Hall Overton / Lester Trimble - Split Release (CRI 1972)

Notes (reprinted in spite of the fact that I find them really rather annoying) excerpted from the back cover (included).

Pulsations is the last in Overton's considerable catalogue and is probably the work that most perfectly fuses his own equal and opposite musical loves, concert music and jazz. In his words, it "explores various aspects of rhythm. Instead of avoiding the pulse, my intention was to write music based largely on a strong, steady beat." This is not, however, the primitive pulse of the typical jazz band but ranges from "straight-ahead propulsion, lag beat, silent beat, free time and doubling"". The moderately knowing listener will recognize characteristic jazz figures, along with others that are subtler, more deeply imbedded in the musical texture,  and also more personal to Overton.
In addition to its specific jazz references, Pulsations sometimes achieves a strange and dreamlike atmosphere that seems to represent the unworldly aspects of the jazz scene.
The work is dedicated to Thelonious Monk, the eminent jazz pianist,who is one of the many jazz people Overton worked closely with. It was commissioned by The Ensemble of New York.

The Ensemble; Dennis Russell Davies,conductor

In Praise Of Diplomacy And Common Sense  has been described as "a sonic happening", "an hallucinatory montage", "an ironic sequence." It has been compared to sections of James Joyce's Ulysses and Finnegan's Wake.
To evoke such observations it would seem to be a new and unusual kind of theatre- one might call it "spatial sonic theatre"- which seeks through techniques of musical and verbal overlapping and interpenetration, to evoke the realities of a dramatic event and simultaneously, to make a philosophical comment upon them.
The composer writes:
"The libretto is a montage of news items culled mostly over an eight-day period from the New York Times, the Washington Post, Time magazine, and Life magazine. It presents the simultaneous spectacles of a bloddy uprising in the Congo, the release of the Warren Report on the assassination of John F Kennedy, violent anti-American demonstrations in Egypt, a threatening contretemps between the USA and the Soviet Union in the United Nations, and other examples of human cruelty and intransigence displaying an apparent absence of true diplomacy or common sense from the national and international arena."

The Ensemble; Dennis Russell Davies,conductor; Richard Frisch,baritone

























Hall Overton- Pulsations (17:42)

Lester Trimble- In Praise Of Diplomacy And Common Sense (14:51)


(1)

Chamber Concerto/Ringing Changes

Charles Wuorinen - Chamber Concerto/Ringing Changes

released on LP in 1971

I'm glad that I am able to have a new post in what has been a few months.

Chamber Concerto

composed in 1963 for cello and 10 players

Fred Sherry - cello

The Group for Contemporary Music:

Harvey Sollberger - flute
Josef Marx - oboe and English horn
Jack Kreiselman - clarinet and bass clarinet
Donald MacCourt - bassoon
Jeanne Benjamin - violin
John Graham - viola
Alvin Brehm - double-bass
Robert Miller - piano
Raymond DesRoches, Richard Fitz, Claire Heldrich - percussion

Charles Wuorinen - conductor

The Cello Concerto was composed over the first six months of 1963 for the Group for Contemporary Music, which Harvey Sollberger and I had founded the previous spring. It was premiered in January of 1964 by the Group at Columbia University, with Robert Martin as soloist and Arthur Bloom conducting.
The external design of the work divides it into five connected movements, each of which casts the soloist in a different light. In the first, his role is conventionally bravura, and this is what separates him from his accompaniment. In the second (barring short interludes in which he does not participate), he plays the lead voice in a four-part canon; the other three voices are divided between the two groups of accompanying instruments, so that each group has only six pitch-classes in its vocabulary. The cello here is unique in its ability to utter all twelve. In the third movement, the soloist asserts himself by initiating events, which are then reflected elsewhere in the ensemble ... The fourth movement sees the cello as leader of a concertante group drawn from the larger ensemble, which varies in instrumentation at each appearance. Behind the relatively fast music of the soloist and his immediate friends is a slow-moving background ... The final movement offers a summary of all these solo-ensemble relations, for along with other transformations, it is a retrograde of the entire work, first at four times the original speed, then twice, then undiminished, and finally, for the very last notes, augmented.
The cello is accompanied by a divided ensemble, and occasionally you can hear the music localized in one group or the other; there is, however, no overt or consistent antiphony between the two. To the right as we face the cello are flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, violin, and viola; to the left are piano, contrabass, and percussion (in this recording divided among three players, rather than the two called for in the score). (Charles Wuorinen)

Ringing Changes

composed in 1969-1970 for percussion ensemble

The New Jersey Percussion Ensemble:

Raymond Des Roches - director

Joseph Passaro - vibraphone and timpani
Marty Martini, Louis Oddo - vibraphone
Dean Poulsen, Eugene McBride - piano
Ken Hosley, Donald Mari - drums
Matthew Patuto - brakedrums
Doreen Holmes - almglocken
Michael Moscariello - cymbals
Vincent Potuto, Jr. - tamtams
James Pugliese - string drum and chimes

Charles Wuorinen - conductor

Ringing Changes was composed in 1969 and '70 for the excellent ensemble of student percussionists founded and directed by Raymond DesRoches, the group that performs it here. The work is in a single long movement, and is - somewhat like the Concerto - based on a continuous polyphonic skeleton which lies beneath the sonic surface of the work, and which generates the moment-to-moment continuity. Here the music is divided between pitched and non-pitched voices, and a basic four-voice polyphony is disposed with two voices given to pitched instruments - mainly piano four-hands and vibraphones - and two ("noise" or relative-pitch) given with various alternations and duplications to sets of 12 metal instruments, 12 drums, 6 cymbals, and 4 tamtams. An occasional inflectional role is performed by a string drum, and at the end chimes and timpani appear.  (Charles Wuorinen)

Tracklisting:

Side One

1. Chamber Concerto  {18:05}

Side Two

1. Ringing Changes  {16:50}

(1)

William Kraft-Percussion By William Kraft (1972? Crystal Records)

Excerpted from the (rather dry and dull) cover notes.


TRIANGLES is Kraft's most recent percussion-featured work.It was begun in 1965 and completed in 1968, and bears the dedication "to the maestro,Igor Stravinsky-my constant inspiration-with love and respect".
The solo voice handles a huge array of drums (six differing types), metallophones (including varied sized cymbals,tam-tams,and triangles,plus four differently pitched antique cymbals and a pair of finger cymbals), lignophones (i.e. wooden instruments,in this case,five temple blocks and three graduated wood blocks as well aas marimba,vibraphone and glockenspiel.
The instrumental body that supports and complements the solo percussion is a dectet of four woodwinds,three horns and three stringed instruments
(...)
A three-in-one organization pertains to the solo voice.First there is a predominance of the membraneous instruments,working out of a number of aleotoric jets of material which Kraft calls "cells". A more settled,motoric type of music follows.The next section features the vibraphone and the marimba,with a substantial cadenza (indeed, a concerto) for the vibraphone.Part three just as emphatically highlights the timpani. Despite this coloristic paragraphing,the music is not segmented.Though devoted to rhapsodic concepts the totality provides  the logical fundament of concert design.For the greater part the other instruments support the structure and frame the detail(...)


THEME AND VARIATIONS
 Is a mini anthology of percussion detail for four players performing on twenty-seven instruments.Kraft's opus serves a dual purpose: it is used as the finale of an entertainingly didactic "Introduction to the Percussion Section"(preceded by short instrumental examples and narration) or,as here, it stands alone as a concert piece.

MOMENTUM
Kraft's octet is based first on an idea in which pitch enlarges and aids the governing doctrine of rhythm.The primary part of the piece is a generating figure with disjunct properties, first heard on the xylophone.This is elongated ant compressed and then contrasted to more conjunct data in which rhythmic counterpoint comes to full growth.


For personel and instrumentation on each piece,see the record labels reproduced below. 
                                                                                                                                                                       

        

Side One:
 
a:Triangles (a concerto for percussion and ten instruments) (18:12)

Side Two:

b1:Theme And Variations (for percussion quartet) (8:16)

b2:Momentum (for eight percussionists) (5:08)

 






















(1) or (1)

Lukas Foss/Jan Williams-The Contemporary Composer in the USA (Turnabout 1972)

To paraphrase one of our regular visitors,who recently wrote this sentiment about a different composer:
"No amount of Lukas Foss is too much".

And with a nod to another of our visitors, who likes the phrase "Show me dangerous music", first seen at Wolf Fifth, where you may find another rendition of Paradigm has been posted recently-(see the "some worthwhile blogs and sites" sidebar).


Extended excerpts from the back cover (enclosed):


ELYTRES (French for wing-sheaths) is the first of three compositions (Fragments of Archlochos and For 24 Winds or the others) containing on every page more than is almost ever heard vertically at one time.In other words,when that page is played, a portion of it is likely to be omitted.During the same performance,that page will return,but now only that is played which has been left out before.New here is the concept of obtaining various combinations via omission. It paved the way for Baroque Variations and especially Geod, in which that which is not heard, is nevertheless played,only inaudibly.The instrumental forces of Elytres are 1-solo flute 2-two solo violins,3-distant violins and percussion,4-harp,vibraphone,piano keys, piano strings (played with triangly beaters a la mandolin) There are twelve phrases, which when played twice successively,constitute one complete performance.True to the above-mentioned principle of omission, an instrumental force which played the phrase the first time through will remain tacet when the phrase comes back later,and vice-versa. The choice can be made spontaneously, at the moment of performance,resulting in one of 15 different possibilities ranging from silence to everybody playing at once.Also, Elytres can begin with any of the twelve phrases,end with any of them.Repeat performances should use different starting points and make different omission choices. To repeat the identical version, is to violate the intent of the composition.

Why should one performance differ from the other? To this there are many answers. One of them is surely; for the pleasure of surprise.Not so much the listener's, who may hear the piece only once, but the performer's.His surprise will be two-fold: That his own performance,his own part can combine in so many different ways, creating ever new simultaneities, two- that for all these differences of detail the composition remains somehow mysteriously the same.

PARADIGM ("for my friends") is possibly the only existing score in which the percussionist doubles as conductor.He conducts with mallets in his hands or a flexaton or a musical saw or anything else he has to play with at the moment.He also shouts words which at times serve as cues for the other four performers.These are= an electric guitarist and any three other instrumentalists designated in the score as high,middle and low.(In this recording-oboe,viola and electric harpsichord.)
Thus choice is an integral part of the instrumentation.Choice is also at the core of the individual performance.In fact, there is not a single sound that is not subject to some spontaneous choice on the part of the player.

I-Session: There are three musical tasks for each player.The musicians also have syllables to shout or whisper, derived from the sentence "someone will be held responsible".

II-Reading: A poem results from 8x8 available word juxtapositions.The individual players have moments of note choice and moments of word choice.The poem, though ever changing,will alcways be something of a commentary on the music.

III-Recital: Each player has three pitch choices for every sonority.These sounds are cued by the percussionist who plays flexaton.

IV-Lecture: The words are taken from one of my recent lectures. In an extended middle section,the performers imitate the inflection and or rhythm of a phrase on their instruments.The imitation may anticipate,duplicate,or echo the spoken words.

These final words-"show me dangerous music!" -are followed by the only theatrical moment on the piece:the percussionist brings the other instrumentalists to a sudden and violent stop,but the one he singles out last is instructed not to obey-He will continue to play and shout syllables from "I" until the others have acknowledged the applause and left the stage.
In this performance,the conductor/percussionist aptly singled out the composer (on electric harpsichord) for the task.

NI BRUIT NI VITESSE can be seen all over France on traffic signs,mostly in hospital zones.
Though the work is for 2 pianists and 1 percussionist (playing inside the piano) only 1 pianist and 1 percussionist appear on this record.Mr.Williams and Mr.Foss recorded one part then added the other track while listening to the first with ear phones.

There are no electronic sounds or electronically changed sounds in the piece. Moreover,all percussion sounds are produced inside the piano with the help of large cowbells,small Japanese bowls,and tape covered triangle beaters.
There is a close interaction between pianist and percussionist;when the former depresses a key the respective damper will rise, indicating to the percussionist the location of the correct piano string.Thus,one man's performance makes the other man's possible.Canons are arrived at in the same manner.There is a "simple child-like tune" the pitches of which change with each performance.
Ni Bruit Ni Vitesse is a tone poem without a story,for two pianos that do not sound like pianos,but like sounds in nature,often rising barely beyond the threshold of audibility.


About his DREAM LESSON Jan Williams has this to say:

"In early 1970,Lukas Foss asked me to compose a work for the Festival of the Foundation Maeght which was to take place in July 1970 at the Maeght Gallery in St Paul de Vence,France
The performance area was to be a large,inflatable structure,with no supporting superstructure.Dream Lesson was written with this structure in mind.The interior of a grand piano is utilized as the primary source of sound,with one performer exploring the instrument with a variety of acoustical and electronic devices, ie electronic megaphones producing feedback.A non-angular montage of sustained masses of sound results.The form is open-ended and relatively free with only the basic shape being specified."

For this recording,the acoustical material was arranged in multi-layers,equally divided between the two stereo channels,with one additional layer which is "thrown" back and forth between the channels in a random pattern (much as the pendulum can be manipulated in the live performance situation)...


Side One:

a1-Lukas Foss: Elytres (6:12)

a2-Lukas Foss: Paradigm ("for my friends") (19:37)

Side a: Members of The New York Philomusica Chamber Ensemble, A.Robert Johnson,Director,
Lukas Foss Conducting.

Side Two:

b1-Lukas Foss: Ni Bruit Ni Vitesse (13:19)
Lukas Foss and Jan Williams,Performers
 
b2-Jan Williams: Dream Lesson (8:14)
Jan Williams,Percussion

 

























(1) or (1)

Karlheinz Stockhausen-Music Im Bauch/Tierkreis (DG 1977)

 



















 


Excerpts from the booklet (enclosed):

MUSIC IN THE BELLY:

 Julika, my little girl,was about 2 years old when one evening all kinds of little sounds started coming from her insides and I said to her, "Why Julika- you have music on your belly!"(...)
In 1974, 7 years later, as I awoke one morning, I heard and saw a performance of Music In The Belly, exactly as I have now written it down.However, several details took shape only when I started composing.For instance, I wrote not only the three melodies which are imparted to the listener, revealed tone for tone and motive for motive- they are born as a whole and finally even handed over to the listener- I composed, instead, 12 melodies- one for each sign of the Zodiac.Each of these melodies has its own particular character and its own central pitch.(...)
For a performance,the players choose 3 melodies and everything they play comes from these.The marimba plays one of them stretched over the entire length of the performance.The klangplatten* play the three chosen melodies one after another and in their total duration, determine the length of the performance. The other instruments interpret motives and single notes of the melodies, or they play the melodies in various tempi simultaneously.
For the world premiere in Royan,France on March 28,1975 with "Les Percussions de Strasbourg", I chose the melodies LEO- AQUARIUS- CAPRICORN (they occur in the order,each played in 16:1 augmentation on the klangplatten, these notes serve as time orientation for the other players.
For this recording, the same order af these 3 melodies has been chosen.
*"Klangplatten"-Literally "sound plates"- are panels made of a metal alloy which,when struck,sound like low bells with very strong penetrating low fundamentals and long resonance.They differ from "plattenglocken"("plate bells") in that these are made of bronze and sound distinctly like low church bells.

Performance Description (excerpted from the booklet,enclosed):

 (from)1-In the middle of the open stage hangs a birdman with the name MIRON (who is covered in strings of small bells). The silvery glittering klangplatten stand stage left in front of a sky blue, sound-reflecting partition,at the front edge of the stage are three small tables,at stage right a marimba,and in the background of the stage,at the left and right,one set of antique cymbals each,and in the middle a glockenspiel. In front of  MIRON stands yet another, small glockenspiel on a low stool.(...)

 (from) IV- The three players begin very slowly , then gradually faster to run bizarrely in a circle around MIRON, continuously hittin him more intensely, until they create through an secstatic dance with wild leaps, a dense rattling and tinkling of bells and tramping on the floor.

V-At three peals of the tubular bell, they all freeze and stare at MIRON.Player 1 looks to the exit,runs out,comes back with a large pair of scissors and cuts open MIRON's stomach.He searches inside the stomach with his hand,pulls out a small wooden box,looks around,sees one of the small tables (at the left edge of the stage, goes there.places the box on the table,opens the cover of the box and the music box melody of th LION begins.He goes to the small glockenspiel in front of MIRON and plays the melody simultaneously with the music blx the second time that it begins.
(...)

ZODIAC
 
After I had dreamed Music In The Belly, I inquired about music box factories, and landed after some searching in the music box factory Reuge in 1450 Sainte Croix in Switzerland.There I learned how music boxes are built and what one must consider when on wishes to compose for them. I learned,by the way,that until then, only arrangements of fragments from compositions and from songs were made for music boxes and that there were no original compositions for them in existence.

Apart from this, I began to busy myself with the 12 human characters of the Zodiac of which I had until then only a vague idea.In inventing each melody I thought of the character of children,friends,and aquaintances,who were born under the various star signs,and I studied the human types of the star signs more thoroughly.Each melody is now composed with all its measure and proportion in keeping with the characteristics of its respective star sign, and one will discover many legitimacies when one hears a melody often,and exactly contemplates its construction(...)


Karlheinz Stockhausen- Music Im Bauch/Tierkreis

Side One:  

a1-Music In The Belly for 6 Percussionists and 3 Music Boxes (33:13)

Side Two: b1-12: Tierkreis (Zodiac) for Music Boxes

I-Aquarius     (1:25)
II-Pisces      (2:10)
III-Aries      (1:59)
IV-Taurus      (1:36)
V-Gemini       (1:31)
VI-Cancer      (1:35)
VII-Leo        (1:53)
VIII-Virgo     (1:22)
IX-Libra       (1:46)
X-Scorpio      (2:14)
XI-Sagittarius (1:59)
XII-Capricorn  (1:41)























(1) or (1)

The McGill Percussion Ensemble- Percussion (1978)

Here is some percussion music from some Montreal-based composers.

Notes excerpted from the back cover (enclosed):

Francois Morel- Rythmologue (1969)
is written for eight percussionists and a total ensemble of 90 percussion instruments of varied pitch, along with eight whistles, the latter being heard only at the beginning of the piece.
Rythmologue is built on prime numbers 3-5-7-11-13-17-19 and adopts a broadened form of rondo.Refrains enhance the various transformations of rhythmic characters, while the episodes are free in style and lean towards a thematic concept.There are no keyboard instruments (vibraphone, xylophone, marimba, tubular bells or glockenspiel) but only three groups of timbres: skin, metal and wood.
Avoiding any exotic aim, Rythmologue strives simply to give life to rhythm and color.

Alcides Lanza- Sensors I (1976-1) for percussion Ensemble. Written for four solo percussion players, the composer intended to create a "harmony of percussion", starting on a field of continuous stratified sounds and evolving into a field of granular, discontinuous sounds with a high density index. The compsition is structured on two parallel Fibonacci series, starting out of phase and slowly going into phase towards the end of the piece.
As the composer did in his earlier composition for Percussion Ensemble and electronic sounds Interferences II (1967-1), certain techniques were borrowed from the field of electronic music composition:
filtering:
by using a variety of mallets and modes of attack: by using new types of mallets.
modulation:
by striking different areas in the instruments, new mallets, new performing techniques,etc.

Serge Garant- Circuit I
was quickly organized between December 28, 1971, and the following January 10. It is the least "written" of my scores. In it, I continue the exploration of a series of proportions that come from an interval analysis of the theme of The Musical Offering. This basic series (3-4-1-9-7-2-5) affects, first of all, the duration of the seven principal sequences. These sequences are interrupted four times by digression of varying lengths. The series of proportions in turn gives rise to a large network of series, all built according to the principle of the Fibonacci series. The performers wander, more of less freely, across this network, tracing a "circuit"

Several versions are possible. I have intentionally used very vague indications of dynamics, timbres and modes of performance.

Andrew Culver-Signature- 
 
  










Composed during December 1976 and January 1977, is dedicated as a Christmas gift to his family. Culver has also done extensive improvisation, performance, and design of new sound sources and environments with le groupe mud/design musical.(*)
Andrew Culver was born in New Jersey in 1953. After several years of peripheral involvement in music of all styles, he took up music study in earnest at the age of 20. His guiding influences have been Bengt Hambraeus and Mario Bertoncini with whom he studied composition at McGill University.

* le groupe mud/design musical is also known by the group name "Sonde" Whose album "en concert" can be found here.


Side One:

a1: Francois Morel- Rythmologue (10:54)

a2: Alcides Lanza- Sensors I (1976-1) (12:14)

Side Two:

b1: Serge Garant- Circuit I (13:27)

b2: Andrew Culver- Signature (5:22)

The McGill Percussion Ensemble
directed by Pierre Beluse
 





















(1) or (1)

CageCentennial: In Honor of the 100th Anniversary of John Cage's Birth (Collections 3 & 4)

various artists compilation -  CageCentennial: In Honor of the 100th Anniversary of John Cage's Birth (Collections 3 & 4)

The week of Cage is near the end. This week went by really fast. There may be one or two more posts later today. In the meantime, the third and fourth collections arrive. For those who stumbled on this post, all of the background information for this compilation is mentioned in the previous post.

Collection #3 Tracklisting:

1.  Sonic Youth - Four6  {29:59}
from CD Goodbye 20th Century ; composed in 1992 ; released in 1999

2.  American Composers Orchestra - Seventy-Four Version I  {12:14}
from CD The Seasons ; composed in 1992 ; released in 2000

3.  Jonathan Faralli - Cartridge Music  {5:18}
from CD Percussion XX ; composed in 1960 ; released in 1999

4.  Gentle Fire - Music for Carillon 2  {1:25}
from LP Gentle Fire ; composed in 1952; released in 1974

5.  Bertram Turetzky - 26'1.1499" for a String Player  {16:05}
from LP The Contemporary Contrabass ; composed in 1955

Collection #4 Tracklisting:

1.  The Kroumata Percussion Ensemble - Second Construction  {6:51}
from CD The Kroumata Percussion Ensemble ; composed in 1940 ; released in 1983

2.  Sonic Youth - Six 3rd take  {3:03}
from CD Goodbye 20th Century ; composed in 1991 ; released in 1999

3.  Karen Phillips - Dream  {6:54}
from LP Viola Today ; composed in 1948 ; released in 1974

4.  Mieko Kanno - Freeman Etude # IX  {4:33}
from CD metaCage: Essays on and Around Freeman Etudes, Fontana Mix, Aria (accompaniment to book of the same title) ; composed in 1977-1980 ; released in 2009

5.  Victoria Looseleaf - In a Landscape  {11:58}
from LP Harpnosis ; composed in 1948 ; released in 1984

6.  Gentle Fire - Music for Amplified Toy Pianos  {11:57}
from LP Gentle Fire ; composed in 1960 ; released in 1974

7.  Cathy Berberian - The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs  {2:29}
from CD Magnificathy: The Many Voices of Cathy Berberian ; composed in 1942 ; re-released in 1988

8.  The Brandeis University Chamber Chorus - Solos for Voice 2  {12:36}
from LP Extended Voices ; released in 1967

(3) and (4)

Works for Percussion

John Cage - Works for Percussion

CD released in 1991

performed by Quatuor Helios

Recorded "live in studio" July 1989 at the Centre Culturel Andre Malraux in Vandoeuvre-Les-Nancy (France)

A collection of most of Cage's percussion works. It is nice to have many of these in one place. (There was another Quatuor Helios CD released that included Cage's other percussion works.) I've featured other performances of many of these pieces that are played on this album yet I can't really get enough of Cage's percussion music. I've found this one somewhere online (can't quite recall where, but the site is likely no longer in existence). I thought it deserves a reposting.

Tracklisting:

1.  Second Construction  {7:32}

2.  Imaginary landscape No. 2  {5:30}

3.  Amores: I.  {1:06}
Isabelle Berteletti - prepared piano

4.  Amores: II.  {3:20}

5.  Amores: III.  {1:20}

6.  Amores: IV.  {3:32}
Isabelle Berteletti - prepared piano

7.  Double Music  {4:44}
composed by John Cage and Lou Harrison

8.  Third Construction  {10:14}

9.  She is Asleep: I.  {4:28}

10. She is Asleep: II.  {7:16}
Isabelle Berteletti - prepared piano ; Martine Ward - voice

11. First Construction (In Metal)  {10:04}
Philippe Chaignon - percussion ; Anne Berteletti - piano ; Eva Payeur - other [assistant]

(1) or (1)

Harrison / Felciano - Split Release (Cambridge CRS 2560)

Today is the 95th birthday of Lou Harrison, who died
in 2003, aged 85.

The following notes are from the album sleeve (enclosed):

Richard Felciano's "In Celebration Of Golden Rain" for the unique combination of Javanese Gamelan and Organ, the composer conducting, intrigued the imagination all the way. Felciano fulfilled his broad scheme, partly because he composed his own music for the gamelan. "Golden Rain" is the name of the spectacular set of tuned percussion instruments used on loan from Samuel Scripps.
Felciano wrote sparingly for the 12 UC players and the expert organist, Lawerence Moe. There were brief flourishes of phrases and silences, soft lowing rolls blending with the organ, articulative accents applied to tis sustained notes, deep gong tones picking up on the organ pedal, a fanciful play of overtones and stopped tones. Even of the conflict between the tuning temperaments of gamelan and organ. Felciano exploited the microtonal frictions to exquisite effect."
From article by Robert Commanday

Glossolalia was commissioned by Robert Snow for the dedication of a new organ in St. John Fisher Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The text was chosen from Psalm 150, a text in which organs, timpani, cymbals, strings - virtually every known instrumental type (...)
are exhorted to glorify God in his sanctuary.
The Latin text is exploited for it's phonic qualities as well as it's literal meaning, and the effect of glossolalia (speaking with tongues) is often the result. The work is a ritual in that the central instrument, the organ, is invoked from the outset by the others: the organ takes aural shape only gradually, the sound of it's bellows being heard before the sound of its pipes, attaining full definition only at the end.


Side One:

a1-Richard Felciano: Glossolalia (Ritual For Electronic Tape,Percussion,Baritone and Organ)
Marvin Klebe-Baritone
Peter Maund-Percussion
Lawrence Moe-Organ
Richard Festinger-Electronics
Conducted by the composer


a2-Lou Harrison: Gending Pak Chokro
Performed by the Berkeley Gamelan

Side Two:

b1-Richard Felciano: In Celebration Of Soft Rain (for Gamelan ond Organ)
Scripps Javanese Gamelan of the University of California, Jody Diamond and Daniel Schmidt, directors




























(1) or (1)

George Antheil-BALLET MECANIQUE/A JAZZ SYMPHONY/VIOLIN SONATAS (Philips 6514 254) 1982?

Today is the 53rd anniversary of the passing away of George Antheil, at the age of 58 years.
He was born July 8, 1900.

Here are the cover notes in their entirety:

























Having heard some, but by no means all, of Antheil's later work, I have to strongly disagree with the beginning of the closing paragraph above. These works are, while perhaps simpler in their structure and expression,nonetheless very powerful, iconoclastic, and exciting works which have proven to have an undiminished relevance- as acknowledged later in the same paragraph- and power which many of his other, later works would seem to lack.
-Dr I

George Antheil- BALLET MECANIQUE / A JAZZ SYMPHONY / VIOLIN SONATAS

Side One:

1- Ballet Mecanique

Side Two:
2- A Jazz Symphony
Netherlands Wind Ensemble
conducted by Reinbert De Leeuw

3- Finale from Sonata No. 1 For Violin and Piano
4- Sonata No. 2 For Violin and Piano
Vera Beths- Violin
Reinbert De Leeuw- Piano
File repaired
(1)
or
(1)

Marius Constant/Karlheinz Stockhausen-14 STATIONS/ZYKLUS (Erato 1972?)

Marius Constant / Karlheinz Stockhausen-14 STATIONS / ZYKLUS
(Erato STU 70603) 1972?

Today would have been Marius Constant's 87th Birthday.
He died 15th May, 2004, aged 79.


The (rather spare) cover notes are in French, and I dare not risk the translating of technical terms.Since I couldn't find anything much online, you're stuck with my two bits worth.

Here is another Marius Constant record which has similar features to the other one I've posted:
Intelligent and creative use of unique instrumentation; primarily percussion, but including prepared electric guitar (either this or maybe the cello through a wah-pedal at one point), harpsichord, trombone, violin and viola.
The percussion batterie is enormous- the cover photos (enclosed) show images presumably taken at the recording session- Many gongs, 2 octaves of temple blocks, all the mallet instruments, loads of cowbells, tympani, and so forth.
The writing is primarily timbral and dramatic use is made of dynamic contrasts, space, and surprising color combinations. The piece has a ritual flavour (in it's theme,of course -The crucifixion, but also) in it's sound and the somewhat distinct division of Stations - (still not distinct enough for me to risk separating them) with the pitched instruments acting as spectators or commentators to the action.

Karlheinz Stockhausen's Zyklus is a (partially) graphic score which allows the percussionist to choose the order of the 12 parts, and thus the music unfolds differently in each performance, adding the extra element of risk if the performer decides not to choose the order until the moment of playing.
I have no idea what approach Gualda used, but the result is a strident, confident reading which seems more rhythmic and dramatic than the other versions I've heard. The playing is virtuosic and sounds multi-tracked at times; If it isn't, Gualda is an octopus.


Side One:
Marius Constant-14 Stations Pour Percussion Et Six Instruments

1-La Condamnation
2-La Croix
3-Première Chute
4-La Mère
5-Simon
6-Véronique
7-Deuxième Chute
8-Exhortation Aux Femmes
9-Troisième Chute
10-Vétements Arrachés

Side Two:

11-Crucifixion
12-La Mort
13-Descente
14-Ensevelissement
Percussion – Sylvio Gualda
Leader – Marius Constant
with:
Guitar [Prepared Electric Guitar] – Pierre Urbain
Harpsichord – Elisabeth Chojnacka
Cello – Jacques Wiederker
Trombone – Camille Verdier
Viola – Paul Hadjaje
Violin – Jacques Ghestem

15-Karlheinz Stockhausen-Zyklus Pour Percussion

Percussion – Sylvio Gualda






















Photography By – Jean-Pierre Leloir
Engineer – Guy Laporte
Mixed By – Bernard Leroux
Soloists on 1 to 14 from Ars Nova Ensemble.
file repaired

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Edgar Varese-BOULEZ CONDUCTS VARESE (1977) Columbia Masterworks

Edgar Varese-BOULEZ CONDUCTS VARESE (Columbia Masterworks 1977)
(This L.P. won the Grammy award in 1979 for "Best engineered Classical Album").

I've made this post so large in order to give folks a look at the orchestration- the percussion section is of particular interest to me. The wire sculpture at the bottom is by Alexander Calder. (All photos were acquired by searching "Edgar Varese photos".)

wiki sez: (Wiki articles are accessible by clicking on titles)

Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse, French pronunciation: [ɛdgaːʁ viktɔːʁ aʃil ʃaʁl vaʁɛːz], whose name was also spelled Edgar Varèse[1] (December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965), was an innovative French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States.

Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm. He was the inventor of the term "organized sound", a phrase meaning that certain timbres and rhythms can be grouped together, sublimating into a whole new definition of music. Although his complete surviving works only last about three hours, he has been recognized as an influence by several major composers of the late 20th century. His use of new instruments and electronic resources led to his being known as the "Father of Electronic Music" while Henry Miller described him as "The stratospheric Colossus of Sound".

From the back cover notes (enclosed):

Ionisation was first performed at a Carnegie Hall concert March 6,1933. With Nicolas Slonimsky conducting.It was received with enormous enthusiasm by one part of the audience and whit horror - struck puzzlement by the other.
The Impact of the new work seemed all the greater for its brevity: it lasts barely six minutes.(...)

Ionisation (1929–1931) features the expansion and variation of rhythmic cells, and the title refers to the ionization of molecules. As the composer later described, "I was not influenced by composers as much as by natural objects and physical phenomena."
Varèse also acknowledged the influence of the Italian Futurist artists Luigi Russolo and Filippo Tommaso Marinetti in the composition of this work.

Arcana is based on a single idea, which Varese called an idee fixe rather than a conventionally symphonic theme. This "obsessive idea" consists of eleven notes, which are basically only three: and ascending minor third repeated in a syncopated rhythm.

Amériques Was written between 1918 and 1921 and revised in 1927, it is scored for a very large, romantic orchestra with additional percussion (for eleven performers) including sirens. It was the first work Varèse composed after he moved to the United States, and although it was not his first work, he destroyed many of his earlier pieces, effectively making Amériques his opus one (although he never used that designation).[1]

Structurally, the work is in one movement which lasts for around twenty-three minutes, with full orchestral involvement virtually throughout. The work is marked by its fiercely dissonant chords, and rhythmically complex polyphonies for percussion and wind. It develops in continuous evolution with recurring short motifs, which are juxtaposed without development.
Varèse intended the title Amériques to symbolize "discoveries - new worlds on earth, in the sky, or in the minds of men."

Amériques is scored for the following very large orchestra with additional percussion:

Woodwinds

3 Piccolos
4 Flutes
Alto Flute
4 Oboes
English Horn
Heckelphone
E-flat clarinet
4 Clarinets in B-flat
Bass Clarinet
Contrabass Clarinet
4 Bassoons
2 Contrabassoons

Brass
8 Horns in F6 Trumpets
4 Tenor Trombones
Bass Trombone
Bass Tuba
2 Contrabass Tubas

Percussion
Timpani (2 players)



13 Percussion Players

1: Xylophone, Triangle, Ratchet, Sleigh Bells
2: Glockenspiel, Lion's Roar, Ratchet, Whip
3: Tambourine, Gong
4: Celesta, 2 Bass Drums, Slapsticks, Gong, Triangle, Lion's Roar
5: 2 Bass Drums, Slapsticks
6: Castanets, Sleigh Bells
7: Sleigh Bells, Siren, Boat Whistle, Wind Machine
8: Cymbals, Gong
9: Snare Drum
10: Crow Call, Sleigh Bells, Lion's Roar,
Wind Machine, Triangle, Slapsticks
11: Slapsticks, Lion's Roar, Sleigh Bells, Whip
12: Whip, Triangle, Slapsticks, Wind Machine
13: Sleigh Bells, Slapsticks, Gong, Triangle

"Interior Fanfare"
4 Trumpets (2 in E-flat, 2 in D)
3 Trombones (2 Tenor, Bass)

Strings
2 Harps

Violins I, II (16 each)
Violas (14)
Violoncellos (10)
Double basses (10) (with low C extensions)

The revised version of 1927 reduced the instrumentation.(...)























Edgard Varese- BOULEZ CONDUCTS VARESE (CBS Records, 1977)

Side One:
1: Ameriques (1918-'21, Rev. 1927) (24:44)

Side Two:
2: Ionisation (1929-31) (6:07)
3: Arcana (1927) (18:22)

The New York Philharmonic,
Conducted by Pierre Boulez.



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Sonde- EN CONCERT (Music Gallery Editions MGE14) 1978

Sonde - EN CONCERT (MGE14) 1978

From the back cover (enclosed):

Live concert improvisations. Some of the pieces are played on new sound-sources designed and constructed by members of the group. Others use traditional sources in a new context. Occasional use of electronic sound-modification techniques.


From the insert (enclosed):

Mario Bertoncini showed Le Groupe Mud that music can be made from
'sound sources' which the musician conceives and makes himself. The activity, which he calls "Musical Design", is not the same as instrument building.
An instrument can play any number of different peices. On the other hand, the sounds available from a 'sound source' constitute a single piece. This is a kind of sculpture in sound in which no parts are predetermined and in which the only guide is the kind of sound one wants to explore.(...)
The use of electronic amplification makes it possible to discover a world of sound in any type of material. Each successive degree of amplification is like hearing further and further inside he material with a kind of musical microscope. The sound can also be varied, in real time, by electronic processes such as filtering or ring modulation(...)
Gradually, through a period of improvisational practice, each sound-source begins to impose a 'form' on the piece.One source may ask for an active, fast-moving piece with silence in which players contrast different sounds; another may require a slower, continuous band of sound with constantly shifting colours, with the players providing the blend. But each time the piece is played it is new. With each improvisation a new aspect of it is discovered, and this becomes part of the piece which never stops growing.
Sonde - en concert

Side One:

A1- Mudiature 0:15
A2- Sahabi 3 7:02
A3- Voix 9:05
A4- Flutes/Modulation 5:25
A5- Mudiature 0:20

Side Two:

B1- Les Plaques 11:03
B2- Sahabi 2 14:06


















Performers – Andrew Culver, Charles De Mestral, Chris Howard (tracks: A1, A3 to A5, B1), Keith Daniel (tracks: A1, A3 to A5), Linda Pavelka (tracks: A1, A3 to A5), Pierre Dostie
Photography – Culver, Miller

Side A is from a concert at Music Gallery, Toronto, on January 14, 1978.
Track B1 is from a concert given at the group's studio in Montréal on July 13, 1977.
Track B2 is from a concert given at York University, Toronto on January 17, 1978.
This record is dedicated to Mario Bertoncini.

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The Glass Orchestra-THE GLASS ORCHESTRA (Music Gallery Editions MGE10) 1977

The Glass Orchestra (Music Gallery Editions MGE10) 1977
Booklet Enclosed.
These Notes adapted and excerpted from an article by Evan Ware:

The Glass Orchestra (a Toronto new music ensemble) works exclusively in the medium of glass, employing custom- or hand-made instruments (eg, glass harmonica, flute, xylophone) and 'found' instruments (bowls, wine glasses, bottles, tubes, etc). It is the only permanent ensemble of its kind in the world. The Glass Orchestra dates its beginnings to late 1977. It's founding members (heard on this record- Their first) are Miguel Frasconi, Marvin Green, John Kuipers, and Paul Hodge.

It has greatly advanced the craft of glass instrument-making. That the instruments it makes are fragile and do break highlights the exploratory and improvisatory nature of the ensemble, who regard such breakages as opportunities to discover different properties in the pieces of the shattered instrument.

The Glass Orchestra sets up on four carpets, each on a side of a large cube made of metal shafts. The various instruments of the ensemble - which collectively weigh half a tonne - are hung on the metal structure or placed on the carpets. The Glass Orchestra generally performs on candlelit stages in darkened halls because they "like to see the hundreds of reflections in the instruments" (Glass Orchestra website.)
The Record (MGE10)














The Glass Orchestra-MGE10

Side One:
A1 (10:09)
A2 (3:54)
A3 (7:00)
A4 (2:31)

Side Two:
B1 (8:03)
B2 (15:26)



















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