Players and Tape

various artists compilation - Players and Tape

* originally posted on July 29, 2006

This release contains two tracks involving acoustic (or live) instruments and electronic sounds and two tracks that solely were composed using electronics or tape.

Richard Trythall made use of wind instruments in "Variations On a Theme by Franz Joseph Haydn". Trythall says about this piece, " Variations... for woodwind quintet and tape was completed in 1976 under a commission from the Dorian Woodwind Quintet to whom the work is gratefully dedicated. In this composition the taped portion plays an orchestral role to the winds' solo role. At times the prerecorded material is accompaniment and articulation only, at times it is an equal partner to the winds, and at other times it is completely in the foreground. Each of the six variations is characterized by a different distribution of these roles."

Then Trythall hacks or rather deconstructs the classic Jerry Lee Lewis rock 'n' roll hit "Great Balls of Fire" on "Omaggio a Jerry Lee Lewis".

Joseph Hudson says about "Sonare", "My primary concern in Sonare was to create an electronic vocabulary that would effectively contribute to a truly sensuous and organic combination of electronic sounds and live instruments. Secondly, I attempted to achieve a greater sense of pitch-continuity by stressing certain pitches in each section, thus creating a kind of structural background. By re-emphasizing these pitches at moments of climax I hoped to simulate some of the dramatic interplay of tension and resolution found in tonal music."

Randall McClellan's electronic piece is intended to be an allegory. " Music of the Spheres and Processional is the first of a four movement electronic composition, Tortoise Journies, which was composed between 1974 and 1975. The remaining movements are: Tortoise Dreams, Summoning the Spirits and In Celebration of the Sun. Taken together, the four movements comprise an allegory on the subject of evolution as seen through the eyes of the tortoise, an animal for whom I have the deepest respect. For the tortoise is one of the earliest species of animal to inhabit the earth. It predates the dinosaurs and has changed little in appearance since. In a Jungian sense the tortoise symbolizes natural evolution and longevity. For me Tortoise Journies is an allegory on four levels: the personal, the musical, the cosmological and the collective unconscious. The mood of Music of the Sphers and Processional is as follows: 'Resting in the bottom of a dark cave beneath the sea, the tortoise listens to the ancient song of the universe. He reflects on past generations of tortoises and how the earth has changed since the age of the great dinosaurs. His species has witnessed the coming of Man. Will he not also be witness to Man's passing?'"

Tracklisting:

1. Richard Trythall - Variations On a Theme by Franz Joseph Haydn {16:01}

2. Richard Trythall - Omaggio a Jerry Lee Lewis {6:25}

3. Joseph Hudson - Sonare {5:49}

4. Randall McClellan - Music of the Spheres and Processional {7:35}

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