Korea: Seoul Ensemble of Traditional Music

Seoul Ensemble of Traditional Music - Korea: Seoul Ensemble of Traditional Music

Text from the liner notes:

Korea's independent cultural traditions were discovered relatively late by the West. No attempt was made to come to terms with Korean art, literature and music on a broader basis, until the last twenty years. Political - historical circumstances are mainly responsible for this delay: for example, the Korean kingdom's rigorous isolation from the outside world during the second half of the Yi-Dynasty (1392-1910); Japan's annexation of the country and the massive attempt to suppress the Korean identity during the first decade of our century, and not least of all, the dreadful Korean war of the 50's, with its tragic outcome, a nation still divided. Only since the 60's has it been possible, at least for the people in the southern part of the country, the Republic of Korea, to again be willing and able to dedicate themselves to cultivating their centuries' old cultural traditions and present these to the rest of the world. The area of traditional music has also profited from this and Korean musicians and musical ensembles being invited to perform concerts in Europe, offers more and more opportunities to experience Korean music and become familiar with it. At the heart of this CD is the live recording of a WDR (West German Radio and Television Network) concert, which took place on 9th October 1990 in the Maternushaus, Cologne. These recordings of the eight-piece The Seoul Ensemble of Traditional Music present practically the whole instrumentarium of traditional Korean music in representative solo and ensemble works of music.

Performers:

Kim Chung-soo - leader, changgo [hour-glass shaped drum]
Yang Yon-sop - kayagum [twelve-stringed zither], changgo
Chung Dae-suk - komun'go [six-stringed zither], ching [gong]
Lee Tae-back - ajaeng [seven-stringed zither], changgo
Lee Ki-sui - haegum [two-stringed fiddle], chabara [cymbals]
Hong Jong-jin - taegum [large bamboo flute], tanso [flute]
Park In-kee - p'iri [cylindrical bamboo oboe], t'aeo'yongso [cane oboe]
Kim Sng-kn - saenghwang [reed mouth organ], tanso

Tracklisting:

1. Chungkwangjigok {7:59}

Chamber music for stringed instruments from the Suite Hyon'ak yongsan hoesang

2. Suryong'um {5:19}

Melody for saneghwang and tanso

3. Komun'go Sanjo {11:26}

For komun'go and changgo / Soloistic instrumental music with drum accompaniment

4. Yuch'osinjigok {4:19}

For taegum solo

5. Sangyongsan {8:11}

For two horns, haegu'm and drum from the Suite Kwan'ak yongsan hoesang

6. Tae-ch'wit'a {3:35}

Military music for the royal procession

7. Ajaeng Sanjo {12:40}

For aejing and changko / Soloistic instrumental music with drum accompaniment

8. Shinawi {14:29}

Instrumental ensemble improvisation

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Klingt gut

Treibstoff (1995)
for flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, double-bass, piano & percussion

Klarinettentrio (1993) for clarinet, cello & piano

Luftwurzeln (1993) for flute, clarinet, viola & cello

mehr oder weniger (1991)
for flute, oboe, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, double-bass, piano & percussion

Streichtrio (1994) for violin, viola & cello

Zopf (1992) for flute, oboe & clarinet

Sottovoce (1988) for 2 cellos

Schraubdichtung (1989/90)
for voice, contrabassoon, cello & percussion

Thürmchen Ensemble, with members of the Ensemble Recherche

Carola Baukholt (* 1959) studied with Mauricio Kagel at the Academy of Music in Cologne from 1978 to 1984, received many grants and scholarships since then and represented Germany at the World Music Days in Copenhagen (1996) and Seoul (1997).

The close collaboration with the musicians of the Thürmchen Ensemble (since 1991 she's a member of the group) has given Carola Bauckholt the opportunity to explore and extend the (often unusual) instrumental techniques that are essential for her compositions.A good deal of the basic sound material in Carola Baukholt's works is directly inspired by sonic events from the everyday world. Through extremely careful orchestration of rhythmic patterns, tonal structures and Klangfarben, she develops unique musical dramaturgies based on change and transformation of the musical material.

In her most characteristic compositions, like "Treibstoff" (fuel) and "Schraubdichtung" (screw gasket) nets of musical references and dependencies are woven, exploring the grey areas between noises and tones. With an ear for the most minute detail Bauckholt creates a multifaceted spaciousness in which she lets her sound material freely evolve, equally evoking Feldman's notion of "sound undisturbed" and reminding of Musique Concrète soundscapes.

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Five Works for Voices, Instruments, and Electronics

Kenneth Gaburo - Five Works for Voices, Instruments, and Electronics

Performers:

Antiphony IV (Poised) (1967)

for voice, piccolo, bass trombone, double-bass and electronics

Members of the University of Illinois Contemporary Chamber Players:

Thomas Howell - piccolo

James Fulkerson - bass trombone

Thomas Frederickson - double-bass

Barbara Dalheim - voice (on tape left channel)

Kenneth Gaburo - conductor

String Quartet in One Movement (1956)

Walden String Quartet

Mouth-Piece: Sextet for Solo Trumpet (1970)

Jack Logan - trumpet

Antiphony III (Pearl-white moments) (1962)

for sixteen voices and electronics

New Music Choral Ensemble: Barbara Dalheim, Shirley Panish, Douglas Pummill, Lawrence Weller, Janet Pummill, Miriam Barndt, Brian Winter, Philip Larson, Rosalind Powell, Marcia Swengel, William Brooks, David Barron, Jean Geil, Bonnie Barnett, Albert Hughes, Richard Hanson

Kenneth Gaburo - conductor

The Flow of (u) (1974)

for three voices

Elinor Barron, Philip Larson, Linda Vickerman

Excerpts from liner notes:

Kenneth Gaburo was born in 1926 in Somerville, New Jersey; saw service in the U.S. Army from 1943-45; attended the Eastman School of Music, the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia, Rome, and the University of Illinois.

...

In 1968 he moved to the music department at the University of California, San Diego, where his colleagues included Pauline Oliveros, Robert Erickson, John Silber, Keith Humble, and Roger Reynolds. He was also acquainted with Harry Partch, who was living in San Diego at the time, but was not associated, except briefly, with UCSD.

...

Although he was intensely collaboratory in his work methods, Gaburo's sense of individuality always marked him out, even in the hothouse environments of Illinois and UCSD in these periods.

...

Gradually, over the years of the 1960s and 1970s Gaburo experienced a greater and greater alienation from the academic environment, until in 1975 he left UCSD, surviving as a freelance composer, teacher, and theater director (he directed the 1980 production of Harry Partch's The Bewitched for the Berlin Festival). During this period, he also left urban living, and moved to Ramona, California, where he lived in its semi-desert until 1983, when he joined the music faculty at the University of Iowa. At Iowa, he founded the Seminar for Cognitive Studies, which was a freewheeling, intense, cross-media seminar open to creative people in many disciplines.

...

Kenneth Gaburo died in 1993, in Iowa City, Iowa.

...

He composed works for instruments, voices, electronics, multi-media, theater, and a variety of other resources. Foremost among his many interests was a concern with the voice and with language - how we shape language and how we are shaped by it - and with making works that existed somewhere between the boundaries of music and language. Of the works on this CD, three are intensely concerned with what Gaburo termed "Compositional Linguistics" (Antiphony III, Antiphony IV, and Mouth-Piece), while concerns with balance and perceptual edges seem to be his foremost concern in the other two [String Quartet in One Movement and The Flow of (u)].

Tracklisting:

1. Antiphony IV (Poised) {9:41}

2. String Quartet in One Movement {9:04}

3. Mouth-Piece: Sextet for Solo Trumpet {5:51}

4. Antiphony III (Pearl-white moments) {16:31}

5. The Flow of (u) {23:01}

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7 NADEs

Eyvind Kang - 7 NADEs

NADE is a Sanskrit word with a number of meanings: "channels of the subtle body," "sound," and "nothingness."

Performers:

Theme from 1st NADE

Eyvind Kang - violin, keyboard, voice
Byron Au Yong - harpsichord
Susanna Knapp - flute
Mike Anderson - trumpets
Ian Rashkin - bass
Brent Arnold - cello
Terry Hsu - violin
Alan Kestle - violin
Tim Young - guitar, voice
Courtney Aguirre - voice
Teresa Truax - French narration

Angel With Wings Torn Off

Eyvind Kang - violin, piano, tape manipulations
Angela Lopes - voice
Christina Schinkei - electronic noises
Tim Young - guitar, amplifier

Earth

Eyvind Kang - noises

Thin, Rabid, Pearly Tunnel

Eyvind Kang - violin, bass
Scott Colburne - tape splicing & arranging
Mari Murao - voice
Tim Young - guitar
Mr. Ko - guitar, keyboard
David Slusser - slussomatic
Craig Flory - moog, acoustic guitar

Inevitability/The Engagement

Eyvind Kang - violin, keyboard, voice
Byron Au Yong - harpsichord
Susanna Knapp - lute
Mike Anderson - trumpets
Ian Rashkin - bass
Brent Arnold - cello
Terry Hsu - violin
Alan Kestle - violin
Tim Young - guitar, voice
Courtney Aguirre - voice
Teresa Truax - French narration
Steve Moore - trombone
Mike Stone - percussion
Crystal - voice
Jasmine - voice

Winged Head Over Troubled Waters

Eyvind Kang - microphone, keyboard
Don Ankney - French horn
Nancy Bondurant - bassoon
Scott Perry - oboe
Scott Colburne - tape manipulations, fire

5th NADE/Invisible Man

Eyvind Kang - violin, erhu, harp
Jessica Lurie - alto sax
Craig Flory - alto sax
Tari Nelson-Zagar - bass
Geoffrey Harper - bass
Reggie watts - drum machine
Om - voice

Universal

Eyvind Kang - violin, tuba
Scott Colburne - tape manipulation

Theme from 6th NADE

Don Ankney - French horn
Nancy Bondurant - bassoon
Brian Fairbanks - flute
Thuc Ngyen - clarinet
Scott Perry - oboe

Extra Cry

Eyvind Kang - noises
Brad Mowen - voice
Mr. Ko - guitar

The Banishment

Eyvind Kang - violin, bass, cymbals
Brent Arnold - cellos
Angelina Baldoz - trumpet
Yoko Murao - narration

Living Corpses

Eyvind Kang - violin, bass, piano
Jarrad Kaplan - MIDI drums

Eyvind Kang began learning violin at age 8. He has performed and recorded with Bill Laswell, the Sun City Girls, John Zorn, Wayne Horvitz, Joe McPhee, Nana Vasconcelos, Arlo Lindsay and others. He has also composed scores for film, theater and dance. He began making "NADEs" in 1988, with the first NADE performances taking place in 1994. "7 NADEs is his first CD.
Tracklisting:

1. Theme from 1st NADE {3:01}

2. Angel With Wings Torn Off {3:23}

3. Earth {2:17}

4. Thin, Rabid, Pearly Tunnel {4:45}

5. Inevitability/The Engagement {1:35}

6. Winged Head Over Troubled Waters {5:00}

7. 5th NADE/Invisible Man {7:40}

8. Universal {7:55}

9. Theme from 6th NADE {1:45}

10. Extra City {2:40}

11. The Banishment {2:58}

12. Living Corpses {2:14}

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60x60 (2005)

various artists compilation - 60x60 (2005)

This is another collection of music where the duration is one minute or less. Just like with the 60x60 compilation of 2004, the pieces vary from musique concrete, improv, computer/electronic pieces, avant-garde chamber music and so forth. With the tracks being brief, this would be like listening to a mixtape (or mix CD if you want to get technical). This would work with either these tracks played or in sequential order or on random/shuffle play.

Tracklisting:

1. Adam Sovkoplas - Train Racer

2. Mike McFerron - Minute Distance

3. Paul Clouvel - Pianobsession

4. John Bilotta - A 12-Step Rag for the Tonally Co-Dependent

5. Leslie de Melcher - Jerusalem

6. John Link - Clarinet Fantasy

7. David Gunn - West of Topeka

8. Greg Bartholomew - No! George! No!

9. Ivan Elezovic - Green

10. Christopher Bailey - NanoSymph in 4 Movements

11. Alexis Perepelycia - Taxonomia de un Error (Taxonomy of an Error)

12. Jay C. Batzner - Quills and Jacks of Outrageous Fortune

13. Kenneth Babb - The Silent Night Will Shatter

14. Mike Swinchoski - Alternative Song

15. André Cormier - 380

16. Travis Ellrott - Study 2

17. Don Malone - RezGliss

18. Lydia Ayers - Glassminute

19. Malcolm W. Rector - Two

20. Lucio Edilberto Cuellar - Vocalización Cristalina

21. Mark Rose - The Show

22. Martin Simon - Flowing Guitar

23. Benjamin Bierman - Father and Son Boogie

24. Cezary Ostrowski - Interferences

25. Heike Schmidt - morningsong

26. Alex Shapiro - Unhinged

27. Jonathan Stone - From Mr. Knight

28. Marihiko Hara - in 399 B.C.

29. Dorothy Hindman - Seconds

30. Tom Lopez - 17,987,547,480

31. Lynn Job - Lily

32. Erdem Helvacioglu - Reminiscence

33. Mike Hallenbeck - Tramp/Chop

34. David Claman - Brit

35. Straiph Wilson - Skip a Beat

36. Gary Knudson - Oblivious

37. Polly Moller - Cold Blood

38. Douglas Cohen - unwelcome 2005

39. Rod Oakes - Matisse

40. Robert Scott Thompson - Mantra 3

41. Ken Steen - Elfin Tounguespeak

42. Sam Pluta - Singular Explosion

43. Michael Vernusky - Roppongi Skeins

44. Steve Betts - Doctors and Nurses

45. Rene Veron - I'm not...

46. Dirk Johan Stromberg - Still...

47. Peter V. Swendsen - Field

48. Ronald Keith Parks - non divisi

49. Myroslava Lashkevych - Ay-ay

50. David Handford & Ravi - A Voice In A Kitchen

51. Eve Beglarian - My Heart is Trembling

52. Peter Swanzy - Eulogy for My Uncle

53. Stan Link - [-(snow)]

54. Piotr Szewczyk - Cosmic Insects

55. Julian Cartwright - Grasshopper

56. The Norman Conquest - FAFM8

57. Aaron Drake - EAR CANDY 1b

58. Kevin Ponto - 4x15>60

59. Paul Burnell - Can You Hear Me?

60. David Hamill - Philosophy

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Bansuri Bamboo Flute

Steve Gorn - Bansuri Bamboo Flute

Originally recorded during 1980 - 1982.

From the back cover:

This is a recording of two classical Indian ragas, with a mysterious and evocative sound, played on solo bansuri flute. These ragas, originally composed to be played in the deep night and at sunrise, are traditionally associated with contemplation, meditation and devotion.

From the liner notes:

The bansuri is a transverse bamboo flute from North India known to date back over two thousand years. Bansuri music and playing techniques are traditionally handed down from master to student, and the flutes themselves appear in many sizes and lengths. They normally have seven holes, and subtle variations in pitch may be obtained by partially covering the open holes.

Tracklisting:

1. Rag Malkauns {20:55}

2. Rag Bhairav {20:39}

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Kagel, again

After the great Heterophonie post by Grey Calx, it's time for another tribute to Maurizio Kagel, who passed away last Thursday at the age of 77. One more of the last few great composers born in the first half of the 20th century is gone. His innovative energy was paired with a unique sense of humor, and thanks to his almost unbelievable productivity he left us a vast body of hundreds of works, many of them unknown gems, often unrecorded, to be (re)discovered in the future.

My collection of pieces is drawn from unreleased radio recordings and several "various artists" compilations, giving a pretty good impression of how varied and wide-ranging Kagel's Oeuvre is.

Kagel directing his "Kantrimiusik", ca. 1975

***

Transicion II (1958/59)

for piano, percussion and two tapes was Kagel's first European piece, very innovative in many ways. The pianist produces singular sounds, juxtaposed or complemented by multifarious clusters, meticulously described in the performance instructions.

The percussionist plays the piano, too - inside, outside, with mallets - producing a wide variety of sounds comparable to Cage's prepared piano. The score makes use of indeterminacy and ambiguity to create structures, connections and different layers of time. A good part of the structures is notated on wheels, which have to be rotated by the players during the performance. Some of the structures have to be pre-recorded and played back during the performance with two tape recorders, sometimes with a heavily processed sound.

David Tudor - piano, Christoph Caskel - percussion

***

Sonant (1960/..)

for guitar, harp, double bass and skin instruments is an early example of "intrumental theater". It makes equal use of carefully elaborated sound production and accidental sounds. Different ways of ensemble playing and interaction are utilized; the performers even have to deal with psychological aspects of interpretation and scenic presentation.

Ensemble Musique Vivante, Paris

Percussion detail from "Sonant"

***

Mimetics (Metapièce) (1961)

for piano and simultaneous performance of a work by a living composer,
simultaneous with General Bass (1971)
for continuous instrumental soundsMimetics (Metapièce) is a piece that's not really a piece at all, more like a non-piece-ultra, notated on single sheets that are glued together in a way that one could read on forever, never reaching an end. Resemblances and similarities between events are created by references to other, past or future events.

General Bass (1971)

is one part of the work cycle "Programm", subtitled "Conversations with Chamber Music". It's a single bassline of octaves, fifths and fourths on various pitches, to be played in a "calm, unpathetic" manner. The performer is asked to constantly vary the colour of sound. A kind of peaceful polemic against the fetish of melody.

Kristine Scholz & Mats Persson - piano, etc.

***

Nah und Fern (1994), radio piece for bells and trumpets with background

This "Radio-Piece" won the prestigious Karl-Sczuka Award in 1996. It combines environmental sounds near and far (nah und fern) around the Domkerk (cathedral) of Utrecht with composed material for carillon and trumpets. Kagel: "Bells are archetypal carriers of acoustic messages and meant to be heard clearly over a wide range; while the distance between listener and soundsource plays a vital role. During the sound recordings and the editing of my radiophonic ringings I tried to interpret the definitions of 'near' and 'far', as if it were actually possible to stretch or shrink space and time through sound events."

Markus Stockhausen, Marco Blaauw, Andreas Gorsch - trumpets
Arie Abbenes - carillon
realization: Mauricio Kagel

***

Ein Aufnahmezustand (1969), radioplay (excerpt)

It's not easy to describe Kagel's definition of "Radio Art". He probably refers to a radiogenic procedure encompassing everything that has to do with sound production, placed in a radiophonic Space of Art. This often extends into narrative structures transporting humorous stories, illustrated by sound.

The recording situation of "Ein Aufnahmezustand" (Kagel's first original radioplay) is a form of game or play: "Only a posteriori each of the seven participants will find out that secondary questions and answers, spontaneous utterances, casual remarks and environmental noises are the main interest of this production. Their artfully articulated sounds and words are accepted as indispensable garbage, edited into the piece later on, as second-grade material." This is very effectively demonstrated in the final section, which uses a rehearsal of wind players as sound material.

Template for instrumentalist, from "Ein Aufnahmezustand"

***

remember M.K. (1)

Mood Bells

Cylob - Mood Bells

Cylob is Chris Jeffs, an idiosyncratic electronic musician working in the realms of electro, ambient, pop and what is called "braindance". From what I remember reading somewhere, Chris visited ancient temples during his vacation somewhere in east Asia (I think it was China) and those visits inspired the work on this beautiful and serene album. The computer generated bell and gong sounds on these tracks evoke a temple or meditational setting in a virtual world like Second Life or something similar though the music would also work in real life.

Tracklisting:

1. Tamtam Intro {0:18}

2. Majorette {2:06}

3. Endorphin Afterglow {3:03}

4. China Gong {1:35}

5. Dark Days {1:43}

6. Snowing {2:04}

7. Mood Gong {2:53}

8. Bryozoa {1:51}

9. Sentinel {2:58}

10. Sun-Day {1:26}

11. Worlds Within Worlds {2:22}

12. Spheres Within Spheres {2:24}

13. Mood Bowls {2:19}

14. Gong Meditation {2:35}

15. Mood Bath {4:01}

16. Mood Bells {2:10}

17. After the Soup {3:42}

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The Bells of Liberty at the Liberty Memorial

John Klein - The Bells of Liberty at the Liberty Memorial

It's another interesting find at one of the local Salvation Army thrift stores.

Played on the Carillon Americana Bells by John Klein.

The "Carillon Americana" consists of a total of 305 bells, including 61 Flemish-tuned Bells, 61 Harp Bells and 61 Celesta Bells, 61 Minor Tierce Bells and 61 Quadra Bells. The Carillon is playable from its own console as well as automatically through the use of the "Auto-Bell" Roll Player, which is completely under clock control, permitting the playing of desired selections at any time without the services of a musician. Schulmerich Carillons, Inc., of Sellersville, Pa. [Pennsylvania], have developed the modern carillon which is heard on this recording, which exactly duplicates the tones of huge cast bells, and far exceeds the tuning accuracy of cast bells, as well as encompassing a variety of new tone colors.


Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Theme from Piano Concerto No. 1 {2:30}

2. Barcarolle from Tales of Hoffman {3:11}

3. Traumerei {2:44}

4. Humoresque {2:30}

5. Theme from Finlandia {3:31}

6. Meditation from Thais {4:34}

Side 2

1. Beautiful Dreamer {3:24}

2. Carry Me Back to Old Virginny {2:42}

3. Beautiful Isle of Somewhere {2:56}

4. O' Sole Mio {2:17}

5. Estrellita {3:33}

6. Gypsy Love Song {3:23}

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Heterophonie Improvisation Ajoutee

Mauricio Kagel - Heterophonie/Improvisation Ajoutee

Mauricio Kagel passed away on September 18, 2008. We are saddened by this news.

Obituary

Tribute

Performers:

Heterophonie
for orchestra (1959/61)

Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt

Improvisation ajoutee

Gerd Zacher - organ
Juan Allende-Blin and Yngve Jan Trede - registration [they manipulate the sound and color of the music]


Tracklisting:

1. Heterophonie: I {8:05}

2. Heterophonie: II {7:41}

3. Heterophonie: III {5:21}

4. Heterophonie: IV {4:52}

5. Heterophonie: V {8:07}

6. Improvisation Ajoutee {15:19}

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Plus, more Kagel in the archives.

Insect Groove

Sarah Peebles - Insect Groove

The music is both improvised and composed and according to the liner notes, the tracks mostly do not have editing, multi-tracking or sequencing. Insect Groove is a set of electroacoustic pieces with manipulated sampled sounds and the shō, a Japanese mouth-organ with a unique timbre

From the liner notes:

Sarah Peebles is a Canadian-based American composer, performer and broadcaster. Her initial music and composition studies in Minneapolis, MN were followed by a Bachelor of Music degree in Composition in 1988 from the University of Michigan School of Music at Ann Arbor, with further studies in traditional and contemporary music in Japan over extended periods 1985-1993. Her work with electroacoustics focuses heavily on sampled sounds - which she gathers, alters, groups, and manipulates on the fly - and also draws upon the sustained tones of the shō, a Japanese mouth-organ noted for its unique timbre and tendency to 'throw' sound in unexpected ways. Her music often explores alternative performance settings, such as museums, bamboo groves, temples and parks, and her activities have included multi-channel sound spacializations, small ensemble, video, radio and music-theatre works, performance art, and collaborations with dance, installation, film, animation, brush art and spoken word.

Performers:

Sarah Peebles - Max. Sample Cell I & II, Unity DS-1, shō

David Toop - spoken word [track 4]

Nilan Perera - altered electric guitar, Boomerang, Whammy 2 processors [tracks 6 & 8]

Jin Hi Kim - electric Komungo [track 6]

Ko Ishikawa - shō [track 8]

Tracklisting:

1. Nocturnal Premonitions {2:13}

2. The Curse of Border Vacuums, part I {5:21}

3. where the Wild things Went {6:19}

4. White Powder/The Spiders {6:15}

5. Drillbit Skiploop {6:52}

6. Insect Groove {6:04}

7. Higurashi in Yamanashi {3:57}

8. Listen to the Sound of the Sun Sinking into the Lake {6:54}

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Gobi The Desert

Monolake - Gobi The Desert EP

Robert Henke and Gerhard Behles's ambient piece is evocative of the place that is the name of this recording. The listener is immersed in what could be a recreation of the environment of the Gobi Desert during dusk and night time with crickets, cicadas and other insects chirping. Or are those just clicking electronic sounds that sound like insects? Other computer generated sounds and electronic drone patterns are mixed in with the insect sounds.

Tracklisting:

1. Gobi {36:52}

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Piano Works

Milton Babbitt - Piano Works

performed by Robert Taub

From the liner notes:

The piano music of Milton Babbitt (b. 1916) plays a central role throughout his creative oeuvre. The Three Compositions for Piano dating from 1947-48 are Babbitt's first works for this medium and are the composer's first mature applications of Schoenbergian 12-tone principles. Babbitt returned to piano composition in 1956 after a decade of writing for other instruments, to create Duet, a short, charming two-part invention written for his daughter, and Semi-Simple Variations, a set of five six-measure variations on a theme which highlights six pitches.
Partitions (1957) heralds a second style period. It is very ambitious in dynamic and registral contrasts and reaches new heights of pianistic virtuosity. Post-Partitions, written for the 70th birthday of Roger Sessions, reflects another decade of sophistication. Throughout its eight closely-linked sections are moments of explosive energy as well as moments of great delicacy. In Tableaux (1973), compositional virtuosity is matched by uncompromising demands on the pianist to project intricate and rapidly unfolding contrapuntal lines over the entire range of the keyboard. Reflections (1974) is Babbitt's only work thus far for piano and synthesized electronic tape, delicately interweaving the ornately detailed tape and piano parts.
Canonical Form (1983) was "composed for and dedicated to Robert Taub" on a commission from the Fromm Foundation and the ISCM and is Babbitt's longest piano work. Canonical Form and Lagniappe (1985) are both suites of separated sections, forming a third style period of more contrapuntal lines and more transparent textures. Lagniappe is Milton Babbitt's gift to this recording. Written for this occasion, the piece receives its first performance on this disc. It is a synthesis of the compositional processes which have evolved throughout his piano works, revealing yet new modes of unifying musical elements. (Martin Brody, Robina G. Young and Robert Taub)

The music of Milton Babbitt must be played from the heart. The dazzling, highly imaginative pianism - enormous registral leaps, juxtaposition of dynamic extremes, highly complicated rhythms, innovative pedal techniques - always serves an intensely musical end, which (as in all great work) should be so completely mastered that the music is free to soar in performance. (Robert Taub)



Tracklisting:

1. Three Compositions {7:44}

2. Duet {0:36}

3. Semi-Simple Variations {1:15}

4. Partitions {1:54}

5. Post-Partitions {3:52}

6. Tableaux {9:35}

7. Reflections {10:22}

8. Canonical Form {11:29}

9. Lagniappe {8:56}

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Newfoundland Heads the Waverley

Newfoundland Heads the Waverley

Instead of posting the sounds of the natural world this Sunday, I'll post the field recordings of man-made machines, in this case the sounds of the train.

Recordings made on board the Down 'Waverley' between Hellifield and Appleby and from the lineside at Dent and Ribblehead (located in Great Britain)

Photograph on cover: 'Jubilee' Class 4-6-0 No. 45729 Furious heads north past Stainforth Sidings with a down train

Tracklisting:

SIDE ONE

1. On board the Down Waverley between Helliford and Blea Moor {21:34}

SIDE TWO

1. Recordings made at Dent Station {7:31}

2. On board the Down Waverley leaving Appleby and at speed {10:34}

3. Down passenger train leaving Ribblehead {2:45}

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60x60 (2004)

various artists compilation - 60x60 (2004)

All of the tracks on this compilation have a duration of one minute or less. This compilation of avant-garde music/sound art pieces consists of computer music, electroacoustic, musique concrete, chamber music, improv. I don't know if this speaks well of me as almost all of these names on this comp are unfamiliar to me. Perhaps you'll discover some new artists to follow.

60x60 is an ongoing project that started in 2003 by taking submissions for one-minute pieces of music. Each year since then has a mix of 60 of these pieces.

Tracklisting:

1. Justin Breame - Counting Time

2. Robert Gluck - Sazmin

3. Christian Banasik - Glass Cutter

4. John Allemeier - Just a minute...

5. Mark Henry - Hacked Metal

6. Killick - submersion/subversion/heart

7. Thomas Sutter - Trottenbach

8. Jacky Schreiber - broken time

9. Meri von KleinSmid - Monorail

10. Douglas Geers - Polk Pond

11. Dennis Bathory-Kitsz - Krikisque

12. Karlheinz Essl - blurB

13. David McIntire - Nearly Hidden

14. Sandeep Bhagwati - ALL OVER AGAIN

15. Allen Strange - Return to Misty Magic Land

16. Aaron Acosta - Wave

17. Ray Cole - Sodium

18. Serban Nichifor - One Minute of Eternity

19. Liana Alexandra - Hora

20. David Jaggard - Riffineff

21. Benjamin Boone & James Miley - Middle East Peace Talks

22. Noah Creshevsky - dénouement

23. Carlo Forlivesi - The Tunnel of Light

24. Larry Gaab - Fugitive

25. Robert Sazdov - Od Soluna do Tetovo

26. Paul Steenhuisen - Poland is not yet lost

27. Giuseppe Rapisarda - Le voci di qualcuno

28. Ramón Gorigoitia - Twin Days

29. Mark Petering - Digital Muse

30. Robert Voisey - tongues

31. Riad Abdel-Gawad - Memorial to David Lewin

32. Katrina Wreede - 56 Seconds of Creep

33. Eldad Tsabary - Decay Date 14 April 1966

34. James McWilliam - Downtown-Uptown

35. Chris Ward - Glenda in Paris

36. Pat Hanchet - Glass and steel

37. James Hegarty - MHLR4

38. Igor Korneitchouk - The Kiss, for 2 violins, paper, and lips

39. Steven Ricks - A Glimpse Beyond the Zero

40. Joseph Vogel - Cat purring by an open window, variation 1

41. Maggi Payne - :60 FIZZ

42. Jason Bolte - Descent

43. David Mooney - Exotic Fruits

44. Charles Norman Mason - into the woods

45. Peter Gilbert - Rituals Minipod

46. Richard O'Donnell - X-R Drums

47. Elvio Cipollone - Danza, for cello solo

48. Solange Kershaw - Dididahdit

49. John Schappert - A Minute of Madness #8

50. J. Ryan Garber - Kettle Music

51. David Gamper - Conch Call Evolution

52. Bernard Hughes - Full Fathom Five

53. George Brunner - From Pianalan

54. Benedikt Brydern - Ancient Connections

55. Daniel Goode - V-I

56. Vladimir Tošic - GVAL 2

57. Julia Norton - W.B.Q.

58. Jason Heald - Salvation is the Lord's

59. Jethro Bagust - Twisted Numbers

60. Moritz Eggert - The One Minute Piece That Took Me Ages To Do And Which Is Really Impressive

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A few re-ups and a new HCE Mix

Over on Hush! Caution! Echoland!, there's a new mix ready for download. It's the second volume of my Scenic Mixes for "Sylvie and Bruno", a novel by Lewis Carroll. Far-out and phantasmagoric, with a wide-ranging selection of musics and sounds, this should appeal to any curiosity-loving listener.

Grey Calx notified me of some dead links here on the Closet of Curiosities, so I did a few re-ups for the following posts:

Jo Kondo: Chamber Music

Tokyo Gakuso/Tadaaki Ono: Gagaku & Beyond

The Deep Listening Band: Troglodyte's Delight

Pierluigi Billone: Mani.Long

All links fixed & working again.

Ralph Dörper's Eraserhead

Before becoming a member of German mid-eighties pop group Propaganda, Düsseldorf resident Ralph Dörper put out this intriguing mini album, using samples from David Lynch's Eraserhead being put through various synthetic treatments. Evoking the uncomfortable atmosphere of the film, it's a dank and gloomy listen. There doesn't seem to be a great deal of information to be found about Ralph himself, aside from his membership of the long-running cult industrial band Die Krupps, although as always, a good place to start for further research is on discogs.

(apologies for the poor artwork scanning technique.)

Ralph Dörper's Eraserhead

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Music for Glass Harmonica

Bruno Hoffmann - Music for Glass Harmonica

Performers:

Bruno Hoffmann - glass harmonica

K.H. Ulrich - flute

Helmut Hucke - oboe

Herbert Anrath & Walter Albers - violins

Ernst Nippes - viola

Hans Plumacher - cello

Gert Nose - bass

From the liner notes:

Bruno Hoffmann, who has done more than any man living to revive the fascinating eighteenth-century art of "glass music," was born at Stuttgart, Germant, 15 September 1913. The son of a church-music director, he attended the Eberhard-Ludwigs-Gymnasium and was trained in piano and organ playing. But from the early age of sixteen, when he first encountered musical glasses, his life has been devoted to mastering their executant technique, resurrecting the masterpieces originally written in this medium, and fostering the composition of new works by contemporary composers. He is the authority chosen to write the article on the Glasharmonika in the German encyclopedia Musik in Geschichte and Gegenwart. The glass harp on which he performs is of his own design and construction, and with it he has appeared in recitals and as soloist in chamber and orchestral concerts all over the continent and the British Isles, in innumerable radio and television broadcasts, in several films - including a Benjamin Franklin documentary.

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Adagio and Rondo in C Minor, K. 617 {15:12}

composed by Wolfgang Mozart

2. Adagio for Glass Harmonica Solo, K. 617a {3:48}

composed by Wolfgang Mozart

3. Rondeau for Glass Harmonica, 2 Violins, Viola, Cello and Bass in B-flat-major {8:29}

composed by Johann Friedrich Reichardt

Side 2

1. Glass Harmonica and String Quartet in C Minor {10:01}

composed by Karl Leopold Rollig

2. Largo in C Minor for Glass Harmonica Solo {4:20}

composed by Johann Abraham Peter Schulz

3. Quartet for Glass Harmonica, Flute, Viola and Cello in C Major {11:31}

composed by Johann Gottlieb Naumann

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dzend's curiosities mix

The nice fellow, dzendvokh, of dzend's bestiary has created a short mix using only the posts from this blog and my other blog as source materials. It's an entertaining and enjoyable mix that you can listen to here or here. The second link leads to a Divshare link where you can download it. Enjoy.

The Pygmies of the Ituri Forest

The Pygmies of the Ituri Forest - The Pygmies of the Ituri Forest

First, I want to apologize that there wasn't a nature/environmental sounds post this past Sunday. I was out of town for the Labor Day holiday this weekend and I didn't have anything suitable on my laptop. Also, the connection was dodgy where I was staying so it would have been difficult to post something anyway.

Now with that matter taken care of, I thought I would follow H.C.'s terrific post with this item. Most of this LP has singing by the Pygmies or BaMbuti with the ambient sounds of the forest in the background. The Ituri forest is located in the northeast part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (or formerly called the Belgian Congo when this record was originally released). Instruments such as the flute and the lukembi have little presence on this record. The songs and music are an essential part of BaMbuti social life. There are songs for activities such as hunting, gathering honey, telling of legends, initiation rites, dances. All Ba Mbuti are sacred in a sense as the liner notes mention.

Tracklisting:

Side I

1. Birds and Crickets; Bark-Cloth Hammering with the Voices of Young Boys in the Background {1:27}

2. Elephant Hunting Song {2:52}

3. Spear Song {2:55}

4. Net Hunting Song {3:02}

5. Hunting Cries of Beaters; Arm Clapping (Signaling) and Shouting {1:26}

6. Honey-Gathering Song {2:43}

7. Animal-Dance Song {2:29}

8. Old Pygmy Telling Legend {0:57}

9. Flute Duet {1:46}

10. Lukembi and Solo Voice {1:31}

Side II

11. Pygmy Dance in Bantu Village {2:07}

12. Bachelor Duet, with Lukembi {1:29}

13. Two Initiation Songs, Sung by Pygmy Boys Led by Mundaka {2:51}

14. Two Songs of the Alima, Women's Religious Society (1) {1:05}

15. Two Songs of the Alima, Women's Religious Society (2) {1:46}

16. Mocking Song of the Lusumba {2:04}

17. Lusumba Fire Dance Song (1) {1:55}

18. Lusumba Fire Dance Song (2) {1:20}

19. Two Lusumba Songs Sung Only on Occasions of Great Importance (1) {2:25}

20. Two Lusumba Songs Sung Only on Occasions of Great Importance (2) {1:47}

21. Song of Devotion to the Forest {1:28}

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