Music of Reynolds, Shields and Kreiger

various artists compilation - Music of Reynolds, Shields, & Kreiger

* originally posted on August 16, 2006

Roger Reynolds
"...the serpent-snapping eye" (1978)

Edwin Harkins, trumpet; Daryl Pratt, percussion; Cecil Lytle, piano; 4-channel tape part realized at CCRMA, Stanford University

"...the serpent-snapping eye" was composed for trumpet, percussion, piano, and 4-channel tape. The phrase quoted in the title comes from "The Quarterdeck" chapter of Moby Dick, where Ahab, distributing grog to the crew, draws all into a directed abandon. My intention, then, was to explore those situations in which a loss of orientation leads us more deeply into the moment itself. There is a certain aquatic feel to the music, in which the performers are joined with a complex and sonorous fabric of computer-synthesized sound.
  The work is nineteen minutes long, divided into three roughly equal sections. In the first, the primary aim of the performers is to match, submit to and intensify the taped sounds. The second, in which the synthesized sounds are sparse, introduces a feeling of independence as the performers respond, reflecting on models provided by the tape. In the final section, the live performers complement and elaborate upon - they attempt to augment - the synthesized sound.
  The structure of "...the serpent-snapping eye" is based upon various series of gradually expanding and contracting durations. In addition, the shape of each component instrumental phrase parallels one of the three models used to program the computer in synthesizing the sounds that appear on the tape. Thus, the models for the electronic sounds find a second, more flexible expression in the activities of the live performers. There is, I hope, at every level, an evident concern for matching and conformation.  (Roger Reynolds)

Alice Shields
Coyote (1981)

Tape realized at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center

The piece Coyote is the prelude to Shaman, which is about American Indian shamanism. Coyote represents a shaman turning himself into a coyote and back to human form again. It is made from transformations of the composer's voice, coyote calls, male chorus and electronic sounds, and was made at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center in New York City. (Alice Shields)

Arthur Kreiger
Variations on a Theme by Davidovsky (1981)

Tape realized at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center

Electronic sound is a remarkably fluid medium. One is enticed by the unlimited possibilities in instrument designs, the infinite capacity for subtle shadings in timbre, and the potential richness of musical gesture found in the sound material. Variations on a Theme by Davidovsky (1981) explores an extensive palette of electronic tones and noises. Delicately shifting colors characterize this homage to one of the classic works in the electronic field. The composition recalls the opening ten measures of Mario Davidovsky's Synchronisms No. 6 for Piano and Electronic Sounds (1970) as a thematic subject. The theme appears 45 seconds into the piece "reorchestrated" for tape alone. It is preceded by a short introduction and is followed by a series of widely differing variations. Classical analog tape techniques (cutting, splicing and mixing) together with complex synthesizer patches have served in producing and shaping the variety of musical settings. The version presented on this recording is a stereo reduction of the 4-track master. the composer acknowledges the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation for its generous support. (Arthur Kreiger)

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Roger Reynolds - ...the serpent-snapping eye {19:29}

Side 2

2. Alice Shields - Coyote {12:33}

3. Arthur Kreiger - Variations On a Theme by Davidovsky {9:38}

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ACA Recording Award: Electronic Music

various artists compilation - ACA Recording Award: Electronic Music

* originally posted on August 7, 2006

DANCE FOR SARAH (1976) and THEME AND VARIATIONS (1977) were designed to explore a rich palette of electronic sounds. Timbres are often presented in a state of flux, approximating the opulence of acoustic instruments without imitating their specific colors. The sounds manipulated in these compositions were generated on the now-standard assemblage of classical analogue tape equipment bolstered by an early model Buchla Synthesizer. Cutting, splicing, and mixing - techniques handed down from the first makers of tape-recorder music - were used to extend short segments into longer melodic lines and more dense textures.

Flamboyant, raucous gestures characterize portions of DANCE FOR SARAH. The material presented in the opening undergoes considerable change as the work progresses and new elements appear, creating two broad sections. In 1977 DANCE FOR SARAH received honors at the Fifth International Electroacoustic Music Awards held in Bourges, France. the composition celebrates the birth of the composer's niece and is infused with the noisy energy of her first years.

The formal scheme of THEME AND VARIATIONS is more tightly defined. This later piece consists of a set of 17 variations on the opening tune. The variations differ in length, timbre and texture, and in the degree to which they reflect the character of the original. The theme can be heard quite clearly in the first and third variations; in later statements the relationship is not as readily apparent. The final statement, however, contains phrases that sound similar to those of the original theme. THEME AND VARIATIONS won second prize at the Sixth International Electroacoustic Music Awards in Bourges in 1978. (Arthur Kreiger)

AURORA, A WALTZ, uses a few distinctly electronic timbres, but mostly uses sounds with sharp attacks and immediate decays, similar to those of the piano. These sounds were chosen to emphasize the energetic rhythmic life of the musical structures employed. I would like to express my gratitude to William Buxton, the Director of the SSSP in Toronto, for the invitation to work there and for technical assistance. (William Matthews)

The material used in CONTRADICTIONS is varied. There are both electronically generated and concrete sounds. The work opens with a man's voice saying, 'Sounds are.' That phrase expresses my feelings about this work; sounds are whatever they are and stand by themselves. (Elias Tanenbaum)

Tracklisting:

1. Arthur Kreiger - Dance For Sarah {8:15}

2. Arthur Kreiger - Theme and Variations {8:55}

3. William Matthews - Aurora, A Waltz {6:21}

4. Elias Tanenbaum - Contradictions {10:33}

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Electronic Music Winners

various artists compilation - Electronic Music Winners

* originally posted on July 30, 2006

There was an electronic music competition that took place in the 1970s and the best pieces chosen by the judges were put on this record. Here's more information about this contest:

In the autumn of 1974, the League of Composers-International Society for Contemporary Music, U.S. Section, organized an International Electronic Music Competition, the first undertaken by the organization. Tapes of electronic music compositions were solicited from composers and electronic music studios all over the world. A distinguished panel agreed to select the winners.

The judges were:

Bulent Arel, composer and Professor of Music at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Mario Davidovsky, Pulitzer prize-winning composer, Co-Director of the Electronic Music Center of Columbia and Princeton Universities, and Professor of Music at City College of New York.

Jean Eichelberger Ivey, composer and teacher of composition and electronic music at Peabody Conservatory of Music.

J.K. Randall, composer and Professor of Music at Princeton University.

129 tapes representing composers from 15 countries were entered in the competition. Each judge listened to each tape individually, and then the judges met as a group to make their final selections. During the entire judging process, the tapes were placed in unlabeled boxes and identified only by numbers.

The winning compositions are presented in this album. It should be noted that no distinctions were made between the winning compositions, and that the order of works presented on the recording does not signify a ranking. Program notes and biographical material have been provided by the composers.

As President of the League-ISCM and coordinator of the International Electronic Music Competition, I feel that these works, besides being excellent pieces of music, represent a wide spectrum of approaches, attitudes, styles, and technical procedures that will give the listener much enjoyment and, also, an understanding of the breadth and sophistication of current electronic music. (Hubert S. Howe, Jr.)

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Maurice Wright - Electronic Composition {5:12}

2. Joel Gressel - Points In Time {6:50}

3. Daria Semegen - Electronic Composition No. 1 {5:37}

4. Menachem Zur - Chants For Magnetic Tape {3:50}

Side 2

1. Richard Cann - Bonnylee {1:22}

2. Arthur Kreiger - Short Piece {2:34}

3. Paul Lansky - mild und leise {17:39}

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