Absolute Ocean (2008)

This group included only one violin, one flute, one oboe and so on — no departments, just individuals. A harp, at center stage for once, asserted itself almost without interruption, no longer the back-up strummer. There was a singer, soprano Tony Arnold, while some usual supporting players — the percussionists plus piano and celesta — became frontliners.

This quasi-guerrilla outfit performed a 21st-century work, just 1 year old, called Absolute Ocean, by the orchestra’s composer in residence, Augusta Read Thomas. The piece flaunts its unconventionality, starting with the use of three coy poems by e.e. cummings, with lines like “see the luminous leopards (on wingfeet of thingfear).”

Thomas’ music ... works mostly at spinning atmosphere — two exercises in smooth, floating vocal lines with liquid instrumental effects, contrasting with two sections hammered with restless staccato figures. The prevailing tone colors are high-pitched, sometimes jarring in their dissonance and mechanical quality.

The beauty of soprano Arnold’s singing, and the energetic work of harpist Jennifer Hoult, gave focus and charm to the playful work.

In Houston, the HSO presented the premiere of Augusta Read Thomas’ Absolute Ocean for soprano, harp and orchestra. HSO principal Paula Page was the harpist.

Based on poetry by E.E. Cummings, Absolute Ocean is an appealing work in which two lyrical and atmospheric outer movements enclose a lively, rhythmically jerky section that forms a playful center. Soprano Twyla Robinson sang the poetry with a pleasing tone and clear enunciation. Page had a lovely turn in an interlude for harp and orchestra connecting the second and third movements. This work would be worth repeated hearings.

Witty and original, the poetry of E.E. Cummings is also terse, cool, a tad detached.

In setting three Cummings poems as Absolute Ocean for Soprano, Harp and Orchestra, composer Augusta Read Thomas has created a contemporary classical work with its share of piquant charm, engaging aural effects and a certain coolness at the core.

The new concerto was given its world premiere Thursday night by the Houston Symphony, led by music director Hans Graf. Its successful launch showcased the exacting musicianship of Paula Page, the orchestra’s principal harpist, and guest artist Twyla Robinson, who brought her creamy soprano to Read’s settings of Cummings.

In truth, and perhaps inevitably, given the format, Robinson’s vocal role seemed to dominate much of the time, her singing distinguished by its composure, command and clarity.

As written, the harp’s role often seemed a matter of punctuating the vocal lines — at times with a touch of embellishment, though even that was restrained rather than the showy display some may have expected. Perhaps a case of Thomas matching the music to the poetry’s form. Page responded with delicate, distinctly defined chords.

An all-instrumental interlude between the second and third poems, for harp and a small group of solo instruments, gave Page more latitude in this work’s equivalent of a cadenza. Here, she nimbly executed some lushly flowing arpeggios and glissandos.

A particularly effective aspect of the work was Thomas’ arrangement of orchestral forces: streamlined string and brass sections; a percussion section stressing tinkling and chiming instruments (no drums); and eight different woodwinds, including a few less standard ones (bass clarinet) with no doubling of the usual suspects.

The result was an interesting blend of orchestral colors that enhanced and supported the solo roles and never overwhelmed the poems.

the moon is hiding in her hair carried an air of gentle mystery. who knows if the moon’s a balloon was the liveliest of the trio, characterized by an emphatic staccato attack in vocal and instrumental lines. The closing piece, open your heart, registered as the most expressive of the three, culminating in the titular phrase: “come ships go/snowily sailing/perfect silent/Absolute ocean.”