Moondog - Moondog: The Viking of 6th Avenue
There was a compilation of Moondog tracks with the same title that was released about several years ago. This one featured in the post is the companion CD to a Moondog biography, Moondog: The Viking of 6th Avenue written by Robert Scotto. I thought that as a biography it is very good. It is well-researched. It offers insight into who Moondog was (yes, he was formally trained in music), the unfortunate situation of his blindness that he had to deal with, how he almost became famous early in his career, why his life went into a different direction (i.e. why he lived in poverty and had to go out on the street to obtain income), his habits and lifestyle, and how he eventually became respected and accepted. I would certainly recommend this book for anyone interested in Moondog and/or interesting artists. Did I mention it comes with a CD of Moondog's music?
I think a lot of the tracks may or may not be familiar to you all, but this one does have some previously unreleased material including performances with Steve Reich, Philip Glass (who wrote the preface in the book), and Jon Gibson. Of course, there is a lot more of Moondog out there if one knows where to look.
Tracklisting:
1. Caribea {1:32}
Performer/Composer: Moondog
2. To a Sea Horse {1:44}
Performer/Composer: Moondog
3. Trees Against the Sky {0:51}
Performer/Composer: Moondog
4. Oo Debut {1:09}
Performer/Composer: Moondog
5. Autumn {2:08}
Performer/Composer: Moondog
6. Moondog Monologue {8:24}
Performer/Composer: Moondog
7. Moondog's Theme {1:54}
Performer/Composer: Moondog
8. Trimbas in Quarters {1:48}
Performer/Composer: Moondog
9. I Came Into This World Alone {1:19}
Performers: Moondog, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Jon Gibson
Composer: Moondog
10. Be a Hobo {1:22}
Performers: Moondog, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Jon Gibson
Composer: Moondog
11. Why Spend the Dark Night With You {1:40}
Performers: Moondog, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Jon Gibson
Composer: Moondog
12. All is Loneliness {1:38}
Performers: Moondog, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Jon Gibson
Composer: Moondog
13. Organ Rounds {2:05}
Performer/Composer: Moondog
14. Canon in F Major, Book I {0:44}
Performer: Paul Jordan
Composer: Moondog
15. Canon in B Flat Major, Book III {1:37}
Performer: Paul Jordan
Composer: Moondog
16. Canon in B Flat Major, Book I {0:43}
Performer: Paul Jordan
Composer: Moondog
17. Canon in B Flat Major, Book II {0:29}
Performer: Paul Jordan
Composer: Moondog
18. Canon in G Sharp Minor, Book I {0:44}
Performer: Paul Jordan
Composer: Moondog
19. Canon in C Sharp Minor, Book II {1:33}
Performer: Paul Jordan
Composer: Moondog
20. 5/4 Snakebite Rattle {3:41}
Performer: Stefan Lakatos
Composer: Moondog
21. Trimbas and Woodblock in 5/2 {1:26}
Performer: Stefan Lakatos
Composer: Moondog
22. When I am Deep in Sleep {2:18}
Performer: Stefan Lakatos
Composer: Moondog
23. Rabbit Hop {2:26}
Performer/Composer: Moondog
24. Dog Trot {2:25}
Performer/Composer: Moondog
25. Bird's Lament {2:01}
Performer/Composer: Moondog
26. Viking 1 {2:56}
Performer/Composer: Moondog
27. Heimdall Fanfare {3:07}
Performer/Composer: Moondog
28. Intro and Overtone Continuum {2:22}
Performer/Composer: Moondog
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Louis T. Hardin (Moondog) - Selected Works
released in 1978
Performers:
Gavin Black - harpsichord
Fritz Storfinger - organ
Guy Carmichael - horn
Louis T. Hardin - percussion
Pannonia Quartet: Gabor Cui, Ludovik Sandrik - violins; Klaus Koenig - viola; Bertalan Ikrenyi - cello
Heimdall Fanfare conducted by Dave Kamien
The organ pieces were recorded on the Brell organ in Herz-Jesu Kirche, Oberhausen, West Germany.
The harpsichord pieces were recorded in New Haven, Connecticut.
Louis Hardin, born in 1916 in Marysville, Kansas, wrote his first song at the age of eleven. Only several years later, however, did he make the final decision to become a composer, inspired by the book "The First Violin." After musical study with Maud Manniny, Bernard Schaefer, Anna May Sansom, and Daphne Ivans, at the lowa School for the Blind, Hardin moved in 1943 to New York, which he felt to be the musical center of America at that time. Over the next thirty years Hardin remained in New York writing and playing his music. As a strong believer in tradition he chose to respect the ancient rules of counterpoint in his work, following them even more strictly than most composers of the past. He was attracted especially to the form of the canon: in the 1950's and 60's Hardin wrote 300 madrigals in the form of canons, and over a hundred canonically based keyboard works, including four books of The Art of the Canon for keyboard. As the canon is the strictest musical form, so the couplet is the strictest poetic form; and Hardin has authored over one thousand couplets and longer poems over the years, including the madrigal texts. In New York, Louis Hardin, who lost his sight at age 17, met many of the greatest artists of the day, such as Artur Rodzinski, Arturo Toscanini, Dmitri Mitropolous, Leonard Bernstein, George Szell, Martha Graham, Charlie Parker, Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington. Hardin began using the name Moondog in 1947, and under that name produced several records of his music from the early 1950's on. During a concert tour of Germany in 1974, Hardin, who in recognition of his affinity for classical tradition had previously described himself as a "European in Exile", decided to remain where he was. After a stay in Hamburg he settled near Recklinghausen where he lives today ("incognito", according to 'Le Monde'!). The present record contains a sampling of Hardin's recent music.
The four works played on harpsichord are taken from collections put together in the early 70's. The Canons in C major and C minor are from The Art of the Canon, Book 1, and the two modal works are from Troubador Harp Book 1. Though these works were not originally conceived for harpsichord, composer and performer agree that they are well suited to the instrument. The harpsichord used here was built in 1977 by Keith Hill.
The Chaconne in G was written in 1974. This piece is a Tonata in one movement. The Romance is the second movement of a three movement Tonata in C for string quartet, completed in 1976. The Tonata is a form conceived by Hardin. He says "it is an outgrowth of the Sonata, though different enough from it to require a new name. Each Tonata is a law unto itself, though they all have much in common, all relying heaving on counterpoint, featuring the canon and the ground, relieved here and there by harmonic and rhythmic effects." The development sections of the two quartet pieces are in canon form, double 2-part canons. In the Romance it has the added feature of being a mirror canon. The Pannonia String Quartet of Marl has been playing together since 1975. The Heimdall Fanfare forms part of the Creation, begun in 1971, Hardin's most ambitious contrapuntal work to date. The work tells the story of the Nordic Creation myth; in music and elegaic couplets the music is based on the first nine notes of the overtone series of the note g, used in order as a contrapuntal theme. The Fanfare is a nine-part canon in the dorian mode. Heimdall, a figure from the Nordic mythology, is the watchman of Asgard, who blows the Gjallar-Horn. The Chaconne in C for organ was written in 1967. Along with the other organ works recorded here, it is played on the Breil organ of the Herz-Jesu Kirche, Oberhausen. The works on side two are taken from the Logrundr Book One for organ, written between 1974 and 1976 and dedicated to Paul Jordan. Like the twelve books of Madrigals and the four books of The Art of the Canon, this collection contains 25 pieces in all keys, arranged according to the circle of fifths, beginning and ending with pieces in C major. The works are canons over a repeated bass, sometimes with a coda. The counterpoint in all of Hardin's canons is invertible, allowing the order of parts to be reversed in the middle of each piece. Logrundr XIX is a portrait of the composer's mother. About organ sound, Louis Hardin has said, "I like the diapason and the flutes the best, and care very little for the reeds. I like a clear, pure classic tone on the organ, without vibrato." On Hardin's being asked why some of the organ pieces as recorded here have reeds, the reply was, "Ask Storfinger". Hardin is currently at work on a second Logrundr Book, dedicated to Fritz Storfinger, which will contain organ duets as well as solo organ pieces. (Gavin Black)
Tracklisting:
Side 1
1. Canon in C Major {1:14}
harpsichord
2. Canon in C Minor {1:36}
harpsichord
3. Ground in the Ionian Mode {1:39}
harpsichord
4. Canon in the Mixolydian Mode {1:23}
harpsichord
5. Chaconne in G Major {4:47}
string quartet
6. Heimdall Fanfare (Canon in the Dorian Mode) {3:06}
for nine horns
7. Romance (Second Movement of String Quartet in C Major) {5:22}
8. Chaconne in C Major {3:04}
organ
Side 2
Selection from Logrundr Book I for Organ
1. Logrundr No. XV in B Major {1:25}
2. Logrundr No. XVII in E Major {3:48}
3. Logrundr No. XIII in F-sharp Major {3:26}
4. Logrundr No. XII in B-flat Minor {3:05}
5. Logrundr No. VII in E-flat Major {2:09}
6. Logrundr No. IX in A Major (Portrait of My Mother) {9:04}
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