Lukas Foss- Echoi/The Fragments Of Archilochos/Non-Improvisation (Wergo Heliodor 89835)

...And the Lukas Foss Mega-Hit Parade continues here in A Closet.
(Thanks to my father for the gift of this and other records which have appeared here lately and will appear here soon.)

I hope I will be forgiven for my lengthy reprint from the insert notes to this l.p., but I find the ideas here so fascinating that I have reproduced almost all of them.I have left out mostly biographical information, but have kept most of the technical notes intact.I hope you all will find them as inspiring and thought-provoking as I do, and I believe that they are of interest, not only to musicians, but to anyone interested in new (circa 1967) musical forms and creative approaches to performance.
Feel free to let me know if you find the notes too long or too esoteric.
 
These notes (enclosed) were written in or around 1967.

In the new musical rapproachement between composer and performer it is again possible for the creative and the re-creative functions to be taken by one and the same person.Lukas Foss,born in Berlin,in America since 1937,composer,conductor,pianist,teacher,and tireless proponent of newest new music,is an extraordinary case of a one and the same,whose single existence is split into many lives.
There are in general two types of musicians, the Mozarts and the Beethovens, the naturals and the studied.Foss is the former-the natural,the eternal Wunderkind.He started early,accomplished a great deal in a short time,and,still a young man,has gone far.He directs a major American orchestra and guest conducts others;he is one of a handful of avant-garde composers in the public eye and one of the few American composers and conductors whom Europeans take seriously.
He claims to compose slowly but (especially considering the length and breadth of his other activities) he has accumulated a considerable body of work.
He has not practiced the piano seriously in years,but he sits down and plays remarkably well.He is a virtuoso sight reader and a quick study.He is distrusted by many musicians but others swear by him.He has accomplished remarkable things,made terrible blunders,and still moves ever onward and upward.
He has a surprisingly large following-especially among young people.He has attracted a young,knowing audience made up largely of record-buyers who normally do not go to concerts (but he himself is better known on records as a composer than as a performing artist).
In 1957 he founded an Improvisation Chamber Ensemble-clarinet,cello,percussion,and piano-with the idea of developing an improvisational style specifically intended to break down the barriers between performance and the creative act.
In the five or six years of the Ensemble's existence, it followed a course which was,in effect, parallel to and the result of an extraordinary transition in Foss's own musical thinking.The early work of the Ensemble was in the manner of a free and neoclassical diatonicism closely related to Foss's own earlier written compositions.Then,in a frankly experimental way,new techniques were introduced,sometimes merely in a playful spirit,sometimes in a genuinely exploratory mood.
Quite obviously the Improvisation Chamber Ensemble could not use avant-garde materials in complex,plotted serial structures,so the work of the group began to evolve quite naturally toward a kind of free,far out,performance-practice music.
In his written-out work,Foss did flirt with stricter twelve-tone ideas;but even a work like TIME CYCLE, his closest approach to pure serialism and Webernism,has different versions for orchestra (see post below) and chamber ensemble, and was first performed with interpolated improvisations.

After TIME CYCLE, his work increasingly took on the characteristics of open-form and a kind of performance-practice aleatory.
ECHOI, written for the instruments of the Improvisation Chamber Ensemble,is a kind of summation of the improvisational experience but is not improvisatory itself. It is also a big step outward,incorporating action,gestural and chance techniques along with serial and post-serial ideas,the whole bound together by a superb sense of gesture and ensemble sound and color.
An orchestral work, ELYTRES, consists of a large score out of which various possibilities may be selected so that one performance will differ from another.

THE FRAGMENTS OF ARCHILOCHOS are an even more complex application of a similar idea.
 
"Work notes for ECHOI"(By Lukas Foss-punctuation and all):

The Byzantine Echos: somewhere between Raga and Row perhaps.(The chants composed with the Echoi were like a mosaic of melodic formulae.)
 
ECHOI I: four simultaneous cadenzas?could be an opening,a gate,a not-yet-music,on the way.Introducing the four virtuosi in a joint disorderly display of virtuosity.let order creep in,as if by mistake.imitations,as if by accident.(players stepping on each others phrases.) the imitations will produce a semblance of order,so will the serially permutated cadenzas.
Step 1.construct a chain of notes,every one of the twelve followed by every one of the remaining eleven.total:132.contains every interval on every degree of the chromatic scale.(can be done with
the help of greco-latin squares.)copy many times,each time applying a numerical system (chart) for the distribution of various elements,of anything that can be structured,of held notes,accents,pauses,fermatas,overlappings,fast note groups,moderately paced groups of notes,grace notes. Surround myself with all this material.pin it on the walls.arbitrary note formations,the more the better.no longer an empty page to be gradually populated by music,but note-crowded pages,a jungle gradually cleared for inhabitance.
Step 2.to clear for inhabitance,to compose,to make choices.I circle what I like-groups of notes, these may number as few as  seven notes,as many as , say, seventeen. now collect the circled note groups,melodic formations.discard everything that is not circled,liquidating the serial order,the system,like a scaffold not longer needed.composition by deletion.(only way I can work with series.)
Second stage: manipulation of chosen formations casting.four players: they can play as 4,as 3,as 2,as 1.available distrubutions: 4 solos,6 duos,3 trios,1 quartet.total: 14.
Step 1: apply all 14 combinations to each formation.(takes too long.IBM programming for quicker assembling, permutating?-someday.)
Step 2: compose with resultant raw material,again by circling what I like,then building with obtained designs,patterns,groups.
(...)it is important to distinguish the two principal steps:the pre-compositional one-accumulation of an abundance of raw material obtained via serial proportioning-and manipulation of raw materials via an act of composition.)
I have now obtained the desired "quasi-music". notation?leave the rhythm rubato (proportional rather than metrical). fade-outs and climaxes can be notated so as to guarantee the proper "no-coordination"; everyone plays from the score,all coordination is via eye and ear )the "ideal" chamber music?) dotted vertical lines,to show where exact simultaneity is necessary.elsewhere the vertical picture on the page must reveal a "precise elasticity" allowing every player to be a note off to the right or to the left without harm to the resulting effect.check this.the slight freedom,or rather,license is necessary-in view of the fast tempo,and desirable-in view of the free cadenza concept.presto rubato.will require a lot of practicing.

ECHOI II: let the completely composed (in every sense of the word) follow the not-yet-music of ECHOI I. symmetry,clarity,order on the heel of anarchy.
First:a short piano solo.proceed similar to ECHOI I,step 1 except use a row for pitches to arrive at intervallic unity.(whenever a row is used in the piece,it is one and the same,throughout.) use 132 chain to obtain maximum variety in other parameters.
Step 2: again encircle what I like.look for possible opening and closing phrases among the circled areas.juggle,edit a dozen circled formations,until they "fall into line" that is,show continuity.Geatalt (minimum of the improvisatory).
Follows:vibraphone shadowing clarinet (close canon at the unison) sticks to him like glue.clarinet should make futile attempts to escape its own shadow,like an insect trying to extricate itself from a spider web.cello joins in the pursuit )canon at the minor second). this takes a special kind of playing at and against one another as in our Chamber Improvisation experiments. (difficult to write down,to pin down.)
Piano solo da capo but shadowed at the minor second and only a sixteenth note apart.pitchless percussion also shadowing.imitating.everyone wanting to get in on the act.
 
ECHOI III a study in different levels of sound-presence.distant sounds echoing close ones.discard obvious notion of seating in different locations.unsubtle and inflexible unless the players kept exchanging seats (not a bad idea).as a rule,obtain the levels via a sudden,unmotivated switch of roles forcing the performer to play as if in a distant room in one moment,close up front in the next.
To be perceived clearly,distant notes,lines should move at a slower pace than close ones and should tend to sustain.
There must be reaction of foreground music to background music and vice versa (Example:vibraphone (oscillator off) holds soft chord,turns oscillator on the moment pianist strikes same chord,but short,loud.result:as if piano attack made sustained background chord shake,vibrate.)
Use the four players in such a manner as to invoke the image of a quartet in front,mirrored int he distance.
Could gain a completely new dimension of "presence" )foreground) were equated with "the present"-and "distance" (background) with the "distant past". Note:space symbolizing time intrinsically musical,because of the dreamlike,hallucinatory nature of music.
(Note: the idea discussed here is explored also in Foss's work GEOD )

Found an old sketch,like a children's tune,tonal,sickly,complete with alberi bass,why not superimpose,that is,recompose,collage,combine with ECHOI III, so that children's music (vibraphone) is like something that has beenpainteed over., emerging if one scrapes the surface,shining through the background-the past-then distorted,disfigured in the foreground-the present- faintly emerging again in the distance (tape-covered triangle beater inside the piano strings,a la mandolin, only to be annihilated,cancelled out by the menacing activity in front,the clarinet in foreground is mocking the fragile tune,barking in distorted pitches,bell inside piano,later ball over timpani, for unnatural resonance- A two-music piece.

ECHOI IV: conjure up the noise,chaos of ECHOI I for a moment,to complete the arc.ECHOI IV (so to say) continuing ECHOI I after a 12-minute interruption.To make this clear,fade in (quick <) on the middle of ECHOI I (like "turning on" the players). for the rest of introduction:a recitative.use unused surplus material from ECHOI I, but fragmentize (pauses,interruptions,tentative sounds-clarinet and cello bending pitches). then attaca.
What I want now is a music like an obsession-hundreds and hundreds of notes-piano acting as protagonist,a compulsive,unending piano monologue with the other instruments accompanying,observing,commenting,bemoaning,mourning.(...)
The piano plays and plays,notes and more notes,gets nowhere.very moving.a task for a formidable virtuoso.must play sensitively mechanical,precision-obsessed,let him repeat little phrases from time to time,like a phonograph needle caught in a groove.from time to time?why not organize that too?
Compulsive repeats-go one better: jump back and forth between different spots in the music at the crack of a "whip"-wrong sound- "anvil", struck at the whim of the percussionist within a given two-page stretch.at this anvil signal the four musicians skip from the moment of interruption to an earlier place in the music (the idee fixe) and back as the anvil is struck again.the music is slapped back and forth in time.(Hope the musicians will be quick and simultaneous enough in obeying the anvil's command.the kind of task that is difficult only because it is new.)
(...)We begin to hear double and triple: clarinet and cello imitate their own performance as it emerges from two loudspeakers (two tape tracks prerecorded by the two musicians). who is echoing whom? the echo (tape) is "preceding" the performance.meanwhile the piano must go on following obliviously its separate course-the piano solo would now be at its fastest and loudest,widest register,longest and most obsessed repetitions.What now?End it cannot.it could abruptly stop in mid-course or be stopped.by the percussion?yes.stopped,drowned out.percussion eruptions.need not be notated except in form of samples to "inform" the player.each eruption wipes out the piano music for a second or two.each time the piano emerges again(as if recuperating), until the percussionist strikes all of his instruments starting with the one farthest fro the piano and hitting everything on his way to the piano,finally into the piano strings with his mallets.this literally and symbolically stops the pianist in whatever phrase he happens to be playing at the time.silence.an aperiodic assortment of a-musical sounds (percussion) . composing-these last few pages-has become almost a kind of "programming", that is: samples and footnotes such a: "percussionist,hit side of piano,music stand,drum sides,etc.dull, pitchless, illegitimate sounds-"use" but do not "play" the instrument.think between attacks,then strike with a sudden hurried gesture.strike large lid of a garbage can (dullest thud) silence- to be filled by audience laughter-but laughter must subside quickly lest it cover the short epilogue-epitaph, giving the clarinet,cello and vibraphone a chance to sing their last notes in peace.

Author's note: Be the obvious mentioned here: there are not and never were "Work-Notes":only pages with numbers,and pages with music, 2 1/2 years of them.The so-called Work-Notes were written post factum in 2 1/2 days; they are based on the best of my recollection.


THE FRAGMENTS OF ARCHILOCHOS

The words of THE FRAGMENTS OF ARCHILOCHOS are surviving fragments by the ancient Greek satirist,Archilochos (714-676 B.C.),whose bitter pen caused caused several of his contemporaries to commit suicide.In many cases the composer emphasizes the humor of these fragments,their implications and possible juxtapositions.Subjects dealt with are life,death,love and war.
The work is written for four small choirs,large chorus,percussion,mandolin,guitar,male and female speakers and solo countertenor In addition to standard notation Foss writes specific pitches but leaves the rhythm up to the performers,or specific rhythms with the pitches only approximately indicated.At other times free choice of both pitch and rhythm is granted,within strictly defined limits.Considerable use is made of speech.In the more traditional passages,Foss employs some serial techniques.
To a musician,the unique feature of this composition,like the same composer's ELYTRES, is its form.Like other avant-garde composers,Foss is excited at the idea of writing works which can be performed many different ways.This is a reaction against music of the last 150 years,in which one performance ideally should not differ from another, and is a throwback (possibly subconscious) to the 18th century practice of improvising or embellishing a composition during a concert.Thus the performer once more becomes a creative artist instead of merely a reproducer of someone else's ideas.
With the new Foss technique,the complete composition is written out,the full score appearing quite dense-that is,most of the performing forces seem to be engaged simultaneously.However,by following an intricate diagram,the music is marked so that only a small amount of this material is actually heard at any one time.At another concert,different combinations are used.There are actually hundreds of different compositions pissible with the material assembled under this title,all predetermined by the composer when designing the diagram.
Foss comments,"I would not be interested in the many possibilities per se, were they not controllable.It is the fact that a glance at the score suffices to foresee all possible textures,harmonies,etc.,which makes the idea that every performance is different interesting to me.In a word,the composer is not taking a chance...the detail is as controlled as it is in a conventional score,one which does not vary from performance to performance.
"My aim,then,was to make multi-diversity possible without surrendering to chance.There remains the question WHY? Why is it desirable that each performance should differ from the other?The answer in this case is simple;for the pleasure of surprise-not so much the audience's, who may hear the piece but once,but the performer's.He will experience surprise at every performance because (a) the detail is always different, (b) because,though always different, the music remains curiously the same."

NON-IMPROVISATION

There are (curiously) no notes for this work in the enclosed insert.
From a couple of listens, I can tell you this:

The work is made up of two distinct layers of activity, one of which functions as a curtain or "fog" through which the second may sometimes be viewed (heard).
The first layer, the curtain, is a massive cluster of unknown origin (perhaps a forearm or two on the organ?) which, by being varied in volume or dynamics, allows the second layer- a sort of faux-Baroque (mostly harpsichord) music (whether authentic or fancied) to come more or less into focus.
Foss seems to be using a device he muses about above, of placing the music in time- the Baroque music representing the past literally, but, more importantly, also figuratively or metaphorically- in this instance by the varying of the speed and pitch of the fragments so that the echoes (repeated fragments) seem to be slipping into a fog of memory as they decrease in speed or pitch,
(I'm reminded of Brian Eno's First Variation on the Canon in D major by Johann Pachelbel-"Fullness Of Wind", where the speed of the fragments being played is governed by the pitch of the instrument playing them "(Bass=Slow)" but the effect here is quite different.)

Side One:

a1-Echoi I (3:37)

a2-Echoi II  (4:26)

a3-Echoi III  (7:24)

a4-Echoi IV  (11:58)

Lukas Foss-Piano
Jan Williams-Percussion
Douglas Davis-Cello
Edward Yadzinski-Clarinet
Side Two:

b1-The Fragments Of Archilochos  (10:12)

Crane Collegiate Singers,State University College of Potsdam Directed by Brock McElheran
Robert Betts-Tenor
Miriam Abramowitsch,Melvin Strauss-Speakers
Oswald Rantucci-Mandolin
Jonathan Marcus-Guitar
Jan Williams
Edward Burnham
Lynn Harbold-Percussion

b2-Non-Improvisation  (9:14)

Lukas Foss- Piano, Harpsichord
Jan Williams- Percussion, Hammond Organ
Douglas Davis- Cello
Edward Yadzinski- Clarinet
This recording was first issued as Wergo LP 60040. It was later re-issued on LP and cassette by Heliodor. The original masters for Echoi and Non-Improvisation were made on November 20, 1968 at the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library in Buffalo, New York. The Fragments of Archilochos was recorded at Potsdam, New York, in the late spring of 1968.

























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