 21st century music is typical. The asterisked works on the program listed above are Australian premier performances.

Tooth and Nail by the renowned US composer Missy Mazzoli, is scored for solo viola and a prerecorded track. The latter is also primarily viola, thus enabling the live instrument to play in counterpoint with itself.  The live viola was slightly amplified with a mic rather than a pickup, and this allowed the tone colour to maintain its warmth. The sonic inspiration of the work is the music of the Uzbek jaw harp. The work is primarily tonal; there were hints of Central Asian modes and there was a clear sense of dissonance and resolution. The harmonies dictated by the electronic component were slow moving, but the rhythmic impetus was constant. Neil Thompson interacted confidently with the electronic shadow, showing musical sensitivity. The effect was mesmerising.

Anna Meredith’s Tuggemo is for a standard string quartet (2 violins, viola and cello) and again a prerecorded electronic substrate. Asmira Woodward-Page on violin II appeared here as a guest artist. The performers wore earpieces, presumably for coordination of difficult rhythms across the ensemble. The title of the work comes from an Old English word meaning a swarm of birds or flies. This image provides the inspiration for the almost chaotic and frenetic energy of the individual parts in this piece. Portamento swooping and wild arpeggios were used extensively to show the movement. The overall effect was electrifying.

Interference Patterns by Daniel Wohl again uses a prerecorded electronic track with which the instruments interact. There are no unusual playing techniques used here, just standard bowing throughout. As the title suggests, the live voices pull in and out of sync with the pitches and rhythms of the recorded background, producing and resolving beat-frequencies as they pull in and out of phase. This sense of tension and resolution operated both at the phrase level and in the overall structure of the piece; there is a sense of emergence and subsidence. This work explores an intriguing sonic concept and was expertly executed by the ensemble.

Pierre Jalbert’s Howl of the concert’s title is a work scored for a standard clarinet quintet, but it is a far cry from that by Mozart. Similarities are hinted at; the clarinet has rising phrases from deep in the chalumeau register up to the heights.

The work takes its inspiration from Allen Ginsberg’s 1956 poem of the same name. It was one of the defining documents of the Beat Generation; a group of writers and thinkers who rejected social norms and sought raw, unfiltered truth. The piece does not structure itself or reference the poem directly, rather it echos the emotional intent. The rising clarinet phrase mentioned earlier is the howl of pain and rage of the poem.

I am astounded at Rowden’s tone colour on the clarinet. He seems to carry the warmth of the low range right through the clarion up to the altissimo register. Often with the clarinet things can get screechy up there. Not Rowden; he  maintains the clarity and evenness of tone right throughout the range with never a hint of distortion or noise. Also, the breadth of clarinet reeds lends itself to uneven vibration, but Rowden has this miraculously under control. Such an exquisite sound!

The opening texture of Wohl’s work is curiously like Vivaldi’s Winter in the Four Seasons, but the likeness does not last. The clarinet part superimposes itself over the insistently rhythmic strings with hints of jazzy elements.

The switch to the bass clarinet near the end allows the work to subside into a more personal and redemptive feeling than that implied by the howl.

Danny Elfman is primarily a film composer but this Piano Quartet (with violin, viola and cello) is a foray into the classical genre. There are hints of Shostakovich here, but at the quartet’s core is the falling minor third motive which, when repeated over and over, is the classic schoolyard taunt. It is explicitly stated in the second movement with the “Rain, rain, go away, come again another day” tune, but it is found and developed throughout the work. The piano, played with strength and confidence by Vatche Jambazian, seems to be the anchor for Elfman as the dialogue is more between piano and strings, rather than among the strings. In the frenetic last movement the piano dominates almost overpowering the strings.

This concert exemplifies both bravery in programming new music and performance excellence. There was never a moment of hesitation or musical weakness. The Omega Ensemble epitomises a professional and competent approach to these difficult works, creating a musical experience which is both challenging and satisfying.