Austin – Who is Mother Falcon? An orchestra? A pop ensemble? A rock band? As the members and their array of instruments took the stage at Central Presbyterian Church in Austin, their style was hard to place. However, by the end of show, it was clear that they had managed to successfully recreate classical music for this generation. Appealing to the often inattentive and jaded ears of today’s audience, while maintaining the enduring qualities of the traditional music style, Mother Falcon is a novel and extremely talented band of young musicians.
One of the first things you notice about Mother Falcon is how large the group is. Visually, it appears crowded and potentially chaotic. It would be hard to believe that a band of this size could have a collaborative discussion, much less perform a concert, without constantly stepping on each other’s feet. However, I was astounded by how each song could be so spacious and uncluttered in the hands of 18 instrumentalists.
What makes this work is the fact that most of the members are trained musicians, many of whom met in high school. With this sort of background, collaboration within a band of this size comes naturally. Without the anchor of an egotistic front man or a diva lead guitarist, Mother Falcon is able to weightlessly glide through their songs, emitting a very unforced and pure sound. In their performance of the enchanting “Sanctuary”, there were over a dozen players contributing on stage, but the song remained airy and spacious. Every sound painted a different color, creating a vibrant landscape that was impossible to resist, like a pleasant daydream on the otherwise dull bus ride home from work.
Because of the range of instruments, Mother Falcon’s sound is very visual. And though it might sound strange, it is verbal too. Just like any story, I felt the inciting incident, the rising action, a climax, and then a resolution. Though most composers strive to create this kind of arc, none have ever presented such a long-established genre in a way that is tailored for the pallet of the modern listener. This arc was especially apparent in the performance of “Sleep”, off of their second LP You Knew. In this multi-movement number, singer/accordionist Tamir Kalifa and his sweeping voice led the way through each of the song’s phases as a spellbound crowd sat motionless.
The songs have the beauty and refinement of classical music with the anger and rebellion of rock ‘n’ roll. The performance wasn’t just crooning violins and jazzy saxophones; it was an experience of raw emotion, a good bit of which felt like rage. The eerie “What’s the Matter” was both sonically and visually seething. Though the lyrics were often difficult to decipher, you knew exactly what was going on. And as singer Claire Puckett shook and seized, the entire church shared in a collective anguish.
After taking a ten minute break following their set, the group returned to the stage to perform a revised version of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring as written by one of their former music instructors Peter Stopchinski. The result was a grandiose odyssey in search of classical music in a modern world. Retaining many of the original elements, the performance had the electricity of contemporary musical innovation. I’ve never really been one for classical music, but Stopchinski’s exaggerated moments of suspense and tension made for a much more exciting recreation of this well known composition.
At the end of the night, I still couldn’t decide if Mother Falcon was a band or an orchestra. They could pass for either. But in any case, they are the leaders of a movement that seeks to find ways of incorporating antiquated genres in the creation of new music. Many have tried and many have failed, but I have no doubt that Mother Falcon will forage this path gracefully and will soon be a household name.
Ruth Griffin
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