By Austin Franklin, Special to The Sybaritic Singer
Anaïs Maviel’s recent solo performance at Obey Convention (K’jipuktuk | Halifax, Nova Scotia, 2018) comes to us in the form of a live recording released through Gold Bolus Recordings titled, in the garden. This five-track album features a striking balance between modernity and antiquity, improvisation and rehearsal, and combines unique elements from traditional music found throughout the world. in the garden features several instrumental layers found in the combinations between such instrument as the kamele n’goni, lyra, surdo, singing bowl, and piano, all being held together by the expressive power of Maviel’s voice, which is the centerpiece of the album. It is built in two longer movements, with the first three tracks making up the first movement and the last two tracks making up the final movement.
The album begins with its opening track “bells”, which contains nothing more than a singing bowl ringing softly for the entirety of the track. This ringing quickly becomes understood as a kind of musical palate cleanser that attempts to refresh the listeners mind, allowing them to focus on the complexities that are naturally contained within even the most simplistic of sounds. The next two tracks, “I am you” and “in the garden” consist of only Maviel’s voice accompanied by herself playing the kamele n’goni, which is a type of harp originating from West Africa. Together these tracks form the body of the album and showcase her vocal dexterity. She employs a variety of techniques such as vocal fry, nasalization, melismatic singing, straight tone, and extreme vibrato, and her control of both dynamics and register yields immaculately sculpted phrases from beginning to end.
The accompaniment takes on a variety of roles in these two tracks. At times it is both a kind of rhythmic and harmonic ostinato, creating a hypnotic bedrock under which Maviel’s voice sits. At other times it becomes particularly reactionary to her voice, interjecting with interesting harmonic shifts and even clashing with it for these brief moments of unresolved tension. The most notable feature of “I am you” and “in the garden” however, is that they are the only tracks on the album predicated on a steady pulse.
The second movement begins with track four “listening”, which features an extended instrumental improvisation with the lyra. Maviel seemingly uses every inch of the instrument, from the wooden shell to below the bridge to create the sounds. This is followed by the entrance of a hauntingly rich drone, which is created by bowing metallic rods that are attached to both the top and bottom skins of the surdo. Her voice takes on a very unique role during this track, sounding almost electronic with a variety of sounds similar to granular synthesis-like crackling and sputtering. This adds a wildly unique texture to the pad of resonating bowed sounds already present.
The track transitions seamlessly into “bells from afar {métadire}” (track 05) after a chilling climax settles to a brief moment of vocal acrobatics. In this final track, time stands still as she plays only sparse notes and chords on the piano. These notes are allowed to ring and decay naturally, as her voice deepens even further to supply the spaces with a soft low growling that fades out to silence and leaves only a few final piano notes to bring the work to completion.
Maviel’s unique musical aesthetic is one that places a focus on growth, reflection, and above all else, listening. Her instrumental choices as well as her adept musicianship make for a musical experience that is both cultural and humanistic. in the garden is a microcosm of various influences used together to create a stunning work of virtuosity and originality that will engage you from the very first note.
Austin Franklin is an emerging composer from Baton Rouge, LA where he is pursuing a master’s degree in music composition at LSU under Dinos Constantinides. His primary area of interest pertains to the development of hierarchical pitch structures and complex patterns in music. Austin’s works have been performed throughout United States and Greece. He has won several awards and commissions, such as the Sound/Sight Art Collaboration and the First Annual LSU Composers Competition, and has several pieces published through C-Alan Publications.
