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Sydney choreographer Graeme Murphy's new work Salome was greeted with an
emotive outpouring of acclaim, outrage and media hype when it premiered in
1998 to sell-out audiences. Murphy's artistic vision, as interpreted by the
Sydney Dance Company, offered a confronting mix of Biblical and Middle
Eastern inspiration, drawing on Oscar Wilde's famous play to create a
highly stylised dance narrative with an erotic charge.
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Detractors thought the work far too slick and over-designed, and pointed
out sarcastically that the company appeared to be devoting twice as much PR
energy to the costume design (by Australian couturier-of-the-moment, Akira
Isogawa) as it was to its dancers. Dance purists considered it "too
Sydney": too much choreographic emphasis on sheer physicality and
acrobatics, and not enough on creating elegance of line. (Perhaps they have
had little or no exposure to the raw energy of Gideon Obarzanek's work for
Melbourne-based company Chunky Move, or Maggi Sietsma's for Expressions
Dance Company in Brisbane.) However, these criticisms do hold a certain
piquancy. One aspect of the production which appeared to receive universal
approval was Michael Askill's haunting, percussion-based score.
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Askill, best known for his work with Sydney percussion ensemble Synergy, is
no stranger to cross-cultural collaboration. This recording, his third on
the Black Sun label to date (after Free Radicals and Rhythm in the
Abstract), closely follows the choreographic story of lust, spiritual
longing, and destructive possession while avoiding narrative cliches.
Salome's dance, for instance, features an entrancing and hypnotic flute
melody instead of the expected 'all stops out' sonic orgy. CD recording and
performance alike feature Omar Faruk Tekbilek, one of the world's foremost
Middle Eastern musicians: fans of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, take note!
Tekbilek was given equal billing with Askill on the company's promotional
flyer -— although, disconcertingly, not on the album cover -— and appears on
nearly half the tracks. On the other hand, Askill was involved not only in
composing, performing and producing the score, but also in the development
of the dance scenario. Askill worked together with Murphy and his
company's Creative Associate, Janet Vernon -— a dream opportunity for any
musician.
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Listening to Askill's ensemble at the fin de millénaire, it seems
appropriate to reflect that our century began with a similar instance of
synergy between music and performance-based artforms. Stravinsky's The Rite
of Spring, commissioned in 1913 by Serge Diaghilev for the Ballets Russes
and choreographed by Nijinsky, stunned audiences all over Europe with its
daring physicality and exoticism. From a postcolonial perspective,
Stravinsky's virtue was that he introduced non-traditional and non-Western
musical forms in a way that was sufficiently undiluted as to force the
audience into an awareness of their own musical and cultural boundaries. As
he proved, the experience of any artform which sets out to test the limits
of self and the reality of difference or otherness can be extremely
confronting. This may well result in State intervention or censorship, as
has recently been the case for photographers Sally Mann and Robert
Mapplethorpe in the United States. Yet while Stravinsky's 'primitivism'
confronted audiences of the day, it also placed him well within the
mainstream of Western modernism, alongside figures such as Picasso and
Freud: yet another example of exploiting exotic (read: non-Western) idioms
to suit European tastes.
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Contemporary attitudes to the incorporation or use of non-Western music
have shifted dramatically since Stravinsky's time. While, debates still
rage over the term 'appropriation' (affecting artists as diverse as Paul
Simon and Deep Forest), the emphasis these days is on sharing musical
knowledge and developing partnerships. With the rise of World music as a
marketable genre, with its own international stars and record labels, the
consensus appears to be that cross-cultural exchange is, well, appropriate.
At least, for artists who are already operating within the industrial
circuits of production and distribution. In this light, Salome offers an
exemplary instance of the collaborative, postcolonial performance work.
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It is entirely appropriate that a recording showcasing Middle Eastern
instruments as well as the vocal and musical talents of Tekbilek should be
issued on Black Sun,
a subsidiary label of the Celestial Harmonies family
(known for its comprehensive series, The Music of Islam). Askill's score
creates a rich tapestry of percussive timbres, overlaid with Tekbilek's
astounding voice and the chants of dancers from the company. Graeme Murphy
himself contributes the voice of Herod, with text by Oscar Wilde. Askill
performs with a wide variety of European, Middle Eastern, African and
South-East Asian percussive instruments including bass drum, tom toms,
bongos, Thai gongs, glockenspiel, ocean drums and the wonderfully named
'thunder sheet'. Tekbilek seduces the ear with voice, ney (turkish flutes),
zurna (turkish oboe) and frame drum. Fellow percussionist David Hewitt
contributes sounds from the djembe, darbuka, frame drum and marimba among
other instruments. Their combined effect is both mesmerising and
surprisingly melodic.
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Originally available only via mail order (I was ecstatic when I discovered
it could be ordered through my regular music supplier), this CD will most
obviously appeal to dance lovers and to those who attended and enjoyed
Murphy's production. Yet it will also catch and hold the attention of those
who enjoy world music, or who prefer more experimental/ambient textures.
While the high commercial viability of film soundtracks leads many
composers to look to the cinema for inspiration, Askill's beautifully
articulated and atmospheric album suggests that it is high time for his
peers to reconsider the opportunities offered by dance companies and
choreographers in the creation of new work.
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Details
Salome, by Michel Askill, featuring Omar Faruk Tekbilek.
Black Sun, cat. no. 15031-2, 1998.
68 mins.
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Citation reference for this article
MLA style:
Catherine Howell. "Mesmerise Me: Michael Askill's 'Salome'." M/C Reviews 20 Sep. 1999.
[your date of access] <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/reviews/music/salome.html>.
Chicago style:
Catherine Howell, "Mesmerise Me: Michael Askill's 'Salome'," M/C Reviews 20 Sep. 1999,
<http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/reviews/music/salome.html> ([your date of access]).
APA style:
Catherine Howell. (1999) Mesmerise me: Michael Askill's 'Salome'. M/C Reviews 20 Sep. 1999.
<http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/reviews/music/salome.html> ([your date of access]).
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