Composed by: Molly Herron
Percussion: Dániel Matei
Molly Herron’s “Compare The Way We Move” is equal parts fascinating and agonizing. I don’t mean the latter as a slight. In fact, I very much mean it as a compliment. The agony is part of the pay off. It starts slowly because I don’t know what percussionist Dániel Matei is doing. And yet, I think I know exactly what he’s trying to achieve. He’s going to make music out of flower pots.
It took me 3 minutes to commit. I found common ground with the floppy metal ruler. Bewildered and unsettled at the opening, I remember thinking, “this is weird and I have other things to do.” What we don’t know can often make us uncomfortable. But it was that feeling of “I’ve never seen anything like this” and the precision of Matei’s playing that kept me there.
Matei is practiced and methodical about his instrument but I am not completely convinced that a bed of flower pots is something one can master just yet. With every press of a different shard, I think, “does he KNOW this is gonna work?”
Whether he does or not, I’m excited to find out and you’d bet he is too. Because if one is going to take on a composition like this then one has to be a little curious and confident that one can handle it.
Oh, the metal ruler, right! I remember back in grade school, I used to play with those things never ever thinking about the musicality of what I was doing.
Color me fascinated when Matei applied just the right amount of what I’m guessing is predetermined pressure to achieve a desired result. He did this not only to the ruler but to one of the smaller flower pot shards. I found the two to be almost completely in sync. Now, I was hooked.
I won’t ruin it for you, you should have your own experience. Just work past the initial roadblock of being uncertain. And if you really like it, give it a listen without the video afterward. It’s an entirely different experience.
You’ll undoubtedly recognize the sounds of these household items. Heck, you’ve probably had more experiences with a door stop or a ruler than you have with a Marimba or even a drum set. Put your headphones on/in and do something else OR just sit and listen to how they all magically layer over and interact with each other as if they were all one instrument. You’ll internalize it.
Still, Herron creates the kind of suspense for which any great storyteller should strive. “Compare The Way We Move” is without a doubt a visceral experience and may even scratch an ASMR itch for some. However, it’s that feeling of not knowing what’s happening that in the end is the most rewarding. I’m glad I stuck around for the culmination. My agony turned into sheer delight!
I first learned about “Compare The Way We Move” at I Care If You Listen. Check out their article for more insight into the composition. Here are a couple of highlights:
“The performer is not the master of the objects,” Matei explains to new music publication I Care if You Listen. “Comparing the way they move only becomes possible by playing each object according to its needs, dictated by its physical properties… rather than controlling the objects so that they serve you, you have to turn into a curious explorer to help them flourish the only way they can.”
Molly Herron has stunning insight about the interconnectedness of the elements of music. She tells ICIYL:
“We commonly define pitch, rhythm, and timbre as the elements of music, but when rhythms speed up, they become pitch. When pitches layer, they become timbre. Each term is a different lens on the same phenomenon. The objects in Compare the Way We Move illuminate the space where one element ends and another begins.”
Do you like new music? Do you have a favorite composition that was written in the last 20 years? Let me know by sending me an email at anewcanonmusic@gmail.com
If you’re looking for a satisfying new music experience try A New Canon Radio.
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