Lotussongs Volume 2

Steve McLinn (Ojas) - Lotussongs Volume 2

Lotussongs Volume 2 is solely performed with synthesizers and electronic sequencers (the Ojas Synthesizer System) which contains some well-done electronic space music throughout. Refer to the previous post (Lotussongs Volume 1) for the background on McLinn.

Hello and Namaste,

Sound or vibration is the basis of all life. The entire universe, including all of the multi-inner-dimensional planes of consciousness, is a complex system of vibration. The entire Cosmos is music. Because of this reality, the art of music can be used to touch life in a most intimate way, far surpassing the processes of symbology and language. By understanding music deeply, communication with all life becomes direct and immediate, and true love and beauty are experienced. It is in this realization that the music of Ojas is created and offered to you. (Steve McLinn (Ojas) November 11, 1980 from the liner notes)

Tracklisting:

Side A

1. Celestial Voyage {29:15}

Side B

1. Sunrise at 20 Miles High {6:28}

2. Whirling Dervish {7:34}

3. Bindu Devas {7:31}

4. Soundscape {8:05}

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Lotussongs Volume 1

Steve McLinn (Ojas) - Lotussongs Volume 1

Steve McLinn is a musician who created and released electronic music during the late 1970s to 1980s on several cassettes (which I found some of them at a library sale sometime ago). McLinn used the name "Ojas" on his albums. "Ojas" means the purest form of life energy. McLinn emphasised that his music is a vehicle for reaching meditiative states and for contemplating the beauty of art and life.

Lotussongs Volume 1 was recorded in two live sessions during May 1979. McLinn performed on synthesizers and sequencers (named the Ojas Synthesizer System) with Susan Colley Walker on harp. The harp and electronics work well together on the two tracks that are from the two live sessions.

McLinn lived in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma when he put out his cassettes. He still lives in Oklahoma City at the present where he is performing music, creating videos and doing other activities in the community. If you're further interested, you can visit his website to learn more about him.

Tracklisting:

Side A

1. Song of Vishnu {28:24}

Side B

1. Shiva Dance {26:43}

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Sounds of the Tropical Rain Forest

The Sounds of Nature: Sounds of the Tropical Rain Forest

Back to the rain forest we go.

The beat of the tropical rain on the verdant trees creates an atmosphere found in only one place on earth - the tropical rain forest. The clouds burst, saturating the jungle air, heavy raindrops trickle down broad leaves and hanging vines, eventually reaching the earth below and the thirsty roots of giant trees. As the rain stops, the sun shines again, trying to pierce the jungle's canopy. The birds sing and their sounds seem to match their brilliant colors.

Tracklisting:

1. Sounds of the Tropical Rain Forest {58:20}

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Twitter

I recently signed up for an account on the latest cool Web 2.0 application, Twitter, because I guess just about everyone is doing it. I wanted to try it out and see how it goes. Here is my page on Twitter if you would like to check it out or follow me. So far, I have written just a few entries.

I'll most likely post links to interesting stuff that I find as well as answering that important question that comes up often on Twitter, "What am I doing?". As of now, the latest update gives a hint of what is to come tomorrow here on the Closet.

I am wondering what my visitors think about all of this. Do any of you also use Twitter?

Rings of Saturn

Steven Halpern - Rings of Saturn

I posted this on another site and I thought maybe some of my visitors would enjoy this one too. This is a cassette by the new age master that I found at a library sale a couple of years ago. Rings of Saturn is my favorite Halpern album along with Zodiac Suite.

From the liner notes:

RINGS OF SATURN could be the soundtrack of the next space-age film, or it could be the music that NASA's Voyager might tune in to as it flies by the ringed planet.

RINGS OF SATURN represents a dramatic expansion of the musical vision of Steven Halpern. This soundtrack incorporates up to 16 layers of instrumentation; the orchestration makes use of a galaxy of space-age synthesizers and special effects created expressly for this recording.

This music has been described by listeners as the kind of music that makes you feel like you're flying through space. It will spiral through your mind and body, even as Saturn's rings themselves are modulated by its gravitational attraction.

In short, this music will transport the listener into a whole new universe of sound.

Credits:

Steven Halpern: Prophet 5 polyphonic synthesizer, Orchestron cellos, bass, organ special effects

Rasheed Horowitz: Prophet 5 synthesizer, special effects

Tony Selváge: Electric violin (Side II only)

Recorded at the Music Annex, Menlo Park, CA 1978-1981

Tracklisting:

Side A

1. 'A' Ring {0:26}

2. 'B' Ring {2:15}

3. 'C' Ring {2:54}

4. 'D' Ring {5:26}

5. 'E' Ring {5:13}

6. 'F' Ring {5:42}

Side B

1. Cosmic Blues (Part I) {7:17}

2. Cosmic Blues (Part II) {6:04}

3. Hyperspace {4:44}

4. Sirens of Titan {2:13}

5. Voyager {3:28}

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Carillon Concert

Ira Schroeder - Carillon Concert

This is another of the bell records that I found sometime ago. This LP does not have any liner notes on the back. Maybe the liner notes were on a separate sheet of paper. I do not know for sure as only the LP was in the sleeve.

The music was performed on the Stanton Memorial Carillon which is located at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.

There does not appear to be much information about Ira Schroeder online nor any information about the LP itself. Thanks to this page, I learned that Ira was the longest tenured carillonneur from 1931 to 1969. The Stanton Memorial Carillon had an increase from 36 to 50 bells during his time. There is also an amusing anecdote about Schroeder (involving a towel and shoes) at Iowa State's alumni site.

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Gavotte E Double {2:39}

2. Fantasia {6:28}

3. Prayer {3:03}

4. Gondoliera {5:34}

5. Allegro in G {2:53}

Side 2

1. Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring {2:48}

2. Gavotte {3:26}

3. The Stars {2:55}

4. Fugue {2:39}

5. Voices of Spring {6:47}

6. La Bapteme de la Poupee {2:06}

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Traditional Music of Japan

Ensemble of Traditional Musical Instruments of Japan - Traditional Music of Japan

When in the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh centuries Japan imported a part of Chinese art, a large measure of it was music, and upon which the Japanese temperament exercised its originality and soon absorbed and transformed into its own. "Japan is a Universe in full creation", says Yefime. A tree, a rock, a mountain, a waterfall, hold a fascination to which no Japanese is insensitive, because these objects are "shintai" (the body of kami), that is, inhabited by an almost divine spiritual force. Japan itself is of celestial origin, because it was raised from the sea by Izanagi, one of the two mythological divinities while they were fishing in the waters around the islands of the Japanese archipelago.

The art of constructing Japanese stringed instruments has reached a high level of perfection by way of accurate methods that have followed ancient traditions. Even minute details attest for a heritage whose date of origin would be difficult to trace. For the Japanese people, no object, event or custom can be considered truly acquired unless it has a history of several thousand years. Two or three centuries have no importance in measuring the value of time. Even instrumental music, which occupied and still occupies an important place in the daily life of the Japanese, has been cultivated with passion by composers and performers who have transformed it into a delicate but potent art form; a science which is often subtle and clearly innovating.

The Ensemble of Traditional Musical Instruments of Japan was founded in Tokyo by three women soloists of the 13 and 17 string koto, and actively participates in concert exchanges with the West through the Min-on Concert Association of Tokyo which was founded by Daisaku Ikeda. Nothing is more revealing and pleasurable than to listen to these performers of the koto and to the prodigious flutist who are the soloists of the group. From their instruments they are able to create sounds and colours of incomparable delicacy and beauty. The grace and refinement of their interpretations are completely dazzling from the point of view of interpretation and free expression of the soul.

The koto is a kind of zither, of Chinese origin, imported to Japan in the Seventh century. It consists of a long, narrow body which tapers slightly towards the rounded lower end and is treated with a special varnish. The surface of the key-board is constructed of sound-holes and moveable bridges over which are stretched from 13 to 17 strings, traditionally made of waxed silk, which in turn are constructed of 243 threads, all of the same tension, and are tuned individually by way of the mobile bridges which are made to pass under them. In ritual music the tuning varies according to the month. The instrument is placed on the floor and the player plucks the strings with ivory plectra worn on the thumb, the index and middle finger of the right hand, while the left hand is used to complete the main tonal scale with auxillary tones and secondary tones. The koto also permits glissandi effects similar to those of the Western harp. The 17-stringed koto was invented in 1921 by the famous blind contemporary Japanese composer Michio Miyagi who died tragically in 1948 when he fell from a moving train. It is interesting to note that koto are almost always blind, ever since the blind musician Yatsuhashi "Kengyo" made this instrument popular in the early 17th century. He is also the originator of modern musical forms. Koto players, more than any other musicians, remain faithful to classical traditions. They execute three types of sound: open resonant sounds, those produced by the left hand pressing the strings of the keyboard, and plucked sounds. The first two are tonal while the third are harmonics. The chords must be touched "as the dragonfly touches the water and as the bee and butterfly rest upon flowers".

The shakouhachi also originated in China and first appeared in Japan in 1335. This is a thick, vertical bamboo flute which owes its name to its length (54 cm.) "shaku" (1 foot) "hachi" (8 inches). The average internal diameter of the flute is 4, 5 cm., and is lacquered, while the external surface is in its natural state. Its timbre is particularly suited to Japanese music, a delicate and graceful art in which the virtuosity of the performer plays a significant role.

The tzuzumi, also imported from China during the 8th century, has been slightly modified. It is an hour-glass drum made of clay, with a central belt made of horsehide which is fastened with metal rings. This belt serves to maintain the tension of the drumhead. The instrument is usually played with the fingers or with the palm of the hand. (from the liner notes)

Released in 1975 on LP.

Tracklisting:

Side A

1. The Road to Izumo: a) The Sun Sets on the Temple of Kyoto {5:17}

2. The Road to Izumo: b) Festivities {3:44}

3. The Road to Izumo: c) Sun Rays on the Lake {4:39}

4. The Plover {4:45}

5. Themes from "Rokoudan" {6:39}

Side B

1. Image for Japanese Instruments {6:20}

2. Caprice for Three Kotos: a) First Koto {6:38}

3. Caprice for Three Kotos: b) Second Koto {4:01}

4. Caprice for Three Kotos: c) Third Koto {5:49}

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New Music from Japan

various artists compilation - New Music from Japan

Musicologist Joseph Machlis once wrote that "Music has changed constantly through the ages, as every living language must. Each generation of musicians inherits a tradition, an established body of usages and techniques which it enriches by its own efforts and passes on to the next generation."

Japan, of course, is a country thoroughly steeped in tradition, but it is also one of the most adventurous of Eastern or Western nations. Since the end of World War II, Japan has plunged headlong into the modern world while, at the same time, retaining most of its centuries-old customs. Socio-economic changes have been matched by modernization of the arts, and Japanese music has been particularly successful in combining the ancient with the new, often with startling effect. In common with most of their fellows in the West, Japanese composers have focused their attention on sound per se as the most effective medium for translating their thoughts into a living musical language.

The works in this album are typical adventures in sound by three Japanese composers, young men whose compositions truly enrich the established body of usages and techniques in the music of today's Japan.

Akira Miyoshi was born in 1933. At the Tokyo University, he majored in French, then attended the Paris Conservatoire, from which he was graduated. His style is essentially lyrical and poetic. Some of his most representative compositions are Kookyotekihenyo (1958), Kookyo-sansho (1960), Piano Kyosokyoku (1962) and Ondine (1959), a musical play based on electronic sounds, with voice and orchestra. His Concerto for Orchestra (Kyoso Kyoku) was completed in October, 1964, and was first performed that same month by Tokyo's NHK Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Yuzo Sotoyama. Reviewing the concert, a Japanese critic wrote: "Miyoshi used to compose as though he were enveloping sound with his heart, but in this new piece he has boldly released sound that is quite full and rich. Certainly his previous works are characteristically beautiful in sound, orderly in form, elaborately polished, a reflection of serene feeling. But at this point in his artistic career, Miyoshi has ceased conversing with the sounds within himself and has now begun to speak aloud. In his previous works and even in the fairly new piece Piano Kyosokyoku in 1962, I could not see that his basic attitude had changed much. But the composer himself has stated that in the combination of notes in this work, he has tried to realize a new idea from the outside."

Toru Takemitsu, born in 1930, has been a member of the New Composers Group and also of the Jitsuken Kohbo, a kind of research laboratory for experimental composers. Takemitsu favors short compositions, as in Textures, preferring to refine and condense his sound-forms into what has been called by one critic "an expression of the Oriental art of tranquility." Textures was performed for the first time on October 19, 1964, by the NHK Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hiroyuki Iwaki. In the performance of this work, the orchestra of seventy-three musicians is divided into two equal parts, with a piano in the center, in order to achieve a heightened stereophonic effect, to "stretch the sound," as Takemitsu has described it. The work utilizes musicians of the orchestra in a soloistic manner to create elaborate textures of sound.

Toshiro Mayuzumi was born in 1929. He has been a leader of avant-garde music in Japan since the end of World War II, but it was not until his Nehan Symphony, in 1957, that he brought his own style to perfection. His Mandala Symphony was completed in March, 1960, and first performed that month by the NHK Symphony Orchestra under Hiroyuki Iwaki. In this work, as in the Nehan Symphony, Mayuzumi has tried to express his own Buddhist view of an omnipotent universe. The mandala is a Buddhist and Hindu mystic symbol of the universe, usually taking the form of a circular design of the faces of the deities of Kongokai-Mandala and Taizokai-Mandala, the unit being called Ryou-Mandala. Kongokai-Mandala symbolizes spiritual awakening through contemplation and a sense of oneness with eternity; Taizokai-Mandala represents the world of Sokushin Jyobutsu, which is made up of phases of life, such as Gakido (a place of hunger and thirst where sinners go in the afterlife) or Shurado (passage of pandemonium, the world of the immature until they attain spiritual awakening). Like the mandala symbol, the symphony is in two parts. The composer has said of this work: "I aimed to illustrate in sound the basic thought of Buddhism, just as painters have done on canvas. Since the object of my aim is so abstract, I have used only pure collections of sounds." (from the liner notes)

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Akira Miyoshi - Concerto for Orchestra: Presto molto vivo {1:41}

2. Akira Miyoshi - Concerto for Orchestra: Lento {4:10}

3. Akira Miyoshi - Concerto for Orchestra: Prestissimo {2:58}

4. Toru Takemitsu - Textures {6:17}

Side 2

1. Toshiro Mayuzumi - Mandala Symphony: Tempo non equilibre {6:17}

2. Toshiro Mayuzumi - Mandala Symphony: Extremement lent {10:12}

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Hurricane Havoc

Moods Gateway Recordings - Hurricane Havoc

Man has learned to live and protect himself against the elements in nature's endless struggle to prevail. In this context survival means to have conquered. Experience the terror of hurricane havoc and survive to enjoy life's pleasures. (from the cover)

Tracklisting:

1. Hurricane Havoc {25:21}

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Tibetan Sacred Temple Music

Eight Lamas from Drepung - Tibetan Sacred Temple Music

Drepung Monastery was established near Lhasa, Tibet, in 1416 A.D. by Jamyang Choje, and until the recent Chinese Communist destructions stood as the largest monastic institution in the world. At its zenith it housed almost 8,000 Buddhist monks. Famous for its spiritual and academic intensity, it acted as a training ground for some of the finest traditions of sacred art, music and dance to be found in central Asia. As such, it attracted students from the dozen kingdoms surrounding Tibet, including Inner and Outer Mongolia, Manchuria, Ladakh, Nepal, Bhutan, and so forth, who, after completion of their studies would return to their homelands and act as important teachers of the Tibetan spiritual traditions. In particular, Drepung was famous for its role in leading the Great Prayer Festival of Lhasa, sometimes attended by as many as 50,000 monks and nuns.

With the forced closure of all major Tibetan cultural institutions following the Chinese invasion of 1959, several hundred lamas of Drepung managed to escape to India. Here they worked diligently to preserve their spiritual, cultural and academic traditions, eventually rebuilding their monastery in Karnataka Statem India. (liner notes)

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Invoking Kindness thru Sound {7:15}

2. Purifying the Environment {11:52}

3. Mandala Offering {10:10}

Side 2

1. Dance of the Skeleton Lords {10:39}

2. Palden Llamo Offering {6:51}

3. Prayer for Peace {5:47}

4. Dedication of Merit {0:47}

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The Science of Sound

Bell Telephone Laboratories - The Science of Sound

Since this is an educational blog about sounds, we should have an educational record that explains and describes the science of sound itself. There is not a more appropriate record to post than one called The Science of Sound.

This is a 2-LP set that was released in 1959. This is a very informative record as well as a fun record which are the qualities that all good educational records should possess. I'm sure that my visitors are familiar with at least the basic principles of sound, but the presentation on this record, with examples of sounds, makes it worthwhile to either review or learn the science of sound.

Tracklisting:

Side I

1. How We Hear {1:59}

2. Frequency {3:05}

3. Pitch {5:05}

4. Vibration and Resonance {3:25}

5. Intensity {6:22}

Side II

1. Loudness {7:30}

2. Noise Measurement {4:58}

3. Masking {1:55}

4. Echo and Reverberation {4:12}

5. Delay Distortion {2:41}

Side III

1. Fundamentals and Overtones {3:19}

2. Quality {2:41}

3. Subjective Tones {5:38}

4. Music and Noise {3:15}

5. Filtered Music and Speech {4:31}

Side IV

1. Dissonance and Consonance {5:15}

2. Music Scales {8:04}

3. Vibrato and Tremolo {3:13}

4. The Doppler Effect {3:19}

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A Musical Seance

Rosemary Brown and Peter Katin - A Musical Seance

A Musical Seance was released, I believe, in 1971 or 1972. It is an LP of "new" compositions from classical music greats such as Liszt, Chopin, Brahms, Grieg, Schubert and others. Peter Katin performs on piano on side 1 and Rosemary Brown performs on piano on side 2. Side 2 opens with a commentary by Rosemary telling about her experiences attempting to perform a new composition dictated by Liszt in front of BBC officials. Yes, all of these composers have already moved on from this mortal coil before 1971. However, Rosemary Brown, a medium and housewife who received little formal musical training (according to most profiles of her), claims that these composers have communicated with her all of her life and they still compose from the "other side" which they have dictated their compositions to Rosemary.
Apparently, the record company that released this LP was not really buying into the claims of correspondences between Rosemary and the deceased composers. The names of the composers are labeled as "inspired by (name of composer)" instead of "composed by" and are placed next to the names of the compositions.
Now for another message about this record from someone who already passed on: On January 1, 1970 Sir Donald Tovey (deceased), communicated the following message about this record to Rosemary Brown from Beyond The Veil: "As you listen to this record, you may wonder whether the music you hear is the product of Rosemary Brown's abilities, or whether it has indeed emanated from departed composers who are still creating music in another world. Many ideas have been formulated to explain the emergence of the music, but the possibility that composers of the past are still alive in different dimensions from yours, and endeavouring to communicate, should not be dismissed too perfunctorily. Even the most stubborn disbeliever in Extra-Sensory Perception cannot prove conclusively that there is no life after physical death, and scoffers may one day find themselves faced with indisputable instances of authentic communication from those who have shuffled off their mortal coils. We are not transmitting music to Rosemary Brown simply for the sake of offering possible pleasure in listening thereto . . ." Sir Donald Tovey (1875-1940)

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Bagatelle in E flat [inspired by Beethoven] {1:25}

2. Moment Musical [inspired by Schubert] {2:47}

3. Impromptu in F minor [inspired by Chopin] {1:24}

4. Impromptu in E flat [inspired by Chopin] {1:38}

5. Jesus Walking on the Water [inspired by Liszt] {3:18}

6. Grubelei [inspired by Liszt] {3:06}

7. Valse Brilliante in E minor [inspired by Liszt] {2:00}

8. Danse Exotique in F sharp [inspired by Debussy] {3:02}

9. Waltz in B flat [inspired by Brahms] {2:59}

Side 2

1. Commentary {6:23}

2. Consolation [inspired by Liszt] {2:44}

3. Swan at Twilight [inspired by Liszt] {2:28}

4. Reve en Bateau [inspired by Liszt] {1:37}

5. Lament [inspired by Liszt] {2:54}

6. Jesus at Prayer [inspired by Liszt] {2:26}

7. Shepherd Piping [inspired by Grieg] {1:43}

8. Longing [inspired by Schumann] {2:06}

9. Ballade [inspired by Chopin] {2:05}

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Harps of the Ancient Temples

Gail Laughton - Harps of the Ancient Temples

About Gail Laughton, composer-performer:

The musician through whom this music has been realized was born into a family in which the father made harps and the mother taught the instrument. It is therefore no surprise that he was performing publicly at an age when most children are just starting to learn the technique of wielding eating implements. He was one of those legendary child prodigies paraded in front of royalty and other notables. He won his first of many gold medals at the advanced age of six. At sixteen he became a symphony harpist, and not too long thereafter broadened his area of performance to include popular, jazz, swing and folk music. He had numerous coast-to-coast guest starring appearances on radio during its golden heydays. So impressed were they, that a number of well-known composers, including Cole Porter and Duke Ellington, wrote works for him. Never, however, during this period did he neglect serious classical music.
Following a nearly five-year hiatus in his career during a wartime Army enlistment, he established residence in Los Angeles, becoming at once a recording musician of first magnitude.
All this time he continued his research and studies, not only in music, instruments and their construction, but also in such diverse fields as architecture, astronomy, philosophy and metaphysics.
A solo recording of this artist is long overdue; however, he felt that until recently the mechanics of recording failed to capture those elusive qualities, that aura of sound, that occur with the harp when the listener is in its actual presence. Now, however, after over ten years of research and the construction of a most special instrument, plus over five years of continual experimentation aimed at refining highly specialized recording techniques, he has produced and permitted release of this most unusual album.

CONCERNING THIS RECORDING

First, it should be mentioned here that the musical ideas of this work are not offered in the strict sense of composition, but rather as "tonal impressions" of the atmospheres, times and places being "visited".
The recording in general came into being under rather unusual circumstances.
All of the episodes are performed solely on the harp, with the addition of wind-chimes and finger-cymbals in two of the sections. The pentatonic, diatonic and chromaticscales are utilized wherever deemed historically appropriate.
Special techniques, including some rather complex interlocking of separately recorded tracks, became necessary at times in order to achieve the sound of several harps. This occasionally presented some challenges, which those who play or study the harp will readily appreciate upon hearing this work.

Additional information:

The harp was used extensively in almost all of the temple rituals of antiquity. Moreover, it appears from recent and more thorough examination of ancient Sanskrit texts that the harp was also used as a healing agent.

King David was able to sooth and comfort the prophets of old (such as Saul and Elias) with the beautiful playing of his small harp which he also used as an accompaniment to his beloved psalms.

The front cover of this album is taken from a page of Volume II in a series of books privately published (1809-1820) by Napoleon Bonepart as a tribute to the past glory of Egypt. At first glance this page might convey the impression that we are witness to a private recital; instead it seems more likely that the priest-harpist, by virtue of his ability to produce certain sounds and exotic resonances from the harp, is seeking to reinforce the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of his Pharaoh.

This might well be the earliest pictorial example of a music therapy session in recorded history. (liner notes)


Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. The Hebrews 425 A.D. {2:09}

2. Japan 375 A.D. {3:02}

3. Pompeii 76 A.D. {2:14}

4. Greece 300 B.C. {1:56}

5. The Mayans 700 B.C. {2:02}

6. Crete 1400 B.C. {3:13}

Side 2

1. Babylon 1500 B.C. {2:27}

2. Stonehenge 1600 B.C. {2:21}

3. Egypt 1700 B.C. {4:14}

4. Lemuria 16,000 B.C. {1:29}

5. Atlantis 21,000 B.C. {2:02}

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Environments 15 [tape]

Syntonic Research Inc - Environments 15 [tape]

The liner notes say: This superbly realistic colossus of a thunderstorm places you out on the front porch of a rural farm house. The storm begins with ominous distant rumblings. Thunderclaps soon build to foundation-shaking intensity. Water will seem to drip from your speakers as you experience the awesome power of nature. Leave it on for a while and you'll find you miss it when it ends.

Tracklisting:

1. Country Thunderstorm {24:36}

Both sides of the tape are the same.

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Penderecki Conducts Penderecki Album 1

Krzysztof Penderecki - Penderecki Conducts Penderecki Album 1

Performed by Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra with Siegfried Palm - cello on "Cello Concerto".

Composers who set out to extend the horizons of music often have to wait a long time before recognition comes to them, but this was not so in the case of Krzysztof Penderecki who was born in Debica near Cracow in 1933.
...
Above all else Penderecki has interested himself in the color and varying intensities of sound. For the most part his music avoids harmony in any but a coloristic sense, while frequently rhythms are not precisely notated. Often the exact pitch is not specified, instruments sometimes being asked to play the highest or lowest possible notes, or to follow the contour of a wavy line. Even when the pitch is indicated, it sometimes has no significance in the normal musical sense. Into this category come the numerous cluster chords whose density is often increased by the addition of quarter tones - twenty-four notes to the octave are met with frequently. In the instrumental field Penderecki's most revolutionary innovations have concerned the strings. He has invented a whole new range of sounds of indeterminate pitch. For instance, instrumentalists are required to play on a given number of strings behind the bridge as well as across the bridge and on the tailpiece. Despite the novelty of his methods, Penderecki is in no sense a difficult composer, as his wide popularity shows. While his music may have little connection with that of even the immediate past, it has an emotional appeal and a formal logic, both of which are immediately apparent.

FONOGRAMMI for flutes and chamber orchestra

This short piece, one of Penderecki's least known compositions, was written in 1961 . . . The scoring is for three flutes, strings (including a harpsichord) and percussion. Despite an unaccompanied section, during which sounds made by the keys alone are heard, the flutes are treated as an integral part of the chamber orchestra rather than as soloists.

CELLO CONCERTO

In 1967 Penderecki wrote a Concerto for violino grande - a rare instrument that on occasion has been confused with the old viola pomposa, which was half way between a viola and a cello. Penderecki's instrument is a cross between a violin and a viola, having the upper range of the first and the downward one of the second. To achieve this it has five, instead of the usual four, strings. In 1972 this very practical composer decided to adapt this inevitably little performed composition for cello, but when he began to do so he found himself re-thinking in the new medium. As a result the composer regards the Cello Concerto as a virtually new work.

DE NATURA SONORIS No. 2

When De natura sonoris No. 1 appeared in 1966 it surprised people with its lightweight nature, touches of humor and jazz influenced passages - aspects of Penderecki's musical character that were unknown to most people at the time, although they have reappeared since on several occasions. By contrast the longer De natura sonoris No. 2 - first performed towards the end of 1971 at the Juilliard School of Music in New York with Jorge Mester conducting - is decidedly serious. Both works, as their title implies, explore the nature of sound, but, whereas the earlier one requires a large orchestra, the later piece is written for a fairly modest combination. True, the list of percussion instruments is extensive - it includes a piece of train rail - but the only woodwind instrument, if it can be so-called, is a flauto a culisse or birdwhistle, which can play a glissando over the whole length of its compass. Four horns, four trombones, and a tuba are needed, but there are no trumpets. The rest of the orchestra consists of strings, piano and harmonium - an instrument that appears in most of this composer's scores. The bird whistle is employed in conjunction with a musical saw, and the two appear together, playing unspecified notes but beginning as high as possible, almost at the outset.

KANON for orchestra and tape

Although the Polish Radio has a well equipped electronic studio in Warsaw, Penderecki has shown little interest in electronic music. Even in this Kanon, which created quite a sensation when it appeared in 1962, no manufactured, as opposed to played, sounds are heard. Like the well known Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima, the piece is for 52 stringed instruments. It consists of three sections, the first of which recurs twice and the second once, these repeats being heard over loudspeakers while the orchestra continues with new material. (Malcolm Rayment)

Tracklisting:

Side One

1. Fonogrammi {6:27}

2. Cello Concerto {14:24}

Side Two

1. De natura sonoris No. 2 {8:53}

2. Kanon {9:29}

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A Festival of Bells

The Klokken Ringers - A Festival Of Bells

I'll drop something a little different in here as I tend to do every once in a while. I found a few of these bell-oriented LPs recently and I may post the rest of those.

The Klokken Ringers are made up of a few groups from the New Hackensack Reformed Church located in Wappingers Falls, New York. The members mostly include high school students (as I'm sure you can tell from the cover), at least when this LP came out. Eight tracks were recorded in the Education Center of the New Hackensack Reformed Church and the other four tracks were recorded in the Vassar Chapel of Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York.

The back cover says:

If you are a Bell ringer, would-be or active bell choir director, Hi-fi/stereo enthusiast looking for unusual sounds you will enjoy A FESTIVAL OF BELLS

unusual sounds + hi-fi stereo = I'm sold

Tracklisting:

Side One

1. Psalm 96 {3:36}

2. Fantasy on an Old Bell Inscription {6:37}

3. Silver Bells {2:05}

4. Liebeslieder Waltz {1:13}

5. Reflections {8:21}

Side Two

1. All Glory, Laud and Honor {4:19}

2. Magnificat {1:31}

3. Peacherine Rag {1:26}

4. Il Est Ne {2:33}

5. Carillon {4:27}

6. Minuetto {3:21}

7. Farandole {3:41}

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selections of Luciano Berio

Luciano Berio - Differences/Sequenza III/Sequenza VII/Due pezzi/Chamber Music

Born in 1925, the Italian composer Luciano Berio has now firmly established his place as a great poetic musician. On this recording can be heard some of the high points of Berio's considerable output in which he is concerned as much with electronic resources as with the exploration of the limits of instruments or the human voice.

"Differences" for flute, clarinet, viola, cello, harp, and magnetic tape dates from 1958-59 and so represents one of the first successful attempts to combine natural sounds and prepared sounds from a tape. For a time the artificial sound at the centre of the work takes the place of the performers. They return with various pizzicato entries, creating a homogeneous texture which seeks only an altercation in the expression rather than a disruption in the character of the music.

The "Sequences" form a series of independent works begun in 1958, and continued in 1965 ("Sequenza III" for solo voice) and 1969 ("Sequenza VII" for oboe). "Sequenza III" - made famous by singer Cathy Berberian to whom it is dedicated - employs a very disjointed text by Markus Kutter which allows all the resources of vocal virtuosity to be used instrumentally. "Sequenza VII," written for Heinz Holliger, was first performed at Darmstadt in August, 1969, and in place of the elegant, punctuated virtuosity of "Sequenza III" substitutes an instrumental equivalent. The composer intends this work to be sustained by a very evenly sounded B natural.

The "Due pezzi" for violin and piano is in fact a triptych. It dates from 1951 and is one of the first works published by Berio. The very restrained lyricism assigns it to the essential tradition of similar works by Bartok. But the poetic density and elegant line are characteristic of all Berio's works.

The same qualities are found again in the three sections of "Chamber Music" for female voice - the text is taken from James Joyce whose work was to be a frequent source for Berio - accompanied by clarinet, cello and harp. The extremely refined and sonorous texture of this piece, written in 1953, again links the resources of the declamatory and vocal tradition with the avant-garde style of writing.

The Juilliard Ensemble is an instrumental group that Berio himself chose from graduates of the most famous conservatory in America. (Marcel Marnat)

The copy of this LP was released in 1970.

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Differences {14:42}

2. Sequenza III {6:50}

Side 2

1. Sequenza VII {8:20}

2. Due pezzi {6:20}

3. Chamber Music {6:18}

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The Complete Works of Edgard Varèse Volume 1

Edgard Varèse - The Complete Works of Edgard Varèse Volume 1

Edgard Varèse belongs to the generation of Bela Bartok, Igor Stravinsky, and Anton Webern. Each of these composers produced a music of extreme individuality, like nothing of his contemporaries, and a radical break with that of the previous century. They may be said to have carried music to the limits of atomization, where one or another of its different elements seem to predominate. It is the irony of Varèse's career that no composer has been more highly esteemed by his fellow composers as music thinker, craftsman and teacher, and yet his public performances have been few. The reason is not that his works present any great difficulty to the ear, but rather that they demand so sharp a break with concert-hall traditions of instrumental sound and method of performance.

...

Varèse has helped make musical history in other ways than in his own music. In France and in Germany he was in the forefront of musical experiment. Living in the United States since 1916, he took a leading part in the first presentation of concerts of twentieth century music, organizing the International Composers Guild in July 1921 and declaring in a manifesto, "the present-day composer refuses to die!" He does not ascribe any esoteric meaning to the naming of his works, saying, "It serves as a convenient means of cataloging the work. Usually the title is found after the music is finished." The titles do suggest however, his deep interest in the relationships of music and science.

DENSITY 21.5, for solo flute, was written in 1936 for the inauguration of the platinum flute of Georges Barrere. 21.5 is the density of platinum. It is Varèse's melodic writing at its purest and a clue to the melodic line in all of his works. It opens simply, revolving about a single note as a tonal center, with a second note, a fifth above, appearing as a dominant. Then the range covered by the flute expands, suggesting the presence of many widely separated antiphonal voices, and moving from one tonal plane to another in a way that creates a remarkable sense of harmonic satisfaction. The high register, used fortissimo, also helps the illusion of the presence of more than one instrument.

IONIZATION (1924) displays the other extreme of Varèse's work, being written for thirteen performers who use thirty-five different percussion instruments. It is built on a most sensitive handling and contrast of different kinds of percussive sounds. There are those indefinite in pitch, like the bass drum, snare drum, wood blocks and cymbals; those of relatively definite musical pitch, such as the piano and chimes; those of continuously moving pitch, like the sirens and "lions roar." It is an example of "spatial construction, building up to a great complexity of interlocking "planes" of rhythm and timbre, and then relaxing the tension with the slowing of rhythm, the entrance of the chimes, and the enlargement of the "silences" between sounds. There are suggestions of the characteristic sounds of modern city life. Varèse says, although not in reference to this particular work, "whole symphonies of new sounds have come into the industrial world and have been all our lives..."

OCTANDRE (1924) is a chamber work written for flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, trombone and contrabass. Here the kind of melodic writing heard in DENSITY 21.5 reaches heights of polyphonic interweaving, with a most sensitive exploration of the characteristics of each instrument, heard for example in the oboe line opening the first movement, the flutes opening the second, and the bassoon opening the third. Each of the three movements is, as in Asiatic music, a different "song" with its own slow and fast passages.

INTEGRALES (1926) combines the melodic textures of OCTANDRE with the percussive sounds of IONIZATION. Two flutes, two clarinets, two trumpets, three trombones, all of different register, along with oboe and French horn, are heard above a large percussion battery handled by four performers. Distinct themes are presented and developed both polyphonically and according to the characteristics of the different instruments which take them up. The work may be described as having an exposition, a "spatial" polyphonic development, a recapitulation, and an impressive, climatic coda. (Sidney Finkelstein)

Recorded during May and June 1950.

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Integrales {10:27}

Performed by New York Wind Ensemble and Juilliard Percussion Orchestra

2. Density 21.5 {4:09}

Performed by Rene Le Roy - flute solo

Side 2

1. Ionisation {5:23}

Performed by Juilliard Percussion Orchestra

2. Octandre {7:29}

Performed by New York Wind Ensemble

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The Sounds of a Sun Filled Stream (A Babbling Brook)

The Sounds of Nature: The Sounds of a Sun Filled Stream (A Babbling Brook)

Thank goodness, it's Sunday.

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. side 1 {29:15}

Side 2

1. side 2 {29:04}

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Stefan Wolpe

Stefan Wolpe - Stefan Wolpe

From the liner notes by Joseph Livingston and George Kittle:

Stefan Wolpe is, in the words of Aaron Copland, "One of the most remarkable of living composers . . . his music is striking original . . . some pounding natural force brings it forth and gives it reality . . . Wolpe is definitely someone to be discovered."

The late critic Paul Rosenfeld said of Wolpe: ". . . the very eminence of his gifts may have helped obscure him. Save to climbers on the mountainside, few individuals are less conspicuous than those beginning to reach the summit, and it is among the living handful who are organizing their music on very high levels that Stefan Wolpe is to be found."

Wolpe's techniques include all those currently exploited by the most advanced composers, plus many discoveries and inventions of his own; his pieces are individual, solid, original, profoundly conceived and fully realised. He is in the line of great composers in Western music. Esoteric Records is to be commended for presenting for the first time his music on records.
Quartet for Trumpet, Tenor Saxophone, Percussion and Piano
Performers: Bob Nagel - trumpet; Al Cohn - tenor saxophone; Al Howard - percussion; Jack Maxin - piano
This work develops a line always inherent in Stefan Wolpe's music - jazz, or so-called popular music.
Written with a deceptive Mozartian lightness, it is nevertheless based on a concept of polarity, extremes of desperation and joy; the two movements in dynamic opposition. It is a piece that can be thoroughly enjoyed at first hearing; it is fluid - a mobile structure in which flexibility and circulation of sound behave like river currents which inundate larger and larger areas. We have only to float on this tide of sound to discover that Wolpe has enlarged for us the scope and dimensions of pure pleasurable sensation.
Typical of the composer himself, this work represents the personal development of a vigorous spirit, alive to every fragment in the rich store of arts and sciences that is man's heritage.
The Quartet is as direct as Beowulf in its impact, as subtle and powerful as Guernica; it is a story of man's struggle with the monsters of the times and of his victory over them.
Passacaglia
Performer: David Tudor - piano
The theme of this work, performed here by the American pianist David Tudor, is built progressively of all the intervals and the eleven counter-themes are constructed on 12-tone successions of each interval. The economy and perfection of the motives are fully realised and exploited in a polyphonic continuum that flows and develops into unexpected and highly imaginative channels.
All the rigors of formal design are adhered to, but the austerity of the construction is counter-balanced by the freest possible handling of voices at all levels, by strongly contrasting sections, and powerful climaxes.
This is a striking example of how apparently hard, dry and academic ideas, rooted in technical soil, can bear the most glorious esthetic fruit. Rare indeed is the work which so deliberately flouts the stuff out of which it is made; this is material which challenged Wolpe to exert utmost skill and artistry, and so great is his skill that the listener is unaware of the struggle.
The Passacaglia is a natural bridge flung over the precipice of years from the sixteenth century into a future unknown and uncharted.
Sonata for Violin and Piano
Performers: Frances Magnes - violin; David tudor - piano
This work was composed for and dedicated to the American violinist Frances Magnes, who gave its premier performance in Carnegie Hall with David Tudor. It is a work of brilliant complexities, lights and shadows, a mosaic of richness and detail in which piano and violin are fused and separated and fused again into a web of polyphonic sound that explores every possibility of orchestral combination.
The work is sculptural; the shapes are molded from a group of primary tones and crystallized into new and refreshingly original forms branded with the peculiar Wolpe-force. The extensions are specifically overlayed onto mounting tensions, distortions and flux; each is identified with and revises the material, pounding it into strange and fascinating shapes. The interplay of harsh, sinuous ringing tones suggests something magical.
In all four movements certain configurations of pitch act as a centralizing force and a qualifying criterion for changes which constantly take place in the action-process; the zones of operation are based on a system of spatial proportions which Wolpe discovered and developed over the years.
The work is related to the Passacaglia, a kinship based on Wolpe's profound use of interval-relations in the purest sense - as in all his compositions it is dfined by an inner logic. The listener is challenged to comprehend an atmosphere at once rarified and yet full of compressed ideas which explode into sound or drift out into trackless boundaries of the imagination.

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Quartet for Trumpet, Tenor Saxophone, Percussion and Piano {12:41}

2. Passacaglia {11:39}

Side 2

1. Sonata for Violin and Piano: Un Poco Allegro {5:56}

2. Sonata for Violin and Piano: Andante Appassionata {7:23}

3. Sonata for Violin and Piano: Lento-Scherzo vivo-Lento {3:10}

4. Sonata for Violin and Piano--Allegretto deciso {8:12}

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Music for Instruments & Electronic Sounds

Donald Erb - Music for Instruments & Electronic Sounds

RECONNAISSANCE, a composition in 5 movements for violin, double-bass, piano, percussion, Moog synthesizer, and Moog polyphonic instrument

Bonnie Douglas - violin

Rand Forbes - double-bass

Ralph Grierson - piano

Kenneth Watson - percussion

Michael Tilson Thomas - Moog synthesizer

Leonard Stein - Moog polyphonic instrument

Donald Erb - conductor

IN NO STRANGE LAND, a composition in 4 movements for trombone, double-bass, and electronic sounds

Stuart Dempster - trombone

Bertram Turetzky - double-bass

Electronic sounds realized at the studio fo the R. A. Moog Company, Trumansburg, New York.

The pieces on this record represent two different approaches to the use of electronic sounds with instruments. "Reconnaissance" utilizes two live electronic instruments in conjunction with four conventional instruments. A couple of years ago it occurred to me (and to many other composers) that the new instruments with their extreme versatility and portability could be used on stage rather than being committed to tape. Live musicians add a drama to music that a tape recorder simply cannot duplicate; the electronic instruments are extremely dramatic on stage and add a visual dimension to the music. Electronic sounds manipulated in this manner stay flexible in relation to the other instruments in a manner that tape obviously cannot. This allows a real give-and-take quality (which is one of the attractions of chamber music). The biggest drawback of live electronic music is that the electronic instruments are limited (temporarily, at least) to fewer possibilities than when the music is committed to tape.

"Reconnaissance," which uses two Moog instruments performed "live," exists in two versions. The first was completed in 1967 for the Music In Our Time concert series in New York and was subsequently performed at Expo '67 and at the Monday Evening Concerts in Los Angeles. The version on this record has undergone extensive revision and is now almost 7 minutes longer than the original.

...

"In No Strange Land" was written for electronic sounds and two very specific and versatile performers. Bertram Turetzky is a friend of many years' standing and one whose work I admire as much as I value his friendship. I have written several pieces for him and we have collaborated on many previous occasions. Stuart Dempster is also a friend whose work I (as a former brass player) find verging on the incredible.

A year or so ago, with a Nonesuch Records commission to spur us on, the three of us began discussing a work for the two performers plus tape. After a good deal of three-way communication and experimentation, the piece was completed in September, 1968. The tape segments were realized in Trumansburg, New York, at the electronic studio of the R. A. Moog Company; then, the three of us met in La Jolla, California, where the instrumental tracks were added. (Donald Erb)

Tracklisting:

Side One

1. Reconnaissance: movement 1 {3:10}

2. Reconnaissance: movement 2 {2:09}

3. Reconnaissance: movement 3 {1:41}

4. Reconnaissance: movement 4 {6:38}

5. Reconnaissance: movement 5 {2:48}

Side Two

1. In No Strange Land: movement 1 {4:53}

2. In No Strange Land: movement 2 {4:44}

3. In No Strange Land: movement 3 {3:13}

4. In No Strange Land: movement 4 {3:36}

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