Arp Art

Elias Tanenbaum - Arp Art

About this album by Elias Tanenbaum (1924-2008): "Movements," as all the pieces on this album, was composed at the Electronic Music Studio of the Manhattan School of Music. The main instrument of the Studio is an Arp Synthesizer, a very compact and flexible instrument, that uses matrix switches to make connections instead of the usual patch chords.

"Movements" is involved with the movement of sound in space on a multidimensional level. The sounds are presented as patterns or shapes, that at times repeat in different surroundings, become altered, and are sometimes accumulative.

The melody sung by the soprano at the end has its origin in specific intervals and pitches that have moved in and out of the piece on different levels and at different times.

I find it most satisfying to listen to "Movements" in total darkness even during public performance. Walls are flat surfaces. Darkness allows the musical shapes to move through space more freely and with greater depth and perception.

"Contrasts" is a physical piece. The title applies to the many directions the sounds move and to the extreme contrasts in dynamics and range of frequencies.

"Blue Fantasy" begins with sounds that fade and bend in spece. These sounds evolve into noise and noise in turn evolves into them. Free fantasy emerges as the dominant characteristic. Even the voice, which is fed through and blended with the synthesizer, is a free improvisation.

"For the Bird" - "The Bird in this piece is the jazz musician, Charlie Parker, long admired by me. It starts with a slow pulse and a very short envelope on four separate envelope generators. The envelopes are then varied and the pulse gradually quickens into a jazz-like beat, which is used as a base for the fading in and out of the jazz tune "Bloomdido" by Charlie Parker.

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Movements {16:14}

Side 2

1. Contrasts {5:00}

2. Blue Fantasy {6:32}

3. For the Bird {6:51}

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