World premieres from Alan Holley and Melody Eötvös pay tribute to the Hendrix legacy

Ensemble Three | All Demons Run

March 22, 2022, Primrose Potter Salon, Melbourne Recital Centre

Ensemble Three, described by critics as “an inspiring example of forward-thinking classical music culture in Australia” comprises of Joel Brennan (trumpet), Don Immel (trombone), and Ken Murray (guitar) – all three, music performance staff at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music (Melbourne University), and superbly outstanding musicians. It was an absolute joy to hear this trio perform at the Melbourne Recital Centre, and their uniqueness and rarity of sonic composition did not render the experience peculiar in any way. In fact, it was musically solid and artistically impeccable. What a fine bunch of musicians!

I also find it extremely honourable that this group (with a deep and committed sincerity) is dedicated to not only supporting new music with their countless commissions, performances and recordings, but more importantly, and as a matter of incidence, bequeathing Australian music and Australian composers with the deserved respect.

On the program were the world premieres of Alan Holley’s All Demons Run (the title of the concert) and Melody Eötvös’s Gamma, both featuring Murray on electric guitar, and both to some extent paying tribute to the Hendrix legacy. It was impressive to hear Murray (Associate Professor and Head of Guitar at MCM) taming electricity for the first time, whose prowess on the both clean and distorted auditory physiognomies of the instrument dazzled. Murray, a champion of both early twentieth century Spanish music and Australian contemporary ‘notated’ composition has impressively participated in the world premieres of over a hundred works. And in Ensemble Three, he is in great company. Trumpeter Joel Brennan (Senior Lecturer in Music Performance at MCM) has performed around the world with the likes of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (Australia), Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (Korea), Rotterdam Philharmonic (Netherlands), Winnipeg Symphony (Canada), Malaysian Philharmonic, and Bilkent Symphony Orchestra (Turkey), while also serving as principal trumpet of the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra (Japan) and Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra (Netherlands). Trombonist Don Immel (Head of Orchestral Studies and Brass at MCM) on the other hand was solo/principal trombonist of the Danish Philharmonic orchestra between 2006 and 2012, and in addition to credits taking account of his many jazz-influenced releases are numerous Hollywood movie and television soundtracks.

Other works in the program included Christopher Sainsbury’s Singing Stone and Caerwen Martin’s Sleepless, but the standout work was certainly Holley, followed by Eötvös, which was decisively quirky and refreshingly funky. Holley, at the conclusion of All Demons Run’s debuting stated that his personal fascination with Jimi Hendrix was bestowed upon him as a 14-year old boy, and that this moment of enlightenment was to be later intertwined with the four-part harmonies of Johann Sebastian Bach, resulting in what I believe to be this wonderful eclectic intermixture that we hear today. It has always been my opinion that the fusing of styles as an approach to composition (not to be confused with nonsensical mishmash) has the ability to generate the most interesting music, but of course the ‘art’ controller at the helm must not only be craft competent but also a creative thinker. The juxtaposition of modern and traditional aesthetics in All Demons Run is certainly in tandem with American minimalist composer and music theorist Tom Johnson’s ideals about music beyond tonality and atonality, and what he describes as a soundworld framed around “all other harmony that has dominated musical practice for at least fifty years.”  The Holley was music with purpose, with direction, and therefore sounding a clear and distinct destination, taking the listener on a meaningful musical journey. And music expertly crafted, with a fantastic sense of invention and fluidity that maintained the listener’s attention throughout. There was not a dull moment at any point in time, and not a note destined for the revisionary scrap heap. Congratulations Alan Holley on another great work that will unquestionably become an important part of the legacy of Australian composition.