Didgeri Dudes - Under the Earth Tones
released in 1997
Under the Earth Tones is the second album of experimental didgeridoo music by Jamie Cunningham and Brian Pertl, a.k.a. the Didgeri Dudes. The didgeridoo is an ancient Australian Aboriginal wind instrument that is capable of producing a wide variety of sounds utilizing combinations of pursed tones, harmonic manipulation, vocalizations, and circular breathing techniques. Using a sonic palette of traditional and modern didgeridoos made from wood, bamboo, plastic pipe, and cactus, the Didgeri Dudes and special guest Stuart Dempster paint ambient textures on the canvas of an abandoned two-million gallon underground water cistern at Fort Worden, near Port Townsend, Washington. This huge circular subterranean chamber boasts an extremely long reverberation of well over a minute requiring the musicians therein to play the acoustic space as an instrument. The recording was made during a marathon fourteen-hour session in the dank darkness of the cistern, illuminated only by the light that filtered through the small roof-top entrance. The effect of being totally immersed in pure sound for an extended period left the performers emotionally charged and euphoric at day's end. To recreate the dynamic and meditative ambiance of this incredible space, we recommend a quiet listening environment and high-quality speakers or headphones. No overdubbing, electronic effects, nor artificial reverberation was used in this stereo mix from the live four-channel digital recording. (from the liner notes)
Tracklisting:
1. Magma {9:32}
2. Land of Snows {14:52}
3. Cosmic Frogs {7:56}
4. Orion Nebula {19:56}
5. Shudder {9:31}
6. Final Peace {8:19}
(1)
The Dan people - Ivory Coast: Dan Masks
music recorded from 1965-1967; released in 1992
Technically speaking, a person wearing a mask acquires beneath this disguise another personality. According to Black African religious belief, the wearer of the mask abandons his human personality to incarnate a supernatural being, most often an ancestral spirit, a mythical figure or a bush spirit. This metamorphosis occurs, from the technical point of view, in three ways: in outward appearance (costume, facial mask), behaviour (gestures, dance movements) and in the voice.
While African masks, above all the face mask, are readily identified worldwide thanks to museum collections and books on African art, their distinctive voices are much less well-known. The voice is, nevertheless, essential to mask performances. Although it is true that there are masks without a voice, there are others which exist exclusively through their sound without any visual disguise.
The Dan people, with their great variety of masks, live in the mountainous West of the Ivory Coast and, and over the border, in the Liberian outback. The greatest part of modern-day Dan country lies in an Atlantic forest zone which, in the mountainous Northern region, gives way to Sudanese savanna. The Dan are great cultivators of dry rice, manioc and, nowadays, of coffee; they also breed small animals and cattle. On the Ivory Coast, where their official name is the Yacuba, the Dan numbered approximately 250,000 in the sixties; in Liberia where their official name is Gio their number was estimated at roughly 100,000. "Dan" is the name of their language (themselves they call "people who speak Dan"), and it is under this name that they have become renowned for their plastic arts, especially their beautiful masks in sculpted wood.
These facial masks are called geego, "head mask", the more general name gee (glo in the South-Western part) designating the whole character. The gee, supposed to come from the bush, are supernatural beings endowed with special powers. Although everyone knows it is the village men who incarnate these gee (in principle the women are supposed to ignore this, but are well aware - in fact they even have their own masks) this in no way diminishes their supernatural power: sacrifices are made to them, blessing is implored of them and they are obeyed. A want of respect for masks is a serious offence, in the past severely punished, to one's society and religion.
Masks have their own hierarchy - some have a strong supernatural power and only appear two or three times in a lifetime. Others are just for public entertainment and brought out at any number of festivities. Some have no voice, others speak. There are many which both speak and sing or yet have a voice manifested through music. A mask's voice and its place hierarchically have no connection: music is used just as expressively with the most modest masks as with the most powerful.
The Dan have two distinct kinds of masks: the "dressed masks" (gee basi) and the "doffed masks" (gee kpa). The first are masks that one sees everywhere: men with a costume covering them entirely and a facial mask (geego). The second are sound masks created solely by their voices.
A mask is generally accompanied by an assistant-interpreter geesioe who repeats or "translates" his words when they are hard to understand, dialogues with him and, in the case of a mask who expresses himself through singing or instrumental music, sings with him. The Dan classify their "dressed" masks in a certain number of categories according to their appearance (facial mask, head-dress, costume), their behaviour (peaceful or violent, dance, acrobatics) and their voice (if they have one). As well as their classifying name, a particular mask in a certain village has a proper name of its own. With certain "doffed" masks, no distinction seems to be made between their classifying name and their identical proper name.
Since the Dan consider their masks (gee) as supernatural beings, neither the spoken nor sung voices of their incarnation can be human. Their wearers must transform their voices into the voices of supernatural beings. The Dan have perfected three techniques to achieve this - they either distort their own voice, alter their vocal timbre by speaking into an instrument, or replace the voice with instruments hidden from the uninitiated. (Hugo Zemp,translated by Jeffrey Grice)
Tracks 1 to 9 are devoted to "Dressed masks" and tracks 10 to 16 to "Doffed masks".
Tracklisting:
1. Geego "Male Mask" {4:13}
2. Geegble "Long Mask" {4:26}
3. Geekezi "Wicked Mask" {4:21}
4. Geenoonoe "Young Girl Mask" {3:01}
5. Glukoeglo "War-making Mask" {3:42}
6. Kagee "Masks with forked Sticks" {3:49}
7. Wepoekoegee "Mask that makes Comedy" {3:14}
8. Giata (The Masks' Race) {3:18}
9. Gia {4:14}
10. Geeglu "Multiple Mask" {3:10}
11. Gbinggee "Night Mask" {3:20}
12. Geemaanoe "Little Bird Mask"/Geeyibo "Mask that eats Water/Pawo {4:20}
13. Geewova "Mask with the big voice" {0:47}
14. Kong (Women's Mask) {3:44}
15. Wodongdogo/baagadioe/geiyomlo {3:12}
16. Blibana (Women's Mask) {2:40}
(1)
Foday Musa Suso - Jali Kunda: Griots of West Africa & Beyond
released in 1997
In West Africa, the Griot is a musician, entertainer, historian, myth maker and more. For 800 years this expert musician class have been "walking libraries," responsible for preserving the region's wisdom and lore. Epic songs, genealogies and one of the world's richest instrumental traditions have been passed down through arduous apprenticeships, ensuring that the Jali Kunda (Griot family) endures.
Born in Gambia, Foday Musa Suso is a Mandingo Griot. He mastered the Griot's traditional repertory by the time he was 18. Suso then took his kora (a 21-string harp-lute), and traveled through Africa, America and Europe, providing audiences with their first taste of Griot music.
For Jali Kunda, Foday Musa Suso returns to his native village in Gambia with legendary producer Bill Laswell. They visit Senegal and Guinea-Bissau to encounter their Griots, learn their stories and hear their songs. Back in the United States, Suso and Laswell anticipate the next century of Griot music as Suso performs original works by avant-classical minimalist Philip Glass, saxophone innovator Pharoah Sanders, and muscular funksters Mandingo. (from the back cover)
Produced by Foday Musa Suso and Bill Laswell
Tracklisting:
1. Allah l'aake {2:45}
recorded in Kolda, Senegal; Foday Kuyateh, Tamba Kuyateh, Wuye Kanuteh - kora, Balla Camara - drum, Jewuru Suso, Bobo Kuyateh, Musukuto Sakiliba, Jonfolo Sakiliba - singers
2. Sunjata {5:45}
recorded in Tabato, Guinea-Bissau; Omar Jobarteh, Sambel Jobarteh, Fili Jobarteh - balafon, Yaya Jobarteh, Bobo Jobarteh - drums, Jalimakang Konteh, Mairan Jobarteh, Manda Jobarteh, Safi Kuyateh, Keitta Dindingo, Fatou Suso, Jalifatuma Camara, Mairan Camara - singers
3. Sinyaro {3:03}
Bolong Suso, Surakata Suso, Karunka Suso, Cherno Suso, Jewuru Kanute, Musa Kanute - kora, Funeh Kuyateh, Demmu Suso, Bobo Suso, Ndaga Kuyateh, Tida Kanuteh, Nyalin Kuyateh - singers
4. Mariama {4:31}
Momodu Salifu Baldeh, Mamadon Baldeh - nyanyer and voice, Sambel Mballo, Babakary Jallow, Mansa Baldeh, Dikory Siedy, Ganya Siedy - drums
5. Spring Waterfall {7:21}
composed by Foday Musa Suso with Philip Glass; Foday Musa Suso - kora, Philip Glass -piano
6. Jula Faso {3:21}
recorded in Brikama, The Gambia; Bolong Suso, Surakata Suso, Karunka Suso, Cherno Suso, Jewuru Kanute, Musa Kanute - kora, Funeh Kuyateh, Demmu Suso, Bobo Suso, Ndaga Kuyateh, Tida Kanuteh, Nyalin Kuyateh - singers
7. Sunjata {3:10}
recorded in Kolda, Senegal; Jewuru Suso, Bobo Kuyateh, Musukuto Sakiliba, Jonfolo Sakiliba - musicians/singers
8. Lanmbasy Dub {8:23}
dance track originally performed by The Mandingo Griot Society and remixed using samplers, studio technology and the electric kora; Foday Musa Suso - electric kora, percussion and voice, Jeff Bova - electronic keyboards, Bill Laswell - bass, sampled sound, Nicky Skopelitis and Clive Smith - programming
9. Jula Jekereh {4:50}
Mahamadou Suso, Mawudo Suso, Suntu Kuyateh, Yaya Jassy - balafon, Funeh Kuyateh, Demmu Suso, Bobo Suso, Ndaga Kuyateh, Tida Kanuteh, Nyalin Kuyateh - singers
10. Lambango {2:49}
recorded in Tabato, Guinea-Bissau; Omar Jobarteh, Sambel Jobarteh, Fili Jobarteh - balafon, Yaya Jobarteh, Bobo Jobarteh - drums, Jalimakang Konteh, Mairan Jobarteh, Manda Jobarteh, Safi Kuyateh, Keitta Dindingo, Fatou Suso, Jalifatuma Camara, Mairan Camara - singers
11. Samma {8:30}
Foday Musa Suso - kora, Pharoah Sanders - tenor saxophone
12. Sorrie {3:35}recorded in Brikama, The Gambia; Mahamadou Suso, Mawudo Suso, Suntu Kuyateh, Yaya Jassy - balafon, Funeh Kuyateh, Demmu Suso, Bobo Suso, Ndaga Kuyateh, Tida Kanuteh, Nyalin Kuyateh - singers
13. Yata Kaya {4:55}
Momodu Salifu Baldeh, Mamadon Baldeh - nyanyer, Sambel Mballo, Babakary Jallow, Mansa Baldeh, Dikory Siedy, Ganya Siedy - drums
14. Lambango {8:01}
recorded in Gabu, Guinea-Bissau; Abdou Kuyateh, Sirifo Kuyateh, Burema Kuyateh, Madi Jollo, Kekuto Suso - kora, Malang Kuyateh, Jaali Kuyateh, Aminata Kuyateh, Wudeh Kuyateh, Isatou Kuyateh - singers
15. Allah l'aake {3:51}
recorded in Brikama, The Gambia; Bolong Suso, Surakata Suso, Karunka Suso, Cherno Suso, Jewuru Kanute, Musa Kanute - kora, Funeh Kuyateh, Demmu Suso, Bobo Suso, Ndaga Kuyateh, Tida Kanuteh, Nyalin Kuyateh - singers
(1) (2)
[uncredited artist] - Animals of Africa: Sounds of the Jungle, Plain & Bush
released on LP in 1973
Current research among naturalists tends to break down any remaining class-distinction between animals and man; the more we know about the other creatures on our common planet, the sillier it seems to judge homo sapiens either as superior to all others, as the ancients dreamed, or as the lowest conceivable form of beast, as some of us might suspect today. It turns out that nearly everything we thought unique to our species - city-building, war-making, tool-using, the ability to employ logic - can be already found in some other animal's daily behavior. Even a cursory listening to this record will dispel the notion that we are the sole possessors of the concept of language: I am sure that at least some of these animals' speech is as articulate as ours - all we lack is an effective interpreter, a Rosetta stone that would let us in on their secrets.
But for me, as a composer and musician, the most fascinating aspect of these animal sounds is their musicality, their phrasing. There is never any unclarity or tentativeness in their statement, and that is enviable from any artist's standpoint. Children have this directness, but when we grow up we cloud our speech, befog our meaning, lose our animal voice. Half the struggle of any good singer, actor, instrumentalist, or composer is to find that voice again, to recreate with great care what seemingly comes naturally to the hippo or the leopard. Some of us almost succeed in this, and that is why we respond so strongly to a Bille Holiday, to a Mozart, to a Varese.
It should be unnecessary to say what follows, but I think I must. Listening to this recording in the relative safety and confinement of one's living room could lead all too easily to the waggish parlor-game of finding amusing parallels between, say, the cry of the hyena and the opening of Varese's Integrales, the trumpeting of the elephant and a fanfare in a Mahler symphony, the chattering of the vervet monkey and that of the strings in a Beethoven scherzo. There exist, already, recordings in which bird and animal "noises" have been electronically reprocessed to make little tunes; I need hardly mention the craze, a few years ago, for jungle sounds accompanied by filtered-in sentimental music. All this shows a lack of respect for the animals themselves, for the dangerous and blazing beauty they possess and we have so often lost in our circumscribed lives. The African recording engineers have done so well to give us the voices of their wildlife as they are, where they are, in the forest, bush, hillside, and savannah of an enormous continent few of us have visited, and we are privileged for the gift. Listen carefully, and even some of the language-barrier between man and beast disappears; I find, for example, the passionate love-call of the "unbeautiful" rhinoceros as moving as anything in human music. (William Bolcom)
Tracklisting:
Side One
1. Leopard {1:08}
2. Vervet Monkey {3:05}
3. Hyrax {2:42}
4. Rhinoceros {2:24}
5. Zebra {1:49}
6. Wildebeeste {2:09}
Side Two
1. Lion {2:51}
2. Hyena {2:07}
3. Wild Dog {2:11}
4. Silver-Backed Jackal {1:21}
5. Elephant {2:55}
6. Hippopotamus {2:59}
(1)
[uncredited artist] - Sounds of West Africa: The Kora & the Xylophone
The Lobi-Dagarti Xylophone (or balophon) of Northern Ghana and the Kora harp-lute of Gambia produce some of the most striking instrumental music to be found anywhere in Africa. The culture of the Lobi and Dagarti people has resisted erosion from Islamic and European contacts and their music remains relatively pure even today. The kora, on the other hand, developed in the Savannah belt, an area profoundly influenced by Islam and North Africa. While retaining its essential sub-Saharan rhythmic character, the kora reflects North African culture in its tonality, timbre and harmonies.
The kora has 21 strings that can be tuned to absolute pitch in at least three distinct tonal modes. The following is one common tuning arrangement. In ascending order the strings are tuned: F, C, D, E, B flat, D, F, A, C, E, (left hand) and F, A, C, E, G, B flat, D, F, G, A, (right hand). (Francis Bebey, African Music, A People's Art, Lawrence Hill and Co.)
The kora is played by the Griots (praise singers and chroniclers) of Gambia, Senegal, Mali and Guinea Bissau. It is taught by father to son so that over the generations a whole lineage of kora players take shape. When a young boy begins to play he must learn countless epic tales, myths, histories of tribes and royal lineages so that soon he emerges as the oral historian par excellence of his people. The first kora player is said to have appeared in the royal court of Kelefa Senneh of Guinea Bissau and formerly all Griots were attached to royal families. But in modern times, with the disintegration of the traditional states, kora players are more or less "at large" and every kora player must have in his repertoire songs recounting the ancestral histories of any number of wealthy potential patrons.
When a Griot spots a "Great Man" in the street or the market he will shout his name and immediately launch into an epic musical account of the glories of the man's lineage. A crowd is sure to gather and the man, the obvious focus of all the commotion, feels constrained to be as generous as possible to the musician so that he will continue to sing his praise as opposed to his defmation. The Griot still depends entirely on patrons for his livelihood. Even today, to turn a Griot away from one's door empty-handed constitutes a major social disgrace.
The Lobi-Dagarti Xylophone
In both Lobi and Dagarti, the xylophone is central in all life events from weddings, funerals, work and recreational situations to cult events. The Lobi-Dagarti xylophone is a 14-key instrument of a type that is widely distributed throughout West Africa as well as in parts of Central and Eastern Africa (e.g. Zaire, Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique). It is constructed so that the wooden keys, mounted on a wooden frame, vibrate over graduated gourd resonators. The gourds have small holes covered with a thin paper (made from spider webbing and glue) which vibrates when the keys are struck producing a continuous nasal buzzing sound. Although indigenous musicians are less concerned with absolute pitch than with relative tonal relationships, the xylophones generally conform to the following pentatonic arrangement:
It should be noted that while the Lobi and Dagarti use the same xylophone, they constitute distinct ethnic groups with mutually incomprehensible languages and different musical styles. (Richard Hill)
Tracklisting:
1. Bin kpe {4:41}
2. Kyipellu festival song {2:31}
3. Chedo {5:12}
4. Nyam born ti waa na {2:24}
5. High Life {2:32}
6. Jimbasin {5:36}
7. Tuntumggben {2:47}
8. Domme wa la sofgu {1:57}
9. Tu tu le tu {2:00}
10. Nabaya (My Beads) {2:55}
11. Ansu "Machhine" Menneh {1:44}
12. Ga da yina-funeral music {2:19}
13. Le ben doma {3:15}
14. Musa Koli {2:20}
15. Laminba {2:48}
16. Dembo {2:41}
(1)
The Banda people - Central African Republic: Banda Polyphony
originally released in 1976; re-released in 1992
The Banda, who number about 400,000, form the largest ethnic group in the Central African Republic. Although their history cannot be reconstructed with any certainty, it would appear that they came from the East, probably from the valley of the Nile. They are thought to have settled in the region that corresponds to the present Sudanese-Central-African borders in the first half of the 19th century, and subsequently to have been driven into the interior by the raids of slavetraders. They now occupy the upper reaches of the Uaka, the Kotto, the Gribingi, a region of bush-covered savannah with forest galleries.
The Banda people are divided into more than fifty subgroups, each of which has its own customs, speech and music. The Linda and the Dakpa are among the most numerous branches of the Banda people. Being neighbours, and even having established themselves in the very heart of the Banda country, they share to a large extent their musical forms. It is, however, possible to distinguish certain modes of expression. For example, although the Dakpa and the Linda both have ensembles of horns, the form of the instruments, the repertoire and the techniques of musical elaboration vary markedly from one group to another. As in all parts of this cultural area, music is closely associated with social and religious life. Even now it still fulfills a central function at all the events of any importance held in the traditional village.
The vocal music of the Banda is largely monodic, whereas their instrumental music - which usually amounts to an "orchestration" of the sung melodies - can give rise to elaborate and highly complex polyphonic structures. This applies in particular to the music for horns of the Linda and the Dakpa. The ongo horn ensembles are closely associated with the ancestors cult and with the initiation of young boys. Today, however, the music for these instruments is also played at national festivals. The ensembles consist of anything from ten to eighteen instruments, the size of which varies from 20 to 160 cm. They are always accompanied by a pair of jingles struck together. (Simha Arom)
Tracklisting:
Linda Music
1. Music for ongo ensemble: Ndraje balendro, initiation song {4:22}
2. Music for ongo ensemble: Eci ameya, song for the cult of the twins [horns] {1:50}
3. Music for ongo ensemble: Eci ameya, song for the cult of the twins [voices] {1:59}
4. Music for ongo ensemble: Ebena ka cemato, lament {4:06}
5. Music for ongo ensemble: Music for dancing, gboyo {2:47}
6. Mvrele ensemble: flutes {2:21}
7. Mvrele ensemble: voices {4:25}
Dakpa Music
8. Little Suite for ongo-ngala {7:04}
9. Dance of initiates "Brother, I am suffering" {5:07}
10. Suite for the mbaya ensemble {5:52}
11. Damba lekpa, music for the mbaya ensemble {1:23}
(1) or (1)
Olivier Messiaen - L'Ascension
released on LP
Charles Krigbaum - organ (Newberry Memorial Organ, Woolsey Hall, Yale University)
Among twentieth century compositions for organ the works of Olivier Messiaen must surely stand as authentic masterpieces. On first encounter they may seem curiously eclectic in their dazzling reflections of traditional and exotic ingredients: Dukas, Dupre, Debussy, Hindu rhythms, bird calls, Roman Catholicism, pantheism, mysticism, reverberent cathedrals, Cavaille-Coll and the French Romantic Organ - to name a few. However, out of these unusual and disparate elements Messiaen has fused an individual and elegant style that is sensuous, colorful, contemporary, and surprisingly coherent. He has done this with creative brilliance and unsurpassed richness of imagination.
The works themselves fall conveniently into three periods: early, middle, and late. The early period, essentially experimental in nature, includes
Le Banquet Celeste
Diptyque
Apparition de l'Eglise Eternelle
L'Ascension (four pieces)
The middle period, in which specific compositional techniques are systematically employed (cf. Technique de mon Langage Musical, Paris 1944), includes
La Nativite du Seigneur (nine pieces)
Les Corps Glorieux (seven pieces)
The late period, in which is evidenced a more extensive use of complex and exotic elements, includes
Messe de la Pentecote (five pieces)
Livre d'Orgue (seven pieces)
Verset
Meditation sur le Mystere de la Sainte Trinite
Le Banquet Celeste - This famous communion piece (1926) is an original evocation of ineffable mystery and reverence. The original version in 3/4 time was marked extremement lent. In a second version, the composer rescored the piece, doubling the note values and indicating "Tres lent, extatique".
Apparition de l'Eglise eternelle - An apocalyptic vision of the eternal church, utilizing parallelism, open fifths, and rhythmic ostinato figures. Stark, essentially static, and improvisatory in nature, it achieves a powerful effect through insistent repetition, hypnotic in nature, and through an extraordinary crescendo from pp to fff climaxing on a high-position, full C major chord with doubled pedal, followed by a gradual diminuendo to a pp ending on a low-position, open fifth C chord.
L'Ascension contains four symphonic meditations, each inspired by a passage from scripture or the service.
I Majeste du Christ demandant sa gloire a son Pere (Majesty of Christ praying that His Father should glorify Him) - a slow and majestic piece exploiting the prepared reeds on the Great and Positive divisions.
II Alleluias sereins d'une ame qui desire le ciel (Serene Alleluias from a soul longing for Heaven) - an impressionistic and tender expression of celestial serenity and happiness.
III Transports de joie d'une ame devant la gloire du Christ qui est la sienne (Outburst of joy from a soul before the Glory of Christ which is its own glory) - a tumultuous outpouring of Christian joy.
IV Priere du Christ montant vers son Pere (Prayer from Christ ascending towards His Father) - a moving and solemn expression of divinity. (from the liner notes)
Tracklisting:
Side One
1. Apparition de l'Eglise Eternelle {9:00}
2. Le Banquet Celeste {7:16}
Side Two
1. L'Ascension: I. Majeste du Christ demandant sa gloire a son Pere {5:51}
2. L'Ascension: II. Alleluias sereins d'une ame qui desire le ciel {6:33}
3. L'Ascension: III. Transports de joie d'une ame devant la gloire du Christ qui est la sienne {4:54}
4. L'Ascension: IV. Priere du Christ montant vers son Pere {5:44}
(1)
various artists compilation - Musica Maximalista Vol. 12
released in 2006
Works on CD are the winners of the 6th International Electroacoustic Music Contest of Sao Paulo 2005
The International Electroacoustic Music Contest of Sao Paulo (CIMESP) takes place every two years and is promoted by the Studio PANaroma de Musica Eletroacustica da Unesp, directed by the composer Flo Menezes. The CIMESP is open to all composers, of any age and nationality, from both Brazil and abroad. In its sixth edition in 2005, the Contest was dedicated both to acousmatic compositions (for electroacoustic sounds alone), to mixed electroacoustic pieces and to mixed electroacoustic pieces with live-electronics. The CIMESP 2005 received 185 compositions by 130 composers of 32 nationalities from 29 countries and continues thus to be the most significant International Competition on this field in all the Americas. The Jury consisted of four members: Flo Menezes (President of the Jury: Composer, Director and Founder of Studio PANaroma, responsible of the idealization of the Contest, Doctor of Music degree and Professor of Composition and Electroacoustic Music at the State University of Sao Paulo, Unesp); Hans Ulrich Humpert (Composer, Professor and Director of the Studio fur elektronische Musik of the Cologne Music-Highschool, Germany); Gilles Gobeil (Composer, Professor for Electroacoustic Composition in Montreal, Canada); and Jorge Antunes (Composer, Professor for Composition at the Brasilia University, Brazil).
After having analyzed the received material, the Jury decided to select 11 finalists, whose works constituted the Final Concert on November 1, 2005, at the Goethe-Institut of Sao Paulo. After the Concert, the audience gave the Public Prize and the Jury announced the winning pieces:
1st Prize: Styal by David Berezan
2nd Prize: Sublimation by Kyong Mee Choi
2nd Prize Ex Aequo: Time Spell by Joao Pedro Oliveira
Public Prize: Broken Nerve by Diana Simpson
Honorable Mentions:
Vol d'arondes by Francis Dhomont
Historias by Jose Manrique
*La Schiuma dei Rumori by Roger Cochini
Finalist Pieces:
*Silk to Steel by Mathew Adkins
*(Un)folding by Daniel Barreiro
*Computer Music by Thomas Gerwin
*Eden by Robert Normandeau* not on CD
(from the liner notes)
Tracklisting:
1. David Berezan - Styal {14:14}
(2004) for stereophonic electroacoustic sounds
2. Kyong Mee Choi - Sublimation {7:15}
(2004) for marimba and stereophonic electroacoustic sounds; Sean Darby - marimba
3. Joao Pedro Oliveira - Time Spell {13:31}
(2004) for clarinet and 6-channel electroacoustic sounds (stereophonic version); Serge Conte - clarinet
4. Diana Simpson - Broken Nerve {10:15}
(2005) for stereophonic electroacoustic sounds
5. Francis Dhomont - Vol d'arondes {11:44}
(2001) for octophonic electroacoustic sounds (stereophonic version)
6. Jose Manrique - Historias {12:18}
(2002) for quadraphonic electroacoustic sounds (stereophonic version)
(1)
Morton Subotnick - Touch
released on LP
Created by Morton Subotnick on the Buchla Electronic Music System
This is the stereo version.
Liner notes include letters to Morton Subotnick from Mel Powell, director of the Yale University Electronic Music Studio at the time of the album's release.
Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Tuesday
Dear Mort,
Many many thanks for the tape. I look forward to hearing the new piece, and according to present calculations ought to have the chance to do that by late tomorrow or the following day. There's an acre of dreary tasks at hand; as soon as all that's covered, straight to the tape deck.
In the meantime I'll try to shake out of my head the after-images of some dreadful tape pieces a couple of red-eyed tyros insisted on playing for me the other day. You know the kind of thing I mean: the old bromides, dopey sound, imbecilic composition, and even the archetypal program note about "infinite possibilities." That last item I thought had certainly had its day by now, and I mentioned to one of the culprits that the deep charm of electronic-music composition is its perilously limited array of options, so tightly restricted, so intractable, so unfriendly to humbug and ineptness, testing the ear, experience, knowledge, taste, skill of a composer in a way that allows camouflage about as generously as does, say, writing madrigals for unaccompanied voices.
But so much for that. As I said, in a day or so I'll have a host of melancholy chores behind me and I'll be able to sit still and listen. I'm betting it's going to be a treat.
Best,
Mel
------------------
Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Friday
Dear Mort,
That was an easy bet to win. "Touch" is a treat, a great big lovely piece. I've heard it once and want to listen again. Sullen soul that I am, that's something I hardly ever find worth doing nowadays with any composition, very rarely with a recent composition, and almost never with an electronic-music composition.
Well then, I start by liking it very very much. And even so fastidious an artist as Henry James agreed that to say "I like it" (or the opposite) is to accomplish at once all the intricate tasks of analysis so far as art is concerned. But who today would let it go at that? Not me. These few things I have to mention at once:
- Three minutes from the opening you've uncorked a surreal amalgam of what in "real life" would have been mettalo- and xylophones, marimbas, mallet percussion of all sorts (running at this point for 30-40 seconds), and it's a model of sensitive synthesis: wonderfully clean hubbub, a prize voltage-controlled gamelan, delicious.
- I think the first extended lento music (starting at about the 5-minute point) is especially strong and right; no child's play - need I tell you? - to get that much fine solemnity paced that precisely.
- Maybe I've begun to view the whole of life as downright sinusoidal; or maybe I can't beat off a private eccentricity that propels me quickly past the acknowledgement of ad hoc dissimilarities into the perception of generic identities; whatever the case may be, the over-all contour of "Touch" fixes itself in my mind, at least for the moment, as a classic diarchy, hence a shuttling of "two musics," hence a husky rondo.
Words, words, words. And still more later. In the meantime, warn the family that I'll soon visit, expecting extraordinary viands and libations, and insisting that I hear "Touch" quadrophonically.
As ever,
Mel
Tracklisting:
Side 1
1. Touch (beginning) {14:26}
Side 2
1. Touch (conclusion) {15:04}
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Big Bertha Band Organ - Big Bertha Band Organ
released on LP
This great Band Organ was made in the late 1800's. Originally the big wheel operating the machine was turned by hand, but early in the 1900's the machine was changed over to operate by an electric motor. At this time, the exact identity of the maker is not certain, but we have been told that it is a Limonaire, made in France. In the early days, the organ played from cardboard books of music but now it plays from an 82 key North Tonawanda paper roll. Used along with two other big band organs on a huge handcarved Carousel in an amusement park in Grand Rapids, Michigan for years, it was later moved to Gulf Shores, Alabama and stored in a shed. Paul Eakins purchased two of the organs in August 1963, the third organ having been purchased by a gentleman who operates an amusement park in Iowa. Big Bertha, as this lovely Band Organ is now called, was the most dilapidated of the three machines. Over 2500 man hours were spent from August 1963 to June 1966 completely restoring it. Big Bertha gets its name from the lovely female Director who stands in front and directs as any band or orchestra leader does, using a baton. When she turns her head to the left, she lowers her left arm. When she looks straight forward again, she raises her left arm. The baton is held in the right hand. On each side of Big Bertha is a bell-ringer. One is a lovely girl and the other a strikingly handsome man. This great organ plays 369 pipes, bass drum, snare drum, two bells, and cymbal. The hand-carved embellishments are beautiful - the golden colored tassels that dangle like real ones, the figurehead on top resembling Columbus, the highly decorative newel posts, the ferocious looking gargoyle, along with the other elaborately carved parts, are all examples of the highly specialized art of wood-carving. The three figures on the front look like real people and are beautifully proportioned. All three organs that were on the old carousel are now owned by Paul Eakins. Since they are all completely different in sound, albums on the others will follow as soon as they are restored. (from the liner notes)
Tracklisting:
Side 1
1. Colonel Bogey {2:44}
2. When It's Springtime in the Rockies {3:33}
3. The Stein Song {2:51}
4. My Melancholy Baby {2:44}
5. Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella {2:24}
6. Away Down South in Heaven {2:10}
Side 2
1. All By Myself in the Moonlight {2:15}
2. I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream {2:53}
3. Skaters Waltz {6:20}
4. Wedding Bells are Breaking Up That Old Gang of Mine {2:17}
5. Queen City {2:26}
(1)
Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen - Open Percussion
released in 2002
Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen - percussion and voice
Unlike other instruments, it is impossible to say that percussion is a specific instrument. Indeed one may argue that percussion is not even a group of instruments but numerous different groups. In total, percussion instruments range over the primary acoustic categories of sounds: stone, wood, metal and skin. The variations in size and shape, expression and sound are enormous and surely unique in acoustical music - from cymbals the size of an ear and objects of stone and wood to gigantic drums and gongs as well as tempered instruments such as vibraphone, marimba and glockenspiel.
This enormous arsenal of sonic possibilities has long fascinated composers; all the more so since the early works of Edgar Varese, Henry Cowell and John Cage. Besides the extended range of sonorities, what is new in composing for percussion lies in the possibility of distilling the pulse and rhythmical aspects of the music. Rhythm is in many respects just as complex a phenomenon as melody and harmony. In the pieces by Iannis Xenakis and Rolf Wallin on this disc it is the development of the rhythm and the sonorities that expand or bring the music to life. The rhythmical processes create tensions, relaxations, even pulses or chaotic surfaces. While in the pieces by Franco Donatoni and Ase Hedstrom there are also harmonic and melodic processes at work, here too the rhythmical progress is essential as a structural and expressive element of the musical tempus. With Cage one is more conscious of cyclical, repetitive rhythms. The works on this disc thus give us an understanding of the fascinating variety of writing for percussion. At the same time it is a programme which places great demands on its performer, demands for rhythmic and sonic precision in order to take us from the chaotically pulsating to the softly moving; from the extrovertly explosive in Xenakis and Wallin to the introvert and theatrical in Cage. (Henrik Hellstenius)Tracklisting:
1. Rebonds: I {7:19}
composed by Iannis Xenakis for percussion solo (1987-89)
2. Rebonds: II {6:59}
composed by Iannis Xenakis for percussion solo (1987-89)
3. Open I {5:12}
improvisation by Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen
4. Flow {7:44}
composed by Ase Hedstrom for marimba (1990)
5. The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs {3:05}
composed by John Cage for voice and piano (1942)
6. Omar: I {5:42}
composed by Franco Donatoni for solo vibraphone (1985)
7. Omar: II {8:55}
composed by Franco Donatoni for solo vibraphone (1985)
8. Open II {2:52}
improvisation by Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen
9. A Flower {3:47}
composed by John Cage for voice and piano (1950)
10. Stonewave Part 1 {8:40}
composed by Rolf Wallin, version for solo percussion (1990)
11. Stonewave Part 2 {4:54}
composed by Rolf Wallin, version for solo percussion (1990)
12. Open III {3:56}
improvisation by Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen
various artists compilation - Avant Garde Piano
released on LP
David Burge - piano
LUCIANO BERIO - Sequenza IV (1966)
Luciano Berio completed Sequenza IV during the spring of 1966, thereby adding another work to his series of solo Sequenze (the first is for flute, the second for harp, the third for voice, the fourth for piano, the fifth for trombone, and the sixth for viola.) In each of these compositions the composer has written a work of substance that is unique to its specific repertory. Having first thoroughly reassessed the potential of the given instrument (or voice, in the case of Sequenza III), he then seizes on those particular capabilities that best suit his extraordinary imagination and proceeds to develop them in an organic manner.
LUIGI DALLAPICCOLA - Quaderno Musicale di Annalibera (1952)
For purity of melodic expression, few recent piano compositions can rival the Quaderno Musicale by Luigi Dallapiccola. Written in the classical twelve-tone technique, it has already become a "classic" work in the repertory. The work was commissioned by the Pittsburgh International Contemporary Music Festival in 1952, and "is dedicated to my dear daughter Annalibera on the day of her eighth birthday."
The title, Musical Notebook for Annalibera, is not without reference to another Musical Notebook - that for Anna Magdalena Bach. In fact, in the first movement one may hear the familiar B-A-C-H figure (always, however, transposed from the usual B-flat starting point - would the fastidious Italian have found such an overly direct homage ostentatious?) Like Bach, Dallapiccola is concerned with counterpoint; three of the succeeding ten movements are strict canons.
KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN - Klavierstuck VIII (1954)
As is the case with all the music on this recording, Karlheinz Stockhausen's Klavierstuck VIII is notated with extreme care with regard to pitches, rhythms, and dynamics. The ninety-six-second span of the work is articulated by assymmetrical phrases of great activity interspersed with moments of repose, the latter invariably consisting of single pitches which, however, are never of the same duration. This balance between activity and repose gives shape to the characteristically abstract, spatial nature of the music.
PIERRE BOULEZ - Premiere Sonate (1947)
The First Sonata by Pierre Boulez is an early work, often overshadowed by the massive Second Sonata and the fantastic maze which constitutes the Third. Astonishing in itself, the First Sonata is even more impressive when one considers the youth of its author and the time of its writing (the first two years after the cultural ravages of World War II). It is often said that this work and the early Flute Sonatine show the strong influence of Webern; this may be so, but it is an assertive, flamboyant type of Webernism unknown in the older composer's works.
...
The piano writing itself is remarkable. Virtually the entire keyboard is utilized at all times, especially in the rapid sections. In other passages a new kind of counterpoint depends for its effect not at all on the progress of individual voices, which are essentially unheard, but on the resultant sound of several equal voices moving at unequal speeds.
While Boulez continues to use bar lines in this and several succeeding works, they are not meant to imply metrical accents but are inserted "as visual aids" to the performer. Several summers ago I had a visit from Ernst Krenek at a time when I was preparing the First Sonata. I recall with amusement an hour or so during which I played passages over and over while that marvelous gentleman, in a flaming orange shirt, brown shorts, and sandals, strode around the room in a most concerned manner as he tried to coax me into completely eliminating any semblance of beat or bar line accent.
ERNST KRENEK - Sechs Vermessene (1958)
Krenek's own Sechs Vermessene also employ bar lines, and the pitches, rhythms, durations, densities, and dynamics are achieved by a process of serialization that is as close to "total" as is humanly possible. Thus, in a certain sense, the music is "composed" before a single note is set down (one may be reminded, obliquely, of the title of Machaut's rondeau: "Ma fin est mon commencement, et mon commencement ma fin"). Due to the complexity of the serialization, and in spite of the clarity of Krenek's notational solutions, some formidable performance problems, especially rhythmic, are presented to the pianist. Therefore it is interesting to note that the effect of much of the Six Measurements is that of random improvisation, a fact that genuinely delights the composer! (David Burge)
Tracklisting:
Side 1
1. Luciano Berio - Sequenza IV {9:23}
2. Luigi Dallapiccola - Quaderno Musicale di Annalibera {12:47}
Side 2
1. Karlheinz Stockhausen - Klaveierstuck VIII {1:36}
2. Pierre Boulez - Premiere Sonate {9:06}
3. Ernst Krenek - Sechs Vermessene {10:58}
(1)
