Structure is God

Concert of Péter Mátrai in Budapest

When God enters into the creative process, you sense the divine structure of the Universe.

This is how you feel if you listen to the concert or Peter Matrai on electric instruments. There is a clear structure of the whole performance: preface, treatment and epilogue. And there is the clear structure of every piece with composition, melody and rhythm which build up the whole circle until the catharsis at the end.

The preface: the 'Intervals' with its dynamism invites you to leave your everyday self and enter into the world of art, into the world of the artist.

Small etudes follow: atmosphere, memories, sequences of feelings and thoughts, all this with different and unusual electronic instruments, computer samples, new sounds and noises. The concentration is intense, every element has meaning and is part of the whole. This is the journey of a soul: in his past and present, in his feelings, in his love for music. The small pieces have concrete themes, and you enjoy the correspondence of the music with them. You smile, you enjoy, you feel the music, you feel what you are inspired to feel.

And then comes the epilogue, the 'In memoriam' piece to the memory of two architect-friends. This is a small theatre-performance with candles, staggering, brutal hits and noises, flame, fire and ashes at the end.

Catharsis is what you feel: this is life, this is all.

The Music of Life

Céleste Boursier-Mougenot at Barbican Centre, London

40 zebra finches are exploring an aviary for three months at Barbican Centre on amplified guitars and cymbals installed on sandy islands planted with grass. The spontaneous everyday activity of the beautiful tiny feathered creatures on the sensitive strings makes a complex soundscape from the speakers around the gallery.

There is no composition, structure and melody in this music. This is the music of the self-abandoned, free life, the repetition and interference of the patterns of continuous everyday activity.

Arranging the twigs, toddling on the strings, the different types of arrival: the gliding stir and tumbling throb; the light and dynamic variations of departure, the positioning and preening - these are the continuously flickering patterns without any compositional intent which have a comforting, captivating effect on the visitor.

There is a joyful aesthetic contrast between the tiny soft animals with their beautiful coloured feathers and the masculine, professional instruments: the sight and the sound together gives you a lightweight happiness.

A meditative experience.