Bird Songs in Literature

Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology - Bird Songs in Literature

Usually nature sounds/environmental sounds are posted on Sundays. Instead, I am posting today what would have been posted next Sunday. I am going to be out of town for the next few days to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with the family to eat, be merry, and probably watch football and go shopping. I'll likely be mostly offline as well during the next few days. I'll be back with more posts next week. Enjoy the holiday or the next few days even if you're not celebrating anything.
LP released in 1967

Prepared by Joseph Wood Krutch
Narrated by Frederick G. Marcham

The songs of birds have been an inspiration to poets since before the days of Chaucer. Shelley's skylark, Keats's nightingale, scores of other birds - some familiar, some little known - are celebrated throughout English and American literature. Now, for the first time, thanks to modern techniques, we can hear on one record both the words of the poem itself and the song of the bird that inspired it.
How many of us who have read about the skylark and nightingale since our schooldays have ever heard their famous song? And vice versa, how many of us realize the extent to which birds have appeared in the work of leading English and American poets? This latest addition to the Sounds of Nature series has been prepared with running commentary by the distinguished author and naturalist Joseph Wood Krutch. Songs and calls of almost 50 of the more common birds of England and North America are heard. They are identified by the narrator, Frederick G. Marcham, Professor of English History at Cornell University and ornithologist and naturalist as well. The editing and composition of the recording was under the expert direction of Peter Paul Kellogg, Professor Emeritus of Ornithology and Bio-Acoustics. Dr. Kellogg and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology spared no effort in obtaining the best recorded songs of the birds available to supplement those taken from the Library of Natural Sounds at the Laboratory.
A significant achievement of this recording is the presentation of the songs in the light of their influence on the imagination and creativity of poets such as Shakespeare, Pope, Milton, and Wordsworth, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, and T. S. Eliot - to name only a few. This has resulted in some of the most beautiful tributes to nature in English literature. A third dimension is added to the appreciation and enjoyment of each listener, as one who knows these birds immediately will discover: this richer background gives the songs fresh meaning and interest. The listener who is not as familiar with the songs will perhaps find them easier to learn and recognize in the future.
As is illustrated throughout this record, the singing bird has not only been an inspiration to man but a companion, protector, and friend as well. It can chastise and comfort, induce sorrow and pain, love and joy. Thus, each song achieves here its own immortality within the immortal lines of these poems. The final effect on the listener is an intensified awareness of the essential harmony between man and nature. (from the liner notes)

The bird songs and poems are listed below in the sequence heard.

Side 1

INTRODUCTION: HERMIT and SWAINSON'S THRUSHES
TAWNY OWL: Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Christabel
COCK: Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Christabel
John Gay, The Beggar's Opera
Chaucer, The Nun's Priest's Tale
SKYLARK: Percy Bysshe Shelley, To a Skylark
Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man
CUCKOO: Anonymous, Sumer is icumen in
Edmund Spenser, Amoretti
Matthew Arnold, Thyrsis
Shakespeare, Love's Labour's Lost
ROADRUNNER
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO
WHIP-POOR-WILL: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline
EUROPEAN SONG THRUSH ("THROSTLE"): Alfred, Lord Tennyson, The Throstle
Robert Browning, Home-Thoughts, from Abroad
HERMIT THRUSH: Walt Whitman, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd"
SWAINSON'S and WOOD THRUSHES: T. S. Eliot, Marina
AMERICAN ROBIN: Emily Dickinson, The Robin
EUROPEAN ROBIN: William Wordsworth, The Redbreast Chasing the Butterfly
Sir Walter Scott, Proud Maisie from The Heart of Mid-Lothian
William Blake, Auguries of Innocence
Anonymous, The Robin and the Wren
EUROPEAN WREN: Shakespeare, Macbeth
William Blake, Auguries of Innocence
Cornish Folk Rhyme, Hunt a Robin or a Wren
HOUSE WREN: Edward Howe Forbush, Birds of Massachusetts and Other New England States
WINTER WREN
CAROLINA WREN
CANON WREN
CACTUS WREN

Side 2
EASTERN MEADOWLARK: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Poet's Tale: The Birds of Killingworth from Tales of a Wayside Inn
EASTERN BLUEBIRD: Henry David Thoreau, The Bluebirds
Louisa May Alcott, Thoreau's Flute
BALTIMORE ORIOLE: Emily Dickinson, The Oriole's Secret
RED-EYED VIREO: Henry David Thoreau, "Upon the lofty elm-tree sprays"
VEERY: Henry David Thoreau, The Cliffs and Springs
OVENBIRD: Robert Frost, The Oven Bird
EASTERN WOOD PEWEE: John Townsend Trowbridge, The Pewee
BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE: Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Titmouse
Mark Van Doren, The Chickadee
CEDAR WAXWING: William Matchett, Cedar Waxwing
YELLOWTHROAT: Henry van Dyke, The Maryland Yellow-Throat
BOBOLINK: William Cullen Bryant, Robert of Lincoln
BOBWHITE, RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, WHISTLING SWAN, and LAUGHING GULL: Walt Whitman, Song of Myself
MOCKINGBIRD: Walt Whitman, Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking
COMMON CROW
COMMON RAVEN: Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven
ENGLISH ROOK
JACKDAW: William Cowper, The Jackdaw
WOOD PIGEON and MOURNING DOVE: Alfred, Lord Tennyson, The Princess
TURTLE DOVE: Old Testament, The Song of Songs
CANADA GOOSE: Henry David Thoreau, Conclusion to Walden
VARIOUS SEABIRDS: Anonymous, The Seafarer
WHIMBREL (HUDSONIAN CURLEW): Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Locksley Hall
COMMON LOON: Edward Howe Forbush, Birds of Massachusetts and Other New England States
John Greenleaf Whittier, Snow-Bound
Paul Brooks, Roadless Area
NIGHTINGALE: John Keats, Ode to a Nightingale
T. S. Eliot, The Waste Land
William Wordsworth, "O Nightingale! Thou Surely Art"
Algernon Charles Swinburne, Atalanta in Calydon
Matthew Arnold, Philomela
John Keats, Ode to a Nightingale
Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Bird Songs in Literature {20:29}

Side 2

1. Bird Songs in Literature continued {21:42}

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Music Box Waltzes and Popular Tunes

The Porter Twin Disc Music Box - Music Box Waltzes and Popular Tunes

released in 1982 on LP

recorded July 1982 at Rooster Records, Bethel, Vermont, United States

This album of waltzes and popular tunes is Porter Music Box's second LP, and further demonstrates the incredibly bright and beautiful sound of the world's finest parlor music box. Each Porter music box is a masterpiece of modern acoustical technology and old world craftsmanship, and produces a sound unequaled by even the best music boxes of old. This album, and "Music Box Christmas", Porter's first album, are the only recordings available today of a twin disc music box from a new manufacturer.
The Porter family continues in the tradition of the mastercraftsmen who produced the first music boxes nearly two centuries ago. Their dedication to those high standards of craftsmanship can be heard in the unique musical quality of this twin disc recording. (from the liner notes)
Tracklisting:

Side One

1. Blue Danube Waltz {2:01}

2. Lenola Waltz {2:04}

3. Tales of the Vienna Woods {1:58}

4. Wiener Blut Waltz {2:02}

5. Roses from the South {2:05}

6. Skater's Waltz {2:07}

7. Rippling Waves Waltz {1:57}

8. Artist's Life Waltz {1:59}

9. Ein Walzertraum, Piccolo, Piccolo Tsin Tsin, Tsin {2:01}

Side Two

1. The Entertainer {1:55}

2. Edelweiss {2:02}

3. The Music Box Dancer {2:02}

4. Lara's Theme {2:06}

5. A Time for Us {2:01}

6. Over the Rainbow {1:56}

7. You Light Up My Life {2:00}

8. Send in the Clowns {1:52}

9. Don't Cry for Me Argentina {1:59}

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Dawn in the Ventana Wilderness

Dawn in the Ventana Wilderness

tape released in 1986

As promised, here is the other side of the tape posted last Sunday ("Dusk in the Ventana Wilderness").

Tracklisting:

1. Dawn in the Ventana Wilderness {43:35}

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Prepared Piano: The First Four Decades

various artists compilation - Prepared Piano: The First Four Decades

LP released in 1983

recorded at EMRLD Studios, Carson, California, June 1979

Bacchanale (1940) composed by John Cage

performed by Richard Bunger - piano

In the late thirties I was employed as accompanist for the classes in modern dance at the Cornish School in Seattle, Washington. These classes were taught by Bonnie Bird who had been a member of Martha Graham's Company. Among her pupils was an extraordinary dancer, Syvilla Fort, later an associate in New York City of Katherine Dunham. Three or four days before she was to perform her Bacchanale, Syvilla asked me to write music for it. I agreed.
The Cornish Theatre in which Syvilla Fort was to perform had no space in the wings. There was also no pit. There was, however, a piano at one side in front of the stage. I couldn't use percussion instruments for Syvilla's dance, though, suggesting Africa, they would have been suitable; they would have left too little room for her to perform. I was obliged to write a piano piece.
I spent a day or so conscientiously trying to find an African 12-tone row. I had no luck. I decided that what was wrong was not me but the piano. I decided to change it.
Having decided to change the sound of the piano in order to make a music suitable for Syvilla Fort's Bacchanale, I went to the kitchen, got a pie plate, brought it into the living room and placed it on the piano strings. I played a few keys. The piano sounds had been changed, but the pie plate bounced around due to the vibrations, and, after a while, some of the sounds that had been changed no longer were. I tried something smaller, nails between the strings. They slipped down between and lengthwise along the strings. It dawned on me that screws or bolts would stay in position. They did. And I was delighted with the sounds they produced. I wrote the Bacchanale quickly and with the excitement continual discovery provided. (John Cage)

In 1976, I was very excited to have the opportunity to examine the original, "authentic" preparation materials, which John said were his and Jeanne Kirstein's (she made the first recording of Bacchanle for Columbia).
My recording utilizes the approach to preparation Jeanne Kirstein and John Cage developed for her recording, which I believe is more correct than the presently published version of the Bacchanale score. (Richard Bunger)

May Rain (1941) composed by Lou Harrison

performed by Richard Bunger - piano and Joan La Barbara - voice

text by Elsa Gidlow

May Rain was written for my friend William Weaver to sing. The beautiful poem by my wonderful friend Elsa Gidlow first appeared in the very early thirties, and currently is printed in her Sapphic Songs Seventeen to Seventy (Diana Press, 1976). The music was printed in the first issue of Peter Garland's Soundings. (Lou Harrison)

For Prepared Piano composed by Alan Stout

performed by Richard Bunger - piano

I Nervously
II Tranquillo
III Moderato, serenely
II Tranquillo (da capo)
IV Distantly, unemotionally

For Prepared Piano was composed when I was a student. Henry Cowell introduced me to John Cage in November 1951. I was very taken with the idea of macro-microcosmic form of Cage's sonatas and interludes. Cowell encouraged me to compose in as many styles as possible until I found one I could call my own. This is a piece outside the main body of my output, which reflects my imitation of Cage's works. (Alan Stout)

Silent Night (1976) composed by Samuel Pellman

performed by Delores Stevens - piano

Silent Night was composed in the autumn of 1976. It is not programmatic except in the sense that it evokes sounds and feelings the composer recalls from a silent, solitary walk on a snowy December evening some years ago. The material of the piece is comprised of a limited number of thematic/textural fragments, subjected to a good deal of manipulation, and arranged into something of a mosaic form. These fragments, however, tend to coalesce into larger-scale sections, which together comprise a five-part form for the work, and are subtitled as follows: Twilight Snowfall, Distant Lights, Reverie, Journey to Bethlehem, and Coda (Rest in Heavenly Piece). All 88 notes of the piano are prepared: clothespins and rubber erasers are affixed to the strings of the lower octaves; the middle octaves are altered by round or flat-head stove bolts; the upper octaves are given an extra sparkle by wood screws which are fit loosely between the strings. The piece is dedicated to the composer's wife, Colleen. (from the liner notes)

Something for Flute and Piano (1967) composed by August Wegner

performed by Delores Stevens - piano and John Heitmann - flute

Something for Flute and Piano might be thought of as a dance from some mythical, exotic land. Although the texture is somewhat pointillistic, the pulse is quite intense throughout most of the piece. Multiphonics are used with the flute and there is some improvisation in the middle section for both instruments. The piece is essentially percussive with the flute being treated both as a percussion instrument and the piano being used as a percussion instrument and, in the middle section, partially as a "source tape" for improvisation. The work is meant to be enjoyed for its play of rhythm and timbre. (from the liner notes)

Mirrors for Pianist and Tape Recordist (1978) composed by Richard Bunger

performed by Delores Stevens - piano and Richard Bunger - tape recorder

Mirrors for Pianist and Tape Recordist was composed in August, 1978, during a time I had become obsessed with the works of Loren Eiseley and was rereading Jorge Luis Borges's Book of Imaginary Beings. I was struck by the parallel between Eiseley's essay "The Snout" and the ancient Chinese myth of the kingdom of the mirrors - wherein lies a world temporarily doomed to merely repeat the actions of the human world. "Nonetheless, a day will come when the magic spell will be shaken off," according to Borges. I have ever since held all "lower" forms in greater respect.
The noted contemporary pianist David Burge has written that Mirrors for Pianist and Tape Recordist "ranks with the best that has been written for the instrument during the 70s." (Richard Bunger)

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. John Cage - Bacchanale {9:49}

2. Lou Harrison - May Rain {2:25}

3. Alan Stout - For Prepared Piano {9:00}

Side 2

1. Samuel Pellman - Silent Night {7:29}

2. August Wegner - Something for Flute and Piano {5:35}

3. Richard Bunger - Mirrors for Pianist and Tape Recordist {8:32}

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Two Moods

G. S. Sachdev - Two Moods

LP released in 1981

G. S. Sachdev - flute
Zakir Hussain - tabla
Jessica Skala - tanpura
Ilene Marder - swar-peti

Gurbachan Singh Sachdev has gained international acclaim as a master flutist by actively performing throughout Europe, Asia and the United States. Thirty years of dedication to the ancient classical music of India has resulted in both the purity of tone and subtleties of rhythm. He brings to the ancient, classical form, his own creative improvisations.

Kaushik Dhwani, a morning raga, is pentatonic in structure as it omits the second and fifth notes ascending and descending. It is played in a rhythmic cycle of 16 beats known as Teental (4+4+4+4). Many different rhythmic patterns are played against the basic rhythm. It is romantic in mood.

Purya-Kalyan, an evening raga, is a mixture of ragas Purya & Kalyan. The second note is flat and the fourth is sharp. A slow movement (Alap) gently merges into a rhythmic cycle of 12 beats (Ektal) followed by a Teental of 16 beats. It is peaceful in mood. (from the liner notes)



Tracklisting:

Side One

1. Kaushik Dhwani {25:32}

Side Two

1. Purya-Kalyan {25:01}

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Dusk in the Ventana Wilderness

Dusk in the Ventana Wilderness

cassette released in 1986

This tape has recordings of the Ventana Wilderness, located in California along the central coast (between Los Angeles and San Francisco). The other side of this tape has "Dawn in the Ventana Wilderness." Unfortunately, I did not have enough time this past week to rip the other side. Next week, "Dawn in the Ventana Wilderness" will be posted. Meanwhile, enjoy "Dusk in the Ventana Wilderness."





Tracklisting:

1. Dusk in the Ventana Wilderness {43:30}

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V. & A. Early Pianos: Vol. II of the Collection of Historic Instruments

various artists compilation - V. & A. Early Pianos: Vol. II of the Collection of Historic Instruments

LP released in 1968

The Collection of Historic Instruments at the Victoria & Albert Museum: Vol. II EARLY PIANOS

It is improbable that any of the four pianos on this recording will ever be played again. They were restored to playing order for these recordings, and then the strings were slackened off to prevent possible warping. This LP is therefore a unique document. The instruments can be seen in the Music Gallery where a further selection of music on these and other instruments can be heard on the special "juke box". THE CATALOGUE OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS IN THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM Vol. I contains a history of the collection and full details of these pianos by Austin Niland. These notes are derived from the Catalogue.

The main nucleus of the V. & A. collection comes from the Great Exhibition of 1851, but the pianos on this record were all acquired at a later date and, with the exception of the Zumpe, were privately donated.

SQUARE PIANOFORTE by Johann Christoph Zumpe, 1767. The earliest known English pianoforte of normal construction. There are two hand stops inside the case on the left for raising bass and treble dampers dividing at middle C. These were not used in the recording.

SQUARE PIANOFORTE by Longman & Broderip, London, c. 1795. Typical of the instruments produced by the firm. There is no provision for a forte stop or pedal. Like the Zumpe, the stringing is bichord.

CABINET PIANOFORTE (GIRAFFE PIANO) by van der Hoef, Amsterdam, c. 1810. The pedals, from left to right, operate the following effects: 1. bassoon, 2. drum (not used in the recording), 3. piano, 4. triangle (small bells), 5. una corda and 6. forte. Leather covered hammers, Bichord throughout.

GRAND PIANOFORTE by Robert Wornum & Sons, London, c. 1875. Made for Sir Henry Cole, one time Director of the Museum. Downstriking action which was adopted in an attempt to overcome the structural weakness caused by the gap between wrestplank and soundboard of upstriking instruments. Two pedals: una corda, and forte. This instruments is not illustrated on our cover. The case of pine is decorated with painted designs by John Gamble (1837-1911); along the sides of the case are represented several musical instruments, some of which are part of the V. & A. collection.

The repertoire is all popular domestic music intended to display the full musical potential of each instrument. Variations of God save the King was chosen because of its great popularity in the eightenth century and because when J. C. Bach gave the first public recital in 1768 in London on a pianoforte, he played a Zumpe. The Arne Sonata is a more accomplished work that stretches the expressive powers of the instruments to its limits. Les Languers Tendres is admirably suitable for display of the surprisingly rich bass. Both the Zumpe and the next piano have leather covered hammers, giving the attack a particular quality, reminiscent of the harpsichord. The Sonata by Samuel Arnold (1740-1802) on the Longman & Broderip piano was published in London in 1775; it comes from a "Second Sett of 8 Lessons for Harpsichord or Piano forte". Not until the turn of the century, when the piano was firmly established as the favourite instrument, did publishers dare drop the alternative "harpsichord" from the title page.

Daniel Steibelt (1765-1823) - once considered the rival of Beethoven - wrote many battle pieces for the Giraffe-type piano with its array of effects. La Journee d'Ulm celebrates one of Napoleon's victories. The music is carefully scored for the effects and includes a written-in commentary. The extract starts where the Grenadiers go into battle. The buzzing sound on certain notes in the bass represent canon fire and are produced by the bassoon stop. Then follow musket fire, horses charging, cries of the wounded, song of victory, dirge of prisoners, and the triumphant march. A set of variations, and the final page - "Maintenant, Francais, vers les Russes!" have been omitted. The last piece, Bacchanale, brings the bell effect into operation.

Inferior music often has a more distinct period flavour than good music. The two pieces by Sydney Smith (1839-1889), with their tumbling cascades of notes and elegant effects, give full reign to the Victorian character of the Wornum, which has felt hammers.

Throughout rehearsal and recording sessions all these pianos, with their wooden frames, never failed mechanically nor needed anything but the minimum of re-tuning. This is a considerable tribute to the restorers, John Barnes and B. S. Roguski. (Madeau Stewart)



Tracklisting:

Side A

1. Esther Fisher - God Save the King & Variations {3:15}
performed on Zumpe piano; composed by J. C. Bach

2. Esther Fisher - Sonata No. 2 {7:39}
performed on Zumpe piano; composed by Arne

3. Esther Fisher - La Caroline {2:17}
performed on Zumpe piano; composed by C. P. E. Bach

4. Esther Fisher - Les Langueurs Tendres {1:25}
performed on Zumpe piano; composed by C. P. E. Bach

5. Esther Fisher - Sonata 11 in a minor {4:58}
performed on Longman & Broderip piano; composed by Samuel Arnold

Side B

1. Valda Aveling - La Journee d'Ulm {5:14}
performed on van def Hoef Giraffe piano; composed by Steibelt

2. Valda Aveling - Bacchanale {2:43}
performed on van der Hoef Giraffe piano; composed by Steibelt

3. Malcolm Binns - Jet d'eau {2:18}
performed on Wornum piano; composed by Sydney Smith

4. Malcolm Binns - Golden Bells {6:18}
performed on Wornum piano; composed by Sydney Smith

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Janus [REPOST]

Sun Ra - Janus

This was among the first posts (5/30/2006) when this blog was started over three years ago. This was also reposted again when I transferred the posts from the old version of A Closet of Curiosities to this new version. I am posting this great Sun Ra record again for those who missed it as I was informed that the link was dead by someone who was wanting to check out the archives.

Island in the Sun

Variety Recording Studio, NYC, between 1968 and 1970

Sun Ra - piano; Danny Davis - alto clarinet; Marshall Allen - flute; Ronnie Boykins - bass; John Gilmore - percussion; Pat Patrick - percussion

"Island in the Sun" is one of those relaxed, flowing compositions with mildly exotic rhythms that are much beloved by Ra fans. The Arkestra still played it in public in the 1980s, though not nearly as often as "Carefree" or "Friendly Galaxy"; today, as "Islands in Space," it remains in the repertoire of Arkestral alumnus Michael Ray and his Cosmic Krewe. The swaying winds are Marshall Allen's liquid flute and Danny Davis' warm, woody alto clarinet. There are solos for Sunny's piano and Marshall's flute before the ensemble returns. The recording appears to have been made between 1968 and 1970. (Robert L. Campbell)

The Invisible Shield

recorded mono, probably at a live performance, 1970

Sun Ra - organ, Mini-Moog synthesizer; Marshall Allen - alto sax; Danny Davis - alto sax; Danny Ray Thompson - Neptunian libflecto (modified bassoon); Clifford Jarvis - drums

After the early commentary from the horns, "The Invisible Shield" becomes a nearly unaccompanied keyboard solo for Sun Ra. "The Invisible Shield" segues into "Janus" when the organ chord and "dentist drill" sounds from the Moog are suddenyl replaced by loud, low, reverberant banging sounds (either from gongs, or low notes from one of Sunny's electronic keyboards recorded with distortion.)

Janus

A. recorded at Sun Studios, NYC, 1967 or 1968

Sun Ra - gong or clavinet

B. recorded at Choreographers' Workshop, NYC, 1963

Sun Ra - director; Marshall Allen - piccolo, percussion; Danny Davis -alto sax, percussion; John Gilmore - tenor sax, bells; Pat Patrick - bongo, percussion; Robert Cummings - bass clarinet, percussion; ronnie Boykins - bass; Art Jenkins - vocal, percussion; Tommy Hunter - reverb, percussion

"Janus" is a compilation of two performances; on the master tape, it follows "The Invisible Shield" without a break. A transitional passage of banging sounds (deliberately distorted gongs, low Clavinet tones, or both) was probably recorded around 1968; it leads into the earliest performance on the CD. The bowed bass, cosmic side drums, and washes of analog reverb point to Sunny's psychedlic year, 1963. Sunny's goal was to evoke African ancestors; before the session, he exhorted singer Art Jenkins, "What about your African influence? what can you sing about Africa? Just being black - black is a color, like green is a color." Jenkins was prepared: "this time, my spirit took me back to Africa. And it was as like in a dreamworld sense, but I was back in my African village, with African musicians, singers, and dancers. It was like, 'It's your time to sing.' One singer moves to the next singer, and so forth, just like the (universal) voice moves." Another tape edit allows the piece to end quietly, with bells. (Robert L. Campbell)

Velvet

recorded in early 1968; it is different from a live recording from 1969 previously known to discographers

Sun Ra - piano; Bernard Pettaway - trombone; Marshall Allen - alto sax; Danny Davis - alto sax; John Gilmore - tenor sax; Pat Patrick - baritone sax; Robert Northern - French horn; Ronnie Boykins - bass; James Jacson - log drums, flute; Clifford Jarvis - drums solos by Pat Patrick (featured), Robert Northern and Sun Ra

"Velvet," a hard-bop composition, goes back to the Arkestra's earliest days in Chicago; the Arkestra had recorded it in 1958 and again in 1960. In the late 1960s, the Arkestra wasn't playing the piece all that regularly, as the rough-and-ready ensembles testify. We do get a tremendous earth-moving solo from Pat Patrick's baritone sax, and an unusual feature for the French horn of Robert Northern, as well as a pithy piano solo by The Ra. (Robert L. Campbell)

Joy

recorded live in NYC, early 1968

Sun Ra - piano, Clavioline; Bernard Pettaway - trombone; Robert Northern - French horn; Marshall Allen - alto sax, percussion; Danny Davis - alto sax, percussion; John gilmore - tenor sax, percussion; Pat Patrick - baritone sax, percussion; Ronnie Boykins - bass; James Jacson - log drums; Clifford Jarvis - drums

In the mid and late 1960s, Sun Ra would often quote a familiar composition as a theme just at the beginning or end of a series of free improvisations. The final 3 minutes of "Joy" could be more free improv., or they could move into the theme of "El is a Sound of Joy" or possibly another Sun Ra tune like "Tapestry from an Asteroid." (When the words to this composition are sung, the last two words are "space joy").

Tracklisting:

1. Island in the Sun {5:27}

2. The Invisible Shield/Janus {12:44}

3. Velvet {7:26}

4. Joy {9:17}

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Didjeridoo: The Australian Aboriginal Music

various artists compilation - Didjeridoo: The Australian Aboriginal Music

recorded in 1969; released in 1996 on CD

recorded by Dr. Miroslav Prokopec on HUER Tape Recorder

Folk music of the people of Arnhem county
Authentic documentary recordings from the North Australia region

Arnhem Land is a peninsula in north-eastern Northern Territory with an area of about 37,000 square miles (95,900 square kilometres), extending from Van Dieman Gulf southeastward to the Gulf of Carpentaria and Groote Eylandt; it includes a largely tropical plateau lying between the Roper and Victoria rivers. The name Arnhem Land is now used primarily for the large Aboriginal reserve (80,000 square kilometres) founded in 1931 in the eastern part of the peninsula to avoid undesirable pressure from Europeans on the native inhabitants. The northeast coast was visited in 1623 by the Dutch explorer Jan Cartensz, who named the region after his ship, Arnhem (Aernem). Arnhem Land remained the last refuge of the natives, who were expelled from all the other parts of the country.
They lived there until World War II, basically untouched by outside influences, apart from that of missionaries, the presence of military guards, and the regular visits of fishermen from Macassar who came there in search of trepang (sea cucumber). From the latter they learned to use metal knives, axes and points and how to make dugout canoes. When 500,000 soldiers built an airport in the north and the Stuart Highway from Darwin to Alice Springs after the Japanese air-raid on Darwin in 1942, many of the natives helped them as hired labourers. Their families followed them. They got to know both the positive and negative aspects of a contact with Europeans that soon resulted in a fast decline of native traditional life. Many of them caught European diseases and the concentration of many people on one spot made contagion worse. The patients needed long-term treatment and it was also necessary to continue the children's schooling; the latter began to attend mobile schools. The governmental habitations were built in reservations which also included school farms and cattle-breeding stations in which the natives were to learn the basics of agricultural production and animal rearing, as well as crafts necessary for the construction and maintenance of the habitations. Some of the Aboriginals took permanent jobs at that time as stockmen in the cattle-breeding stations.
The way of life of most of the Aboriginals in Arnhem Land is now somewhere between their original traditions and the European model. Their traditions are nevertheless still deeply rooted. Arnhem Land is hot and rough, with a large seasonal humidity fluctuation which modifies the character of the vegetation and the landscape itself. The central part of the region is rocky. Disintegrated and delapidated rocks on the edges of a rocky table and on the hillsides of valleys create countless cracks, caves, shelters (abris) and ledges, often with smooth walls and level ceilings. Many of them served as hiding places for the natives during the rainy season and for ritual gatherings. Pictures of people, animals and mythical beings are often painted or engraved on the walls.
...
A typical musical instrument in Arnhem Land is the DIDJERIDOO: a wind instrument consisting of a slightly conical wooden tube about 150 centimetres long, made from a long, hollow eucalyptus branch, the centre of which has been eaten away by termites. The walls of the tube are about a centimetre thick. A rim of beeswax or eucalyptus gum may be fitted to the narrower mouth end (5 to 7 cm in diameter), while the broader end (10 to 15 cm in diameter) is usually rested the toes of the outstretched legs as the musician plays. It is important that the walls of the tube should not be cracked, as it has to resonate the sounds produced by the musician's throat. The musician does not play the didjeridoo, he "draws" it - quite a realistic expression, since the stream of air pulsates but is not interrupted, except for a split second when the musician takes his breath. The sound is polyphonous, resembling the sound of an organ or a harmonium. The didjeridoo also plays an important part in rituals: during the rain evocation ritual, for instance, or in the kunapipi cult, where it symbolizes the womb of the Mother Originator.
...
The leading songman must have a good voice, of course, but he must also have a wide musical culture, the result of his years of apprenticeship with his father or his uncle. Sometimes a singer can name as many as twenty of his predecessors. He inherits their songs and he is also the owner of the songs he has composed himself. Anybody else who wishes to use them must "pay" him - which usually means the granting of certain benefits. The songman is popular and, if he wanted, he could make a living from his art.
...
The recordings were made during a scientific expedition to Australia by a Czechoslovak team in 1969. Its aim was to meet a Rembarranga tribe whose territory lies in the heart of Arnhem Land in the neighbourhood of a Bulman water reservoir near Mt Cat. During four months of daily contact with the natives we had several opportunites to join them at a camp corroboree or sit with them round the fire and watch them singing and dancing. (Mary Pardoe)

Tracklisting:

1. men from Port Keats - The Chant of the Port Keats Men {10:09}

2. Joshup Manigan - Maribata Aborigine Language {2:09}

3. group of old men from Bathurst and Melville islands - Chants of the Old Men from Bathurst Island {1:47}

4. [unknown artist] - Chants from Mainor {3:40}

5. Jack Chadum and Ronnie Bamyili - Jack Chadum Sing With His Brother Ronnie Bamyili {5:32}

6. [unknown artist] - Music from Korobori {8:03}

7. Remaranka Tribe - Chants of the Remaranka Tribe {6:36}

8. Rittarunga Tribe - Chants of the Rittarunga Tribe {6:48}

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David Burge Plays New Piano Music

David Burge - David Burge Plays New Piano Music

LP released in 1966

For this recording, Mr. Burge has selected four works by younger American composers and a piece of his own composition. The resulting program is a combination of fearsome technical difficulty and interpretational range, boldly setting forth the gamut of piano writing by some of the country's most significant new composers. We at ADVANCE feel this recording to be, in its combination of important premieres and superb musicianship, a major contribution to recorded piano literature. (from the liner notes)

Eclipse II (1966) composed by David Burge

Eclipse II was written as a recital piece and as a part of my most recent work for musical theatre (unnamed at this writing) in which it serves as an Interval between two of the fourteen scenes while three or four members of the cast and audience take a quick cigarette break around the footlights.
The title may derive from the fact that the work makes a complete cycle, as is true of the celestial phenomenon; the material (the set) heard at the beginning is gradually but regularly shifted until it is completely transformed (obscured?) after which continued shifting leads it back to the original at the close of the composition. (That this analogy did not occur to me until several weeks after the piece was completed does not severely detract from its merits, but may give some indication to the listener as to the advisability of following a precise astronomical program.) (David Burge)

Five Pieces for Piano (1962) composed by George Crumb

The Five Pieces for Piano were composed in 1962 at the request of David Burge. The work requires a considerably enlarged technique of tone production, for in addition to conventional keyboard sounds, the composer has exploited various sounds produced immediately on contact with the string - e.g., pizzicato, martellato, glissando, etc. The integration of all these resources points toward a broader concept of piano idiom. Structurally speaking, the Five Pieces derive from a single 3-note cell, first presented as a chord.
Rhythm, dynamics, and timbre are all freely organized. The work as a whole is in the form of an arch, of which the third piece (Notturno) forms the centerpiece.
I. Quasi improvvisato
II. Ruvido, con molto energia; Prestissimo; Ruvido
III. Nocturno (sempre pizzicato)
IV. Ruvido, con molto energia; Prestissimo; Ruvido
V. Senza misura; Solenne; Tempo del primo pezzo

Cocktail Music (1962) composed by Salvatore Martirano

Notes by Ed London: It would be out of place in so short a space to divulge the recipe of the virtuoistic Cocktail Music for Piano. If perhaps it might whet the imagination to contemplate the intricacy of said concoction, let it here suffice to wit: the imagination of the composer worked overtime to coordinate the multitudinous cerebrative constructs - all the while a baser metabolic process demanded a slaking of its thirst (a thirst moreover that decries symmetry and arid regularity).
What are the "external" influences on the work - Crystal Gazing, Art Tatum, Domenico Scarlatti, The Joy of Cooking? Preposterous??? Read Rose Rombauer's written direction therein:

The cocktail is probably an American invention and most certainly a typically American kind of drink. Whatever mixtures you put together - and part of the fascination of cocktail mixing is the degree of inventiveness it seems to encourage - hold fast to a few general principles.

Piano Variations (1963) composed by Charles Wuorinen

I finished my Piano Variations on 25 November 1963. They were originally part of a larger cycle of pieces - other two surviving instances of which are my Flute Variations and Flute Concerto, both written for Harvey Sollberger - which were to be united by common set material and related procedures. It soon became apparent both that the individual works were totally self-sufficient and that the contemplated project was too large. I therefore abandoned it; the Piano Variations have enjoyed an independent life since then.
Regarding the relevant structural characteristics of the Variations; the work cannot be considered 'twelve-tone' in spite of the fact that the dozen-odd self-contained and fully composed fragments which provide the 'subject' for variation-operations are strictly so (but only in the conventional pitch-sense). Rather, each variation consists of a re-ordering of them as well. Beyond this simple procedure, there are other controlling influences: for example the fact that as the piece progresses, criteria of differentiation among (but not necessarily within) the fragments are gradually minimized, until near the end they form a homogenous larger structure. (Charles Wuorinen)

Twelve Bagatelles (1952) composed by George Rochberg

The Bagatelles were my first 12-tone music, composed between June and August 1952. The first eight came in one burst - within the space of a week. I broke off work to take a trip to Tanglewood, where I played what I had just written for Luigi Dallapiccola, teaching there that summer. Dallapiccola's enthusiastic response confirmed my own feelings about what I was doing, so much so that when I returned home I was able to complete the remaining four pieces in fairly short order. In January 1953 I gave the Bagatelles their first public performance at the MacMillan Theater, Columbia University.
The pieces seem to have survived both changes in my own way of working over the years as well as changes in the musical atmosphere of the '50s and '60s. This being the case, the fact of their survival could hardly be attributed, it seems to me, to their being 12-tone per se. While it is surely not a composer's business to concern himself with such matters, I can only guess that whatever value the Bagatelles have is a purely musical one, perhaps most of all because the spontaneity of their emergence gave them a sense of entirety - depsite their individual brevity. (George Rochberg)
Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Eclipse II {2:55}

2. Five Pieces for Piano {7:57}

3. Cocktail Music {4:44}

Side 2

1. Piano Variations {7:52}

2. Twelve Bagatelles {12:12}

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Mountain Stream

Mountain Stream

The nature/environmental sounds make their return to the Closet once again on every Sunday. Sorry about the lack of nature/environmental posts lately, but I simply ran out. About a couple of weeks ago, I obtained a few more cassettes which will be posted in the next few weeks. Hopefully, I'll have even more to post for many weeks to come.

As you can tell, this one is a cassette from 1985. I found this cassette without a cover. Most of the other ones I found do not have covers either. This is another lovely recording of a mountain stream by another mysterious outfit called Nature Recordings. Birds make a brief appearance at the beginning.


Tracklisting:

1. Mountain Stream {41:51}

Both sides of the cassette are the same.

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The Artistry of Sergio Cuevas

-->Sergio Cuevas - The Artistry of Sergio Cuevas

released on LP in 1969; recorded in Paraguay

The harp, coming from the Greek word harpe or faulx which described its original shape was, in Ancient times, shaped like a sickle.

The Indian harp is an instrument, which was introduced into South America by the Spanish and Irish Jesuit missionaries, as a means to accompany the popular songs allowed in the churches with new . . . words.

The harp has become the national instrument of Paraguay where Sergio Cuevas was born, in 1939, at Villarrica.

From the age of fifteen he devoted himself entirely to the study of this instrument. In 1958, he was selected by the Paraguayan Government to be the musical Ambassador of his country at the Latin American Festival in Miami. In 1962, he left for South Africa with the Sophie Tucker show. Today, he travels throughout the world interpreting this mulatto music which is full of charm and nostalgia. When the record is played, it casts a spell which is due, doubtlessly, to this extraordinary virtuoso, to the palpitating rhythm, the fantastic and close . . . very close throbbing of the music. (from the liner notes)

-->

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Colorado {2:22}

2. Som Coiman {2:57}

3. Misionera {3:00}

4. Lagrimas {3:11}

5. Angela Rosa {2:26}

6. Bayon de Madrid {2:14}

Side 2

1. Cascada {4:11}

2. Lamento Paraguyo {2:53}

3. Luna Llera {3:09}

4. Caballito {2:50}

5. Maria Elsa {2:48}

6. Luna de Miel {2:10}

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Solo Piano Works by 20th Century Women Composers

Paula Ennis-Dwyer - Solo Piano Works by 20th Century Women Composers

Of Shadows Numberless (1966) composed by Miriam Gideon

Each movement is headed by a line from Keats' "Ode to a Nightingale" which reflects the awakening of a young person to the joys of nature. The opening section becomes a kind of ritornelle which is heard three times - as a beginning, as a contrasting episode between two lively movements, and as the closing epilogue. Quotations from the poem which head each movement suggest its character.

Allegretto: ..."magic casements opening on seas of perilous foam"
Animato: ..."the blushful Hippocrene"
Ritornelle: ..."magic casements opening"
Presto: ..."the murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves"
Tranquillamente: ..."white hawthorne and the pastoral eglantine"
Moderato: ..."Adieu! thy plaintive anthem fades past the near meadows"

Second Sonata for Piano (1983) composed by Nancy Van De Vate

The Second Sonata for Piano employs a traditional fast-slow-fast format. The first movement is motoric, percussive, and predominantly rhythmic. The second movement is partly lyric and elegiac, and partly appassionato, using the extreme outer registers of the piano and very rich sonorities. The third movement is driving and toccata-like in character. Although the Sonata uses some special effects inside the piano (glissandi on the strings and damping the strings with one hand while playing on the keyboard with the other), it is quite traditional, relying for its musical effect on rhythmic drive, dynamic contrast, and pianistic pyrotechnics.

Hyperbolae (1976) composed by Shulamit Ran

Hyperbolae for piano suggests the double meaning behind the word "hyperbola" - it refers to a geometric design, and is also derived from the Greek word meaning extravagant. The piece's first few bars supply the material for the entire composition, with each event being an aspect of an integrated whole, relating to all other points in a specifically prescribed manner. At the same time, it is also expressive of a fancifully extravagant sentiment.

7 Macabre Songs for Piano (1979) composed by Tina Davidson

7 Macabre Songs for Piano combines traditional pianistic writing with a variety of beautiful well-integrated effects. Included are forearm rolls, palm slaps, clusters, harmonics, as well as the plucking and strumming of the strings inside the piano. The composition was inspired by poetry of Howard Nemerov:

1. The ground swayed like a sea
2. The officer wore a thin smile/Over his dental plate.
3. Roses were planted and grew again/Out of my pain.
4. Under the pie crust. . . . I must
5. It is forbidden to go further/Darkness stands in the wall
6. My husband Bluebeard has a blue beard
7. My death with a nail in his foot

(from the liner notes)

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Of Shadows Numberless {10:52}

2. Second Sonata for Piano: Fast {3:05}

3. Second Sonata for Piano: Very Slowly {5:30}

4. Second Sonata for Piano: Fast {2:57}

Side 2

1. Hyperbolae {7:42}

2. 7 Macabre Songs for Piano {13:03}

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