Lukas Foss-Time Cycle

Notes from the back cover (enclosed):

TIME CYCLE marks somewhat of a departure from the composer's earlier music
 (though it is one of the very earliest of his works which has been posted here in the Closet-the only earlier work is here.) 
mainly because of the absence of the neo-classic or neo-baroque.The vocal writing is "Lied" rather than  "Aria". Furthermore,tonality is clearly defined only in some places,totally destroyed in others. Finally,form and content,organization and substance can no longer be distinguished one from the other. They have become synonymous. Each song develops its own serial devices (of which the twelve tone row is the least frequently used).

The four SONGS are not tied to each other by either motive or row.Only a chord,a single sound-C#,A,B,D#,which undergoes various alterations- serves as a unifying element.
Though there is no overall musical motive, there is a literary one: the "Time-motive". Each poem refers to time,clocks,or bells.The relationship between music and words in the individual songs goes beyond mood painting. The idea and structure of the poems are mirrored in the ideas and structures of the music. Text and music are fellow conspirators.

One of the principal musical techniques used in the cycle was suggested to the composer by the sentence (by Franz Kafka, Song 3) "The clocks do not synchronize-the inner one chases in an inhuman manner the outer one goes haltingly at its usual pace".
Foss says: "It was when I came across this sentence that I had the time song cycle idea".

The IMPROVISED INTERLUDES are not, properly speaking,part of the composition. The song cycle can be performed without them. They form,however,an added attraction, a spontaneous commentary on time,clocks,bells. The four improvising instruments remain silent during the performance of a composed movement, then conductor,orchestra and singer stand by and the improvising chamber group takes over- then the composition continues with the next song. At no time are composition and improvisation combined.
Foss discarded the obvious possibility of improvisations developing from thematic material of the songs.Instead,he conveived a variety of basic "textures" and basic "pulses" - a kind of pre-compositional raw material- then proceeded to put these "in order", assigning  "roles" to the four improvising instruments, according to a technique developed by him and his ensemble, a technique based on the study of the predetermined coordination of non-predetermined musical ideas. Furthermore,since recordings do not have the concert hall's advantage of visual distinction between the composed songs and the chamber improvisations, Foss structured the improvisations in their relationship to the composed parts in such a manner as to convey a feeling of "two performance levels". Each succeeding interlude appears to ignore the song which precedes it by retracing its steps,as it were.to the place where the previous interlude left off. Thus the interludes weave like a thread through the song cycle, connecting not with the songs but with each other.
In summing up the difference between composition and improvisation, Foss says "In composition all becomes "fate". Improvisation remains "chance", "hazard", corrected by the will".


Lukas Foss: Time Cycle (Orchestral Version)

Side One:

a1-I-We're Late

a2-Improvised Interlude No.1

a3-II-When The Bells Justle

a4-Improvised Interlude No.2

Side Two:

b1-III-Sechzehnter Januar

b2-Improvised Interlude No.3

b3-IV-O Mensch,Gib Acht

Leonard Bernstein conducting the Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Adele Addison-Soprano

The Improvisation Chamber Ensemble:
Lukas Foss-Piano
Richard Dufallo-Clarinet
Charles DeLancey-Percussion
Howard Colf-Cello


























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