Dispatches From the Bang on a Can Summer Festival 2022: Part 3

• An Orange Take on Life with Caroline Shaw

By Lara Mitofsky Neuss

Midweek in the galleries at MASS MoCA, the performers from the Bang on a Can Music Festival presented Thousandth Orange, a work by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw. The players, who called themselves “Something Orange” (Christopher Herz, violin, Amy Tan, viola, Ida Norby, cello and Ariel Mo, piano) were each wearing different shades of that color to match the piece. The shade worn by Norby matched the actual oranges on Herz’s collared shirt, bringing some humor into what came to be a rather emotional work. 

Before the piece began, Herz pointed out Shaw’s focus on still life paintings: the curiosity of artists such as Van Gogh and Matisse inspired her; and they were intrigued by the act of repeating the same painting many times. Mo then began the work with a series of repeated yet simple piano chords. Shaw makes a point to find the “beauty in simple things,” such as these repeated chords, and this piece is a continuation of a larger series of works that make up Shaw’s album Orange in which she does just that.

After the opening section, the piece started to increase in tempo and dynamic, the emotions just as intense as the music. Norby played cello lines that were raw and real; they were low and vibrant and the melodies were simple. Mo played Shaw’s various piano chords with ease as the string trio then focused on their detached, plucked parts.

As the work continued there was a minimalistic groove that came about, which was often lying under the emotional and colorful melodies. The piece began to feel like a quick take on life in a simple, reassuring, and also very serious way–life has a simplicity and groove to it which is often interwoven with bouts of heavy emotion, memorable events, and love. Nearing the end of the piece the short plucked pizzicatos came back about, giving the audience yet again that simple, repetitive feel.

This piece came full circle as Shaw found inspiration for this work from an artist who has been featured here at MASS MoCA, Sarah Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer focuses on the taxonomy of holes and the differing ways that you can create space in a wall, bringing about new life perspectives. It was the silent space between gestures in this piece that brought about a focus on human life. Or maybe it was just the orange that brought out colorful feelings and pondering thoughts. Either way, this meditative performance brought the audience into the moment, creating a freeing, accepting, and bittersweet look at life.

Lara Mitofsky Neuss’ goal as an artist is to foster a community of acceptance through creativity and innovation. She is a member of the Audio Reviews writing team at the International Clarinet Association, is a recording engineer and the Digital Marketing Coordinator at Arts Laureate, and she is the Clarinet Program Manager of the New Works Project.