Reviewed by Ian McLean

I HAVE  played with jazz groups, concert bands and orchestras in Kings Hall, so doubted that the resonating boom within the room would make the venue an “amazing space” for a concert.

My fears were unfounded.  Well controlled and contained dynamics from the DRUMatiX percussion ensemble proved perfect for the space. At no time did the well-known reverb interfere.

Composer Jonathan Mills explained that his “Ethereal Eye” (a dance meditation on the architecture and ideas of Walter Burley and Marion Griffin) required audiences to “hear musical intervals they’re unfamiliar with – much crunchier, more mellow sounds on a different scale”.   He further prepared the audience for his cutting-edge work by writing that “the whole piece is like a train that’s running on a different, narrower set of tracks”.

Mills himself played micro-tonal piano as he joined the 10 members of DRUMatiX and Anna Fraser (soprano) and Nigel Crocker

I appreciated the sounds, but it was music to experience rather than enjoy.  Many different images were portrayed as the piece moved through water, earth, fire and air.  I could certainly picture animals at one point but the connection with the Griffins escaped me. I found the highlight of the performance in the lighting created by Ian de Gruchy.  Images danced over the performers, the Kings Hall columns and fellow audience members in a mesmerising and fascinating display.

While marvelling at the precision of the percussion, I failed to find the subliminal relationship between architecture and music.