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The second half of Friday\u2019s program was given over to the world premiere of Sarah Davachi\u2019s \u201cThe Lower Melodies,\u201d a languid sound bath opulently scored for two bass flutes, two bass clarinets and strings. The work begins softly, on a low note in unison that eventually splits, creating layered sustained harmonies. As pitches changed, the sound seemed to form delicate ripples. Davachi\u2019s transfixing work seemed to encourage a physical identification with the music; with more space and a yoga mat, an audience member could have a transformative experience with it.<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s concert was anchored by Leilehua Lanzilotti\u2019s \u201cwith eyes the color of time,\u201d the festival\u2019s highlight. Inspired by the exhibition galleries she grew up playing in when her mother worked at Honolulu\u2019s contemporary art museum, the work moves dreamily through states of spacious stillness interrupted by skittish pops, scrapes and crunches created by string players pressing their bows hard on the string. With subtle tweaks of tuning, the sound seemed to alternately evoke the unpredictable natural world and the realm of human memory.<\/p>\n
Scott Walker\u2019s powerful \u201cRubato (It: \u2018Stolen Time\u2019)\u201d started with the wail of a siren and tore onward at high-decibel throttle until it melted, unexpectedly and disarmingly, into a simple chorus sung by the instrumentalists. The title of the work refers to the musical practice of taking liberties with tempo, but its performance instructions ask the musicians to play in strict time. Sampled recordings of military machines are blended with acrid brass into growling chords. In other works at the festival, nonconformist tunings evoked the intelligence of the nonhuman natural world. Here, it stood for the inhuman logic of war.<\/p>\n