Spring Night on a Moonlit River

Chen Lei-Shi - Spring Night on a Moonlit River

cassette released in 1984

recorded on March 7, 1982

all music performed on Chinese zither or Gu Zheng by Chen Lei-Shi (or Louis Chen)

The instrument's over 2000 year history is steeped in legend. The most famous explanation of the instrument's origin is the story of the two concubines of the Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang. The two women fought over a "Se," a large zither of up to 25 strings. The instrument was split into two "zheng," one of twelve strings and one of thirteen strings during the struggle and the two halves came to be known as the Qin Zheng or zither of the state of Qin, one of the kingdoms which existed during the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.), a historical era of great turmoil but also of great creativity.
While the splitting of the "Se" belongs to the realm of legend, it does serve to establish the instrument's place and time of origin. Indeed for centuries, the Gu Zheng was often referred to as the Qin Zheng rather than Gu Zheng.
...
The different styles of playing were presented in various forms of notation, traditionally based on the use of Chinese characters to represent different notes. The diversity of styles and notation, some dating to before the Tang Dynasty, and the fact that there was no "official" unified form of writing down the music, suggest that the Gu Zheng was a widespread and popular folk instrument with a long and rich history. In addition to stylistic diversity, there have been developments in the instrument's construction and performing technique over the centuries. The six predominant styles of traditional Zheng music today are those of Henan, Chao Zhou, Shandong, Kejia (Hakka), ZheJiang, and Hangzhou.
...
The basic tuning of the Gu Zheng is pentatonic and is the same for both Northern and Southern styles, however variations on tuning are often employed. Each string has its own individual bridge or "Mazi," placed at staggered positions along the sound board. By pressing the string to the left of the "mazi," the player can manipulate tension so as to produce a virtually infinite number of microtones, thus the essentially pentatonic tuning belies the versatility of sounds which can be produced on the Gu Zheng. Chords and flourishes are plucked with the right hand in a manner not dissimilar to the classical guitar. The so-called "Modern style" which has been developed during this century puts more emphasis on two handed plucking and strumming to the right-hand side of the "mazi." What is significant about the selections on this recording is that they are traditional pieces played in the traditional style.
Here one should note that along with other more traditional forms of culture, traditional Chinese music was discouraged during the 10 years of the Cultural Revolution from 1966-76. During that time, traditional Chinese musicians not within the political sphere of Beijing, notably in Taiwan and Hong Kong, maintained and developed the art of the Gu Zheng. Nevertheless, the 60's and 70's were also times of rapid economic growth in both Taiwan and Hong Kong and, as is typical during such periods of rapid absorption of Western technology and economic systems, the traditional culture, music in particular, gave way to Western tastes newly acquired by the younger generation. Furthermore, the relative relaxation of attitudes towards traditional culture which has been apparent in the People's Republic since the ouster of the radical "Gang of Four" in 1976, has taken place concurrently with a period of rapid economic modernization and exposure to non-Chinese culture. Therefore, the music recorded on this album represents an art which is being maintained by literally a handful of old masters, like Professor Louis Chen. The scholarship and faithfulness to tradition which is inherent in the selections on this album, has a rich historical past, but its future is uncertain. (from the liner notes)

Tracklisting:

Side One

1. Hungry Horse/Jingling Bells {4:31}
Cantonese melody 1920s; composed by He Liutang

2. Spring Night on a Moonlit River {10:03}
traditional folk melody of South China

3. Lady Liu Qing {5:32}
traditional melody of Chao Zhou

4. Crow Playing on the Winter River {7:32}
traditional Chao Zhou melody

Side Two

1. Running Water {6:16}
traditional Qin melody

2. Entering the Palace from the North {3:45}

3. Thinking of an Old Friend {5:51}
traditional Qin melody

4. High Mountains and Running Water {3:30}
traditional melody of Central China

5. Autumn Moon in the Han Palace {5:01}

6. Deep Midnight {1:25}
traditional folk tune

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Music for Electronic & Older Instruments

various artists compilation - Music for Electronic & Older Instruments

LP released during the 1960s

*Thanks to Caitlyn for letting me use her photo of her cover. Go check out her blog for more music including her own compilations and mixes of the latest music and an awesome post of a rare 10" of early experimental electronic music by Herbert Brun.

Speaking of early experimental electronic music, it's been overdue for an appearance in this blog. There should be more coming soon.

Tape sounds on all tracks on side 1 produced at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center, New York

Performers:

CONCERTED PIECE FOR TAPE RECORDER AND ORCHESTRA

Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Jose Serebrier - conductor

EVENTS for tape recorder

Voices: Mildred Dunnock, Martha Scott, Lee Bowman

IMPROVISATION

Ward Davenny - piano; Keith Wilson - clarinet; David Schwartz - viola

TWO PRAYER SETTINGS

New York Chamber Soloists; Charles Bressler - tenor; Melvin Kaplan - conductor

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Otto Luening and Vladimir Ussachevsky - Concerted Piece for Tape Recorder and Orchestra {8:20}

2. Vladimir Ussachevsky - Of Wood and Brass {4:15}

3. Vladimir Ussachevsky - Wireless Fantasy {4:23}

Side 2

1. Mel Powell - Events for Tape Recorder {6:34}

2. Mel Powell - Improvisation {5:54}

3. Mel Powell - Second Electronic Setting {4:33}

4. Mel Powell - Two Prayer Settings {4:43}

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Sounds of Alaska Volume 1

Frank Brink - Sounds of Alaska Volume 1

LP released sometime during the early 1960s

Frank Brink - narrator and producer

"SOUNDS OF ALASKA" was designed to present meaningful and outstanding impressions of Alaska. The selection of these impressions was based on their appeal to Alaskans as well as to the many visitors who might never be able to stay in Alaska long enough to know the sources from which "Sounds of Alaska" were derived.

This recording does not attempt to present a comprehensive picture, nor even the most important aspects of life in Alaska. It is not a historical account, nor does it attempt to follow a geographical, or historical pattern.

It does, however, attempt to preserve some of the feeling of old Alaska before radio, TV, and modern transportation, a feeling which is alive now only in the memories of the old timers.

It introduces to new Alaskans authentic impressions of the character of some of the people known and unknown who have either made a significant contribution to the growth of Alaska, or who have made life more colorful during their moment in the "great land".

RECORDING THE SOUNDS

All the "Sounds of Alaska" with few exceptions were recorded by the producer during more than fourteen years of travels and expeditions throughout the Territory. Nine different recorders were used. Some were powered by 125 pound gasoline generators. Others were powered by six volt wet batteries and converters. The equipment was called "portable" only because it could be moved by sheer determination. This was before the modern light weight equipment had been developed. Most of the equipment had to be carried by pack board. A.C. current frequency fluctuated constantly with the gas powered generators, and recording frequency changed every time the recorders, batteries, or converters got cold. And, since nearly half of the material was recorded during winter months, the equipment was either cold or frozen solid much of the time. Once in Kotzebue a frozen recorder shared the warmth from a bush plane nose heater. The recorders have traveled approximately 11,000 miles in airplanes and dog sleds along with reindeer meat and shee fish.

Much of the recording was done candidly in order to preserve complete naturalness even at the sacrifice of a certain amount of quality. In some cases it was impossible to keep the microphone away from generators, converters, curious uninhibited children and other natural phenomena. Consequently the listener is invited to enjoy the additional flavor they provide.

In the final phases of editing, the Don Gretzer residence became a recording studio. A bedroom was used as a control room. The living room, kitchen, and bathroom were used as narration studios. The furnace, refrigerator, and florescent lights had to be shut off to reduce background noise. Narration was repeated many times because of interrupting airplanes, automobiles, and unwitting callers. (from the liner notes)


Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. George Ahgupuk Introduces Sounds of Alaska {5:35}

2. Fairbanks, Gold Town, Big City {2:08}

3. Nome, the Gold Rush City {2:36}

4. Alaskan Dog Mushers {3:37}

5. The Legendary Alaskan Bush Pilots {7:54}

Side 2

1. Kotzebue Eskimos {3:31}

2. The Seal Islands-The Pribilofs {3:26}

3. The Breakup of Lake George {2:58}

4. Anaktuvik Eskimos {3:50}

5. Fort Yukon-Athabascan Indians {4:46}

6. Climbing Mt. McKinley {2:45}

7. Juneau, Capitol of Alaska {2:58}

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Rain Forest

Actual Sounds of Nature: Rain Forest

cassette released in 1988

This is posted a day early in the nature/environmental sounds series that are usually posted on Sundays. Severe weather is expected in my area and there is a possibility of a power outage occurring.

This cassette is a part of The Art of Relaxation series which includes environmental/nature sounds as well as soft/mellow/new age music.

From the liner notes:

Under its lofty verdant canopy the tropical rain forest is alive with the sounds of an exotic world. Toucans, macaws and parrots squawk and whistle. Monkey's [sic] chatter in the treetops. The air is alive with the whirr of insects. And a warm rain falls, dripping from leaf to leaf until it splashes on the forest floor. It is such a realistic recording that you may find yourself forgetting where you are and reaching out to touch the trees. Whether you lose yourself in this rain forest for minutes or for hours, you will emerge to a clear and untroubled world.

Art of Relaxation actual sounds of nature are based on the psychology of sound. Whether played quietly in the background or at higher volume to fill the room, they are thoroughly convincing and extremely effective. Hundreds of thousands of people have used these tapes to help them relax, meditate and concentrate. They have been used to alleviate insomnia, to enhance love-making, and to create a mood in which reading, studying or working are greatly facilitated.

Tracklisting:

1. Actual Sounds of Nature: Rain Forest {29:35}

Note: both sides of the cassette are the same

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Spielereien: The Baroque Organist's Playthings

Franz Haselbock - Spielereien: The Baroque Organist's Playthings

performed on Gabler Organ at Basilica of Weingarten

Collection of organ pieces from the Baroque period (approximately from 1600 to 1750) emphasizing accompaniment by devices such as a Zimbelstern, Glockenspiel, Tremulant, organ stops that imitate calls of the cuckoo and nightingale and more.

Zimbelstern - The Zimbelstern is a musical instrument which rings small bells at random as an accompaniment to organ music. The Zimbelstern (also called Cymbalstern) has been used for centuries in devotional music.

The word Zimbelstern means "cymbal-star". In fact, the original Zimbelsterns were made in the shape of a star with small bells at each point. The star was turned, either manually or pneumatically, and the bells were struck by stationary clappers mounted around the star. Modern Zimbelsterns are electrically operated. The bells do not rotate. Instead, a rotating device in the center strikes the bells.

On organs of the Baroque period (1550 to 1750), Zimbelstern was also a mixture stop. This would cause the organ to "break back", or repeat every octave. The higher harmonics produced in this way sounded like small bells. (from The History of the Zimbelstern)

Glockenspiel - A percussion stop whose tone resembles the orchestral glockenspiel. It is formed of dish-shaped bells, spiral rods, bars, or tubes made from steel, copper or bronze, and struck by hammers actuated by a pneumatic or electric mechanism. It is usually of short compass. Skinner gives it resonators, and considers it synonymous with the Celesta, and with the Harp, but pitched an octave higher. Grove dates it from around 1720, in Swabia, Silesia and Saxony, but the earliest known example dates from 1709 (see below). According to Maclean, on theatre organs the Glockenspiel sounds a single stroke each time a key is pressed, and Bells is the same stop with a reiterating action. (from Encyclopedia of Organ Stops)

Tremulant - A device on a pipe organ which varies the wind supply to the pipes of one or more divisions (or, in some cases, the whole organ). This causes their pitch to fluctuate, producing a vibrato effect. A large organ may have several tremulants, affecting different ranks (sets) of pipes. Many tremulants are variable, allowing for the speed and depth of tremolo to be controlled by the organist. The tremulant has been a part of organ building for many centuries, dating back to Italian organs of the sixteenth century. (from Wikipedia)

Nightingale - A stop which imitates the warbling of birds. Most sources describe the construction of these stops as consisting of two or more small metal pipes whose ends are immersed in a vessel of water or light oil. [Peter] Williams, however, writes:

"The usual distinction is between small pipes twittering when the stop-knob admits wind to their miniature chest (Uccelli, Vogelgesang), stopped pipes a third apart and successively blown, thereby creating a cuckoo (Kuckuck), and small open pipes suspended in a metal dish of water, the pipes and dish of one construction (Nachtigall, Rossignol, Usignuolo - ‘nightingale’)."

He also states the the Vogelgesang might be “a very high Zimbel or Flageolet (Adlung), repeating or only slightly varying in pitch from note to note”. Grove dates these stops from at least 1450. According to Williams, they were found mainly in the 16th and 17th centuries throughout Europe, and as late as the mid-19th century in some parts of Spain, Italy and southern Germany. (from Encyclopedia of Organ Stops)

Cuckoo - A “toy” stop which imitates the call of the cuckoo bird using two pipes pitched a major or minor third apart and blown successively. It was, according to Williams, found mainly in the 16th and 17th centuries throughout Europe, and as late as the mid-19th century in some parts of Spain, Italy and southern Germany. (from Encyclopedia of Organ Stops)

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Capriccio, "Cuckoo" {3:52}
composed by Johann Kaspar Kerll; uses Cuckoo and Nightingale

2. Carillon {1:44}
composed by Louis Couperin; uses Big Glockenspiel

3. "In dulci jubilo," Chorale prelude, BWV 751 {1:41}
composed by Johann Sebastian Bach; uses Zimbelstern

4. Echo {2:07}
composed by Gerardus Scronx

5. "Lasst unns das Kindelein wiegen," per imitationem Cuculi {5:31}
composed by Franz Xaver Murschhauser; uses Zimbelstern, Cuckoo and Nightingale

6. "Chanton de voix Hautaine," Noel {5:30}
composed by Jean Francois Dandrieu; uses Zimbelstern

Side 2

1. Les Cloches {2:22}
composed by Nicolas Lebegue; uses Big and Little Glockenspiel

2. Ballo della Battaglia {2:54}
composed by Bernardo Storace; uses Drum

3. Echo ad manuale duplex, forte et lene {4:32}
composed by Samuel Scheidt

4. Three Pieces of the Glockenspiel in Salzburg {1:20}
composed by Michael Haydn

5. Pastorale {2:56}
composed by Giambattista Martini; uses Tremulant and Nightingale

6. Nova Cyclopeias Harmonica/Aria-Ad alleorum ictus allusio {6:02}
composed by Georg Muffat; uses Zimbelstern and Little Glockenspiel

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Coptic Light [REPOST]

Morton Feldman - Coptic Light

Performers:

New World Symphony Orchestra; Michael Tilson Thomas - artistic director
Alan Feinberg - piano [Piano and Orchestra]
Robert Cohen - cello [Cello and Orchestra]

Recording location: Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Recording dates: January 9 and 10, 1995

For a composer to be recognised and to win some kind of following, he [or she] needs to create an identity. Sometimes that comes about by association, and Feldman was first known, in the 1950s, by association with John Cage, Earle Brown and Christian Wolff. They were not very alike as composers, but they did share an interest in allowing aspects of their work to be indeterminate. Feldman said he did not wish to organise anything. Like many of his statements, it's a flash of insight which shouldn't be applied too rigorously; even so, throughout his life, Feldman remained an intuitive composer who was unimpressed by systems or mathematical games.
He was, above all, an aesthete, with strong, inspirational friendships among New York painters like Philip Guston and Mark Rothko. The new painting made Feldman was a more direct, immediate and physical sound-world than already existed. But he wanted it to be anonymous. Even a pioneer 'liberator of sound', Edgard Varese, whom Feldman greatly admired, was for him too personal, too 'Varese". Speaking about one of his own early graph pieces, Projection No. 2, Feldman said his idea was not to 'compose', but to project sounds into time, free from compositional rhetoric.
Feldman is far from being the first composer whose avowed aim is agreeably contradicted by his work. Far from being anonymous, his music is readily recognised, and it became more so as Feldman grew older. For him, the impetus of a composition was in its vertical quality, and in that sense, its lack of impetus. He even wrote a series of pieces in 1963 called Vertical Thoughts. Feldman's titles reveal a good deal about his musical aims. Many of them are like the functional-sounding descriptions often given to still-life paintings, listing or abbreviating the 'objects', or in Feldman's case, the instruments, as in Cello and Orchestra and Piano and Orchestra. Hearing Feldman talk about his ideas on one occasion, Earle Brown protested that there was surely more to composition than choosing the instruments, to which Feldman answered: 'Not for me'. He later retracted that rather hasty retort. Yet one knows what he meant: for each of his pieces is an exploration - or perhaps a contemplation - of the colouristic possibilities in a particular combination, similar in selective concentration to the immense, throbbing patches of paint that hover on a Rothko canvas, which are not only non-figurative, but without any signs or graphic gestures at all.
Like most generalisations, these observations need qualifying. In 1970 Feldman wrote a series of three pieces called The Viola in My Life, featuring that instrument and inspired by the playing and friendship of Karen Phillips. Two of these introduced a modest melodic element - more apparent than in Cello and Orchestra. Then, in the early 1980s, in immensely long works like Triadic Memories for solo piano, and the Second String Quartet, Feldman extended himself on a vast scale with short, repeated modules or groups of notes, meticulously notated to avoid any sense of a regular beat, suspended or placed with fastidious care, and almost Debussian in their delicate sonorous hues.
Feldman liked his sounds to be without apparent source, which meant, very often, without 'attack'. The impossibility for musicians to achieve what he wanted was the very thing that held his interest. Cello and Orchestra is typical in being 'extremely quiet' (the marking at the top of the score). The cautious, stepwise and virtually rhythmless motion of the solo part is occasionally relieved by pizzicato, and the patches of orchestral colour against which it is set are momentarily broken by semitional oscillations on two trumpets, marked quintuple piano, without mutes!
Piano and Orchestra, again marked 'extremely quiet' and also 'without the feeling of a beat', is more varied in its manner of creating sonorities - for in Feldman's music it's not really appropriate to talk of harmony or rhythm, even though what we hear together, and when we hear it, are crucial. The proof of both being answerable to the composer's judgement lies in the lack of monotony and the sense of organic renewal. Our ears are constantly refreshed. Basically, the sounds occur like tolling bells, though towards the end, a trio of oboes sustains a tangle of conflicting semitones for several seconds. The pianist has to encompass enormous stretches and must balance the widely spaced notes exactly and without spreading them. As if this unobtrusive and almost inaudible virtuosity weren't sufficiently self-denying, he is echoed by an orchestral pianist sharing much of the same material, so it's impossible to tell one from the other without a score. By way of surprise, this is one of Feldman's very rare pieces to include one or two outbursts of triple forte.
The title of Coptic Light requires some explanation. Feldman was a connoisseur of oriental carpets, and here the reference is to early Coptic textiles which he saw in the Louvre. Feldman's own comments are rather cryptic: 'What struck me about these fragments of coloured cloth was how they conveyed an essential atmosphere of their civilisation. I asked myself what aspects of music since Monteverdi might determine its atmosphere if heard two thousand years from now'. Certainly, the New York Philharmonic, for whom Coptic Light was written, can never have had a less showy vehicle. Yet the effect of these constantly reassembled, rearranged sounds, like quiet breathing or lapping water, is magical. Feldman used to compose at the piano, and he liked to recall what Sibelius once said about about the orchestra, which was that unlike the piano, it had no pedal. He said that in Coptic Light he had tried to create an orchestral pedal, continually varying in nuance; and we can imagine him, seated like Gulliver over some hundred-odd Lilliputian musicians, planting his huge hands very gently over their instruments, listening as he levered his right foot up and down, letting some sounds go while others yet linger. (Adrian Jack)
Tracklisting:

1. Piano and Orchestra {22:49}

2. Cello and Orchestra {21:05}

3. Coptic Light {29:42}

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Sailboat Journey

Sailboat Journey

cassette released in 1988

Listen to the sounds of sailing, feel the peaceful swaying relaxation of the water gently tapping against the sailboat on your journey to wherever your imagination takes you. Great stress reliever! (from the cover)

Tracklisting:

1. Sailboat Journey {30:49}

Note: both sides of the cassette are the same

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Second Piano Sonata

Charles Ives - Second Piano Sonata: 'Concord, Mass., 1840-1860'

George Pappastavrou - piano
Bonnie Lichter - flute

Each movement of the Second Piano Sonata bears one of the names that made the village of Concord, Massachusetts famous during the mid-nineteenth century. The first, "Emerson," is a substantial sonata-form movement; the second, "The Alcotts" is simple and religious. The third movement bears the name "Hawthorne" - it is a fantastic scherzo; and the last, "Thoreau," is a kind of mystic reflection on man's identification of himself with nature.

The Sonata is built on two motifs. One, epic in nature, consists of three repeated notes and a drop of a third to the fourth note - in other words, it is the opening motif of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. The second motif is lyrical and moves mostly in conjunct motion. There is usually some interweaving of the two, whenever they appear.

Ives names the contrasting sections of the "Emerson" movement, prose and verse. In addition to an initial theme, a statement of form and idea opens the work, in the sense that all the musical means (melodic line, polyphony, rhythm and harmonic implications - atonal to tonal) are applied to the materials in such a way as to make obvious the concept of diversity drawing toward unity as its culmination.

Both motifs appear freely in both sections. Almost every conceivable type of variation is applied to the epic motif. Often several of these developments appear, polyphonically, in contrasting time values, usually with elements from the other motif mixed in at the same time. The rhythmic and thematic development does not proceed from the simple to the complex, but the reverse.

"The Alcotts" presents a wholehearted simplicity. The movement opens with the epic motif in lyric form, simply harmonized, with all the parts in one key. The rhythm is as uninvolved as a hymn. Indeed, the spirit of this movement derives from the contained religion of the family church, and the domestic music of daughters playing the piano in the parlor.

The "Hawthorne" movement opens with light, rapid sixteenth and thirty-second notes, and darting melodic leaps spaced widely apart; followed by a section with pre-jazz syncopation against rippling broken chords. One page later occurs the cause of great hilarity and bafflement at Ives' expense during the 'twenties: a piece of wood to hold down the piano keys (black and white) for a range of two octaves and a second. Their resentment kept the audience deaf to the resultant fine tone.

The middle section has frequent changes of pace, i.e., short sections which each introduce new aspects of the fundamental theme. There is a return to the very fast tempo of the beginning, rising to a fortissimo, and finally landing unexpectedly on the "Beethoven motif."

The two large movements ("Emerson" and "Hawthorne") are continuously active: many polyphonic strands, complex chords and polychords, and rhythmical irregularities. There are only momentary suggestions of an underlying key.

The final movement, while very slow in tempo, is subject to sudden darting runs. Contemplative in mood, its inner calm denies the seemingly capricious lack of order with which materials from other movements are introduced.

The apparent clash leads with powerful drive toward the denouement, in which the Sonata's epic and lyric themes are blended in one long melody. To voice this melody Ives unexpectedly calls for a flute, although there has been no hint until now that this is anything but a piano sonata.

At the final cadence the epic motif appears over the tonic and dominant triads. This is the culmination of the whole work - a quiet conclusion on identical pitch, which refuses to rise or fall but is complete where it stands - yet one senses that the ending is not final and that the music will continue to grow in the imagination. (from the liner notes)

Note: The LP copy sequenced the movements by putting "Emerson" and "The Alcotts" on side 1 and "Hawthorne" and "Thoreau" on side 2. Ives published the movements in this order: "Emerson", "Hawthorne", "The Alcotts", and "Thoreau". The first two movements were too long to fit onto one side of a record which is why the sequencing is different. The sequencing of the tracks in this post are in the order that Ives intended instead of the order on the LP.
Tracklisting:

1. Emerson {16:03}

2. Hawthorne {12:11}

3. The Alcotts {5:46}

4. Thoreau {11:49}

(1) or (1) (2) or (2) [links coming back soon, (1/22/2012)]

Piano Sonata No. 1

Charles Ives - Piano Sonata No. 1

William Masselos - piano

The main portions of Ives' First Piano Sonata were composed in 1902. The work was originally in seven movements, but only five survived the composer's casual way with a manuscript - he usually consigned his manuscripts to whatever closet or drawer was most convenient in his Redding, Connecticut, home and even stored some of his works in the barn.
The composer described his Sonata No. 1 as follows: "One movement is partly from an organ piece played in an organ recital in Center Church, New Haven, in 1897. The Sonata is in a way a kind of impression, remembrance and reflection of the country life in some of the Connecticut villages in the 1880's and 1890's.
"One of the Allegros tries to picture the excited fun a father has when his son hit [sic] a home run which won the school baseball game, and there is at times the poignant sadness of a mother after her boy left the village to take a job in a neighboring city, and she hums 'Where Is My Wandering Boy?'
"In one of the Allegros is a take-off of the farmers' Barn Dance, with its jigs, foot jumps and reels, which they all enjoyed on a winter's night in the rockstrewn hills.
"Throughout, some of the old Hymn Tunes, folk songs and Town Band Quick-steps are suggested, and also the general feeling and fervor of those bygone days when many oldtimers often liked to think things out for themselves and to do them in their own way." (from the liner notes)

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Piano Sonata No. 1: Adagio con moto {7:18}

2. Piano Sonata No. 1: Allegro moderato {4:58}

3. Piano Sonata No. 1: Largo; Allegro {6:48}

Side 2

1. Piano Sonata No. 1: Allegro {3:25}

2. Piano Sonata No. 1: Andante maestoso {9:19}

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Ragas of Meditation and Happiness

Vasant Rai and Alla Rakha - ...Play Ragas of Meditation and Happiness

LP released in 1975

Vasant Rai - sarod
Alla Rakha - tablas
Kokila Rai - tamboura

Produced by Jim Richmond, Gerry Halpern, and Vasant Rai

Raga is derived from the Sanskrit word ranga, meaning color or tinge, and is the basic element of classical Indian composition. It consists of a number of tones or notes called swaras, and has a specific form, structure, and sequence. The swaras are indicated by the syllables sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni, sa. All ragas have a minimum of five notes. They are classified by the number of notes in their ascending scale (aroha) and descending scale (avaroha). The character of each raga is also determined by the sequence of notes and the emphasis placed on certain dominant roles. The dominant note in a raga is called vadi swara; the second most important note is the samvadi swara.
Every raga has its poetic and visual image, including color, form, and emotional mood. In fact, many ragas and raginis have been favorite subjects of Moghul and Rajput miniature painters. Specific ragas are performed at different times, day or night, and for a particular season or occasion.
A unique quality of classical Indian music is the improvisation of the raga within a basic structure. Using this structure, the musician develops the raga and expresses his own interpretation of the melody. He tries to capture the mood of the raga, i.e. joy, pathos, love, loneliness, tranquility, etc. The skill, imagination and virtuosity of the individual artist is revealed in the way he develops the nuances, grace notes, and embellishments of the raga. It is the elusive quality of these grace notes and microtones which makes it difficult to notate Indian music. Since ancient times, music has been handed down from master to pupil and father to son; it remains even today an oral tradition.
...
Bhairav is one of the six major ragas. This raga should be performed during the early morning between dawn and sunrise. It has a serene, meditative feeling. It pictures Lord Siva (one of the three aspects of God), covered with ashes, adorned with a serpent, a crescent, and a necklace of skulls.
...
Kafi, a light joyous raga of the spring season, is played during the late afternoon, evening, and night. In this raga, Lord Krishna and the gopis (milkmaids), in a playful mood, celebrate the Holi Festival (Spring Festival).
...
Misra Pahadi is a light and joyful folk tune from the mountain area of Himachal Pradesh. It is classified as dhun, meaning a light melody in which the artist improvises on different ragas and folk tunes. A dhun is not bound by the strict rules of the classical raga. (Y. G. Srimati)

Tracklisting:

Side One

1. Raga Bhairav {19:25}

Side Two

1. Raga Kafi {10:46}

2. Raga Misra Pahadi {9:31}

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Solitudes Volume Five

Dan Gibson - Solitudes Volume Five

cassette released in 1982

"Dawn on the Desert" presents a most vivid recording of daybreak. The merciless sun and endless, parched sand dunes are absent in this morning mood. Saguaro cactuses radiate their roots wide and far, giving residence to the Gila Woodpecker and Cactus Wren. Coyotes cry and the cooling early wind moans - the desert has a peace all its own. (from the liner notes)

Other species featured: Curve-billed Thrasher, Horned Owl, White-winged Dove, Verdin, Mourning Dove, Gambal's Quail, Common Flicker (Gilded), Cardinal

"Among the Mountain Canyons and Valleys" is a magnificent transcendental setting. Streams glide along valley floors only to vanish at desert's edge. Whip-poor-wills and Whiskered Owls venture throughout. In the distance, the torching sun and sand threatens, only to be suppressed by the welcomed and cherished thunderstorm. (from the liner notes)

Other species featured: Summer Tanager, Cassins Kingbird, Gila Woodpecker, Yellow Warbler, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Black-throated Sparrow, Mockingbird, Plain Titmouse, Acorn Woodpecker, Scott's Oriole, Canyon Wren, Elegant Tregon, Gray-breasted Jays (Mexican)

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Dawn on the Desert {29:27}

Side 2

1. Among the Mountain Canyons and Valleys {29:09}

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HPSCHD/String Quartet No. 2

John Cage and Lejaren Hiller/Ben Johnston - HPSCHD/String Quartet No. 2

LP released in 1969 or 1970

HPSCHD (1967-1969) for harpsichords & computer-generated sound tapes

composed by John Cage & Lejaren Hiller

performers:

Antoinette Vischer - Neupert Bach-model harpsichord (Solo II)
Neely Bruce - Hubbard double harpsichord with 17% Eltro time compression (Solo VI)
David Tudor - Baldwin solid-body electronic harpsichord (Solo I)

This recording of HPSCHD was made possible through use of facilities of the Experimental Music Studio and the Department of Computer Science of the University of Illinois, Urbana.

The esthetic is what we think in the presence of the object. The artist's means are not esthetic but his thinking on them is; his esthetic thought prevails over the means to make a work of art. The rules of fugue or sonata form prophesy no esthetic consequence, except by the thought and doing of the artist.
The sound object HPSCHD - "harpsichord" reduced to the computer's 6-letter-word limit becomes HPSCHD - may be the most elaborately defined sound composite so far achieved by deliberate formal composition. All "chance" factors occur within limits closely or widely permitted by the makers. Each part includes ideas from both composers; together they shaped it. Their thought, the object, and our thinking responses, in whatever relationship we hear it, decide our reaction to this work as a work of art.
HPSCHD consists of 51 electronic sound tapes and 7 solo compositions for harpsichord. Writing in the avant-garde music magazine Source, Cage explains that the piece can exist as "a performance of one to seven live harpsichords and one to fifty-one tapes." The present record is a composition including 3 "live" solos across a composite of the 51 tapes.
The source work, Introduction to the Composition of Waltzes by Means of Dice, is attributed to Mozart (K. ANH. C 30.01). For each measure of a 32-measure "empty" form (four 8-measure sections) the composer provides 11 alternative "composed" measures, the choice made by throw of dice. Measure 8 is always the same. With each section repeated the final form is 64 measures (AABBAABB), lasting onem inute. This Dice Game repeated 20 times is Solo II. Using now a computer-derived numerical system borrowed from the digital principle of I-ching (an ancient Chinese oracular or wisdom book), assemble another 64 measures of the same pattern, until another 20 successive assemblages fill 20 minutes. Solos III-VI each start with one realization of the Dice Game, progressively replacing the original choice of measures by: Solo III, passages from Mozart piano sonatas, treble and bass together as written; Solo IV, the same, treble and bass dissociated; Solos V & VI, associated and dissociated bass and treble measures from keyboard works by Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Gottschalk, Busoni, Schoenberg, Cage, and Hiller. Solo I is computer-written in 12-tone equal temperament on the same formulae which are used for the 51 sound tapes. Solo VII is anything of Mozart's chosen by the soloist, played as he wishes.
The 51 sound tapes contain music in equal-tempered scales of, successively, 5 to 56 tones in the octave, each tone deviating over a field of 129 (the half-interval up or down divided by 64 or the equal-tempered tone). Each tape is composed according to a series of programs: e.g., from simple repetitive tones and silences across a field to non-repetitive tones and complexly varies spaces. The patterns are overlaid and continually change, the more redundant being more clearly differentiated, the effect rather like individual trees merging into a forest. Other computer-formalized programs, for note sequence, time (in units), successive events, melodic "goals" (without cadence) and types (diatonic, chromatic, chordal arpeggiation), volume, and dynamics, are similarly intermixed. (Peter Yates)

String Quartet No. 2 (1964)

composed by Ben Johnston

performers:

The Composers Quartet: Matthew Raimondi - violin, Anahid Ajemian - violin, Bernard Zaslov - viola, Seymour Barab - cello

HPSCHD and the Second Quartet of Ben Johnston embody two extremes of esthetic experience. The multiple routines and subroutines of HPSCHD, although resulting from personal choices by the two collaborators, are in effect as impersonal as statistics or the Golden Section. The decisions concerning the intonational and melodic relationships of the Quartet are as personal as a fine handwriting - in many cultures as highly esteemed as any work of art. Neither work is "classic" or "romantic." Each is as free of the conventional indices for analysis as of the customary signals for emotion - the esthetic equivalent of an experiment in pure research. Except the harpsichord solos, the sound medium of each work is composed in an intonation (system or scale of pitches) differing from the 12-note equal temperament of the piano. The macrotonal scales (5 to 11 pitches in the octave) and the microtonal scales (13 to 56 pitches in the octave) of HPSCHD are microtonally varied systems of equal division of the octave, without close relationship to the tones and intervals of the overtone series. They are disparate points of sound lacking acoustical coordination and rich overtone sonority. The melodic scales of Johnston's Quartet are unequal interval systems in just intonation: directly related in some degree to the overtone series and therefore proportionately the more sonorous. The musicians perform these unusual pitch and interval systems with extreme accuracy. If the tones sound "wrong" by our habituated hearing, we must accept the fact that they are "right."
Cage and Hiller made their esthetic decisions by means of computer. Ben Johnston's decisions follow a contrary esthetic philosophy, explained in his paper Three Attacks on a Problem: "What can be grasped with equal alacrity by ear, by mathematics, and by intuitive feeling is the best material for art. And this intelligibility is not a mere matter of conditioning: some relations are naturally more easily understood than others.
"In tacitly accepting as an arbitrary 'given' the 12-tone equal-tempered scale, Schoenberg committed music to the task of exhausting the remaining possibilities in a closed pitch system. Many composers, tired of tonal cliches, have either abandoned pitch or, more accurately, have organized it as if it were noise. [Noise can be defined as the totally random mingling of sounds.] "The use of harmonic intervals tuned 'just' (by eliminating the roughness of beats) provides a better point of departure than any tempered equivalents. To make a just intonation pitch system, you select a small number of generative intervals which you can tune precisely, by ear. The unison, the octave, the perfect fifth and perfect major third will suffice. "I wanted to write a piece in which the players would need to take much greater care than usual in locating the pitches. Each would be dependent upon making precisely the right interval with some other player's note. There are three distinct kinds of interval texture in this quartet." (Peter Yates)

Tracklisting:

Side One

1. John Cage and Lejaren Hiller - HPSCHD {20:50}

Side Two

1. Ben Johnston - String Quartet No. 2: Light and quick {2:42}

2. Ben Johnston - String Quartet No. 2: Intimate, spacious {5:19}

3. Ben Johnston - String Quartet No. 2: Extremely minute and intense {6:35}

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Subotnick/Grantham split release

Morton Subotnick/Donald Grantham - American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Composers Award

LP released in 1983

Parallel Lines recorded by Stephen Bradley, Baird Hall, SUNY at Buffalo, November 1979

Seven Choral settings recorded by Dorothy Ann Leiser and Bobby Roberts, Austin, Texas, April 1982

La Noche recorded by Dorothy Ann Leiser and Bobby Roberts, Austin, Texas, May 1982

MORTON SUBOTNICK
PARALLEL LINES
Laurence Trott, piccolo soloist; members of the Buffalo Creative
Associates; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor

PARALLEL LINES is one of Subotnick's "ghost" pieces for live soloist and electronics. The ghost series is a unique method of blending electronics with live performances so that the effect of the electronics is not audible unless the performer is making a sound. The electronic ghost score is a digital control system which activates an amplifier, a frequency shifter, and a location device. These process the instrumental sound according to the plan of each composition. The ghost electronics were made possible by a Creative Arts grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, and were designed by Donald Buchla to the composer's specifications and constructed by John Payne at the California Institute of the Arts.
Other ghost pieces include "Last Dream of the Beast" for singer and tape, "Liquid Strata" for piano, "The Wild Beasts" for trombone and piano, "Passages of the Beast" for clarinet, and "Two Life Histories" for male voice and clarinet. The composer writes:
"PARALLEL LINES was commissioned by Laurence trott and the Piccolo Society. The title has to do with the way in which the 'ghost' electronics interact with the piccolo. In previous 'ghost' pieces the electronics were used to produce an acoustic environment within which the solo manifested itself, but in this case the 'ghost' score is a parallel composition to the piccolo solo. The ghost score amplifies and shifts the frequency of the original non-amplified piccolo sound. The two ('ghost' and original piccolo sounds), like a pair of parallel lines, can never touch, no matter how quickly or intricately they move.
"The work, a continuation of the butterfly-beast series, is divided into three large sections: (1) a perpetual-motion-like movement in which all parts play an equal role; (2) more visceral music, starting with the piccolo alone and leading to a pulsating 'crying out,' and (3) a return to the perpetual motion activity, but sweeter." (from the liner notes)

DONALD GRANTHAM
SEVEN CHORAL SETTINGS OF POEMS BY EMILY DICKINSON
University of Texas Chamber Singers; Morris J. Beachy, conductor

1. Without A Smile -- Without A Throe
2. For Each Ecstatic Moment
3. A Spider Sewed At Night
4. One Need Not Be A Chamber To Be Haunted
5. The Spider As An Artist
6. Father, I Bring Thee Not Myself
7. This Is My Letter To The World

LE NOCHE EN LA ISLA
William Rhodes, baritone vocals; Wayne Barrington, French horn; David Garvey, piano

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Morton Subotnick - Parallel Lines {15:37}

Side 2

1. Donald Grantham - Seven Choral Settings of Poems by Emily Dickinson {10:21}

2. Donald Grantham - La Noche en la Isla {9:14}

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Dust Theories

Kim Cascone - Dust Theories

CD released in 2001

Kim Cascone created ambient-techno soundscapes in the early 1990s then turned to creating abstract microsound glitch soundscapes in the 2000s. Cascone created the pieces on Dust Theories (released in 2001) with Max/MSP, Pluggo VST plug-ins and Soundhack. The remixes (tracks 4 & 5) also were made with Max/MSP patches and other software.

Background of Cascone using the liner notes as a reference:

Kim Casone received an education in electronic music in the 1970s at the Berklee College of Music, New School in New York City. In the 1980s, he moved to the west coast to become an audio technician and had a job as Assistant Music Editor with David Lynch for Twin Peaks and Wild at Heart. He founded the electronic music label, Silent Records. In the 1990s, Cascone no longer worked on film projects. He shifted his focus on producing and releasing music on Silent Records. In the late 1990s, he did sound design for Thomas Dolby's company Headspace and also had a job as content director for Staccato Systems.
He has worked and performed with Keith Rowe, Peter Rehberg, Oval, Scanner, Carsten Nicolai, Doug Aitken and David Toop among others.
He has performed at the International Computer Music Conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan, New Forms Series in Leipzig, Lovebytes festival in the UK, Micro 2 Mutek in Montreal, Transmissions Festival in North Carolina, Pukkelpop in Belgium, Tate Modern in London among other places.
He has given lectures on post-digital music at Tate Modern, Mediamatic (Amsterdam), Museum of Contemporary Art (Denver, Colorado) and Refrains (Vancouver).
He has co-founded the microsound list and written for Computer Music Journal and Artbyte.

Tracklisting:

1. Dust Theories 1 {20:45}

2. Dust Theories 2 {19:19}

3. Edgeboundaries123 {6:26}

4. Edgeboundaries123 (ben.sampl~ mix by Ben Nevile) {4:38}

5. ResidueBondage (DJ4'33" anagram mix by DJ4'33") {10:02}

(1) or (1) (2) or (2) [links coming back soon, (1/22/2012)]

Sounds of the 20th Century No. 1

Jack Dangers - Sounds of the 20th Century No. 1

released in 2000 on 9" flexidisc

This was sent to me by an acquaintance.

From 2000 to 2001, Jack Dangers, the man behind one of my favorite bands Meat Beat Manifesto, released a few flexidisc records containing experimental tape/musique concrete music including this record. He created this music in a studio he named Tapelab which you can visit to see and hear some of the gear used and check out a few tracks. He also released more of this music on the 2004 2CD set Loudness Clarifies/Electronic Music from Tapelab which is culled from 10 years of recordings.

I am still waiting to hear back if I am receiving rips of the other flexidisc records.

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Peristaltic Wave {4:12}

Side 2

1. My Shorty {6:55}

(1) or (1) [links coming back soon, (1/22/2012)]