Freud [soundtrack]

Jerry Goldsmith - Freud [soundtrack]

Early in his prolific and renowned career, film music composer Jerry Goldsmith scored a soundtrack to the 1962 film, "Freud". It is a biographical film of Sigmund Freud directed by John Huston.

From the liner notes:

From the very first moment of the film's main title, one is absorbed not only by the strange and effective art work, but even more importantly by the brilliant music. It is music of high energy and tension, at times disturbing. Other portions of the score contain passages of an eerie nostalgia and delicate lyricism. The style of composition is substantially atonal, similar to that of the experimental atonality of Freud's later contemporaries in Vienna: Berg, Webern, and Schoenberg (circa 1910-25). This type of stark agitated music was necessary; for had the central focus of the music been linked precisely chronologically to Vienna in the 1880's i.e., Mahler, Brahms, Johann Strauss Jr. and Richard Strauss, etc. (There are brief allusions to Johann Strauss Jr. in certain parts of the film, but in a style appropriate to the score's fundamental intentions), the effect would have been different and off-target.

The score sustains a cerebral character throughout. It seems to scan the psyche and direct the emotions in a severe and bizarre fashion perfectly descriptive of this important period in Freud's life. Goldsmith's musical expression seems to have a dual nature. At times it has the detached objective quality of Freud the scientist. At other times it takes on the aberrational identity of the various characters of the drama, including Freud himself, whose important psychological discoveries included revelations about the effects of a traumatic episode in his childhood on his own psyche. These two contrasting subjective and objective elements are skillfully manipulated by Goldsmith, who superimposes, when the film calls for it, his unique communication of a curious quasi-Viennese nostalgia.


Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Main Title {3:17}

2. Charcot's Show {5:08}

3. Thirsty Girl {1:18}

4. Case Histories {2:12}

5. Desperate Case {3:30}

6. The Funeral {0:45}

Side 2

1. Cecilie and the Dreamer {3:02}

2. Cecilie's Dream {1:07}

3. The First Step {2:10}

4. Red Tower Street {1:26}

5. Trauma {3:20}

6. Freud's Awakening {1:51}

7. End Title {2:30}

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Environments Disc 2

Syntonic Research Inc. - Environments Disc 2

For this Sunday's post, we have the beautiful computer generated bell sounds of "Tintinnabulation" and the lovely sounds of the countryside recorded during the morning. There's more information quoted from the liner notes.

TINTINNABULATION (Computer synthesized)

The ENVIRONMENTS concept is far broader than the mere simulation of natural sounds. The effect of sound on our abilities and thought processes is a little understood, mysterious phenomenon. As an illustration of the possibilities currently under examination, SR decided to experiment with bell sounds as an environmental sound source.

The effect we created, based on an oriental theory of musical harmonics, has never been heard before. The sound is bells, but bells so dulcet and beautiful that they affect the subconscious in totally unexpected ways. As a long duration environmental sound source, they are truly superb.

Imagine five different bells, each as big as an average room, which are sounded very, very softly and reverberate for minutes afterwards. The sound seems to float in the air, slowly moving around the room as a physical presence.

Tintinnabulation can be played at any speed, from 78 to 16 rpm, in full stereo. At different speeds, the sounds change in tone and apparent size, although the harmonics remain unchanged. The effect, unlike real bells, is fully controllable by the use of your volume, bass, and treble controls.

A creation of extensive research into computer acoustics, the sound is purposely random, rather than taking the form of a musical composition.

We think you will find Tintinnabulation highly useful for both meditation and relaxation, unlike side two of this disc, which is primarily intended for more active activities. Many people report that they become completely relaxed within the first few moments of play.

DAWN AT NEW HOPE, PENNSYLVANIA June, 1969

The dawn sounds superbly preserved on this disc are sounds which are gradually vanishing from the North American countryside.

Totally different in mood and concept from the sounds of Disc One of this series, Dawn at New Hope recreates the aural environment of a beautiful morning in late spring, complete with owls, crows, doves, insects, dogs, and geese. Our objective was not to make an artifically "beautiful" recording, but a real sound, which seems to get better each time you listen to it.

So many people had written us asking for this specific environmental sound that we felt obligated to give them the finest recording of a North American dawn ever made. In full stereo. On a good high-fidelity system, the sounds produced are so realistic that most people soon forget they are listening to a phonograph record.

The usefulness of the recording is a subtle thing... Walk into a room where it is playing and you may feel the city had suddenly vanished - replaced by serene, verdant countryside. If played in the morning, we think you will find the sounds influence your entire day.

Unlike the "opaque" sounds of Disc One, Dawn at New Hope is a transparent sound which does not neutralize other environmental sounds. Thus, conversations are gentle in tone, and the sound seems to appear and disappear, dependant on your activities of the moment.

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Tintinnabulation [33 1/3 RPM] {29:59}

1a. Tintinnabulation [45 RPM] {22:31}

Side 2

1. Dawn at New Hope, Pennsylvania {30:11}

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The People United Will Never Be Defeated!

Frederic Rzewski - The People United Will Never Be Defeated!

Performer: Ursula Oppens - piano

To be honest, I'm more interested in hearing Rzewski performing this himself, but unfortunately, I don't have that recording on hand at the moment. However, this recording is the original as Ursula Oppens commissioned Rzewski to write something for her and this music was the result. Rzewski even dedicated this work to Oppens. This work is considered a classic in the canon of modern piano music. It is a bunch of variations on a song of the same name written by Sergio Ortega. Ortega's song became an anthem of the Chilean resistance movement against the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. There have been several recordings of this work yet Oppens' version is still worth a listen if at least for historical importance.

Tracklisting:

1. Thema {1:23}

2. Variation 1 {0:53}

3. Variation 2 {0:53}

4. Variation 3 {1:07}

5. Variation 4 {0:58}

6. Variation 5 {0:58}

7. Variation 6 {1:05}

8. Variation 7 {0:52}

9. Variation 8 {1:04}

10. Variation 9 {1:05}

11. Variation 10 {0:57}

12. Variation 11 {0:58}

13. Variation 12 {1:09}

14. Variation 13 {1:44}

15. Variation 14 {1:15}

16. Variation 15 {1:19}

17. Variation 16 {1:32}

18. Variation 17 {1:06}

19. Variation 18 {1:27}

20. Variation 19 {0:38}

21. Variation 20 {0:34}

22. Variation 21 {0:48}

23. Variation 22 {0:44}

24. Variation 23 {0:28}

25. Variation 24 {2:10}

26. Variation 25 {2:13}

27. Variation 26 {1:10}

28. Variation 27 {4:54}

29. Variation 28 {1:22}

30. Variation 29 {0:34}

31. Variation 30 {2:24}

32. Variation 31 {0:55}

33. Variation 32 {0:57}

34. Variation 33 {1:00}

35. Variation 34 {1:01}

36. Variation 35 {1:01}

37. Variation 36 {4:21}

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Bali: The Celebrated Gamelans

Bali: The Celebrated Gamelans

From the liner notes:

Side 1:

1. Ramayana Ballet (kendangs, suling, genders sarons, bonangs, & gongs)

Selections: An evocation of the Ramayana in ballet form.

1. Rama pursues the golden stag and slays it.

2. Rawana kidnaps Sita.

This recording was made on a tour of Bali, traveling at night on a bicycle. In this silence, the only guide was gamelan music echoing through the darkness. In the vilage, young dancing-girls (6 years old) were learning, to this music, the different gestures and body-movements necessary to the performance of this ballet.

2. Barong or Kris Dance (suling, kendangs, bonangs, sarons, & gongs)

Selections: Prelude to a ceremony called "Barong," played on the flute (suling).

3. Offering-Procession (gongs and cymbals)

Processions are very common in Bali: those taking folk to the temple move to the sound of this strange music. Clad in their most beautiful "batiks" (decorated material worn as skirts), the young girls bear on their heads the great silver domes holding the offerings that are to be placed in the temple.

Side 2:

1. "Ketjak" or monkey-dance

In the silence of the night, a hundred or so men, bare to the waist join together around a huge torch. Shaking their shoulders and lifting their arms skyward, they cry in cadence: "chak, chak, chak..." while characters tell the Ramayana epic: the pursuit of the golden stag, its death, the capture of Sita, the eagle's flight, Sita in the palace rescued by monkeys. At the outset, the repetition of the sound "chak" put a girl named Sanghyang into a trance. This ceremony provided knowledge of the gods' wishes as transmitted through Sanghyang.

2. Gender wayang: Ansarun (genders)

The genders provide musical accompaniment for the wayang kulit (the Balinese version of the shadow-plays of eastern Java). The puppets are buffalo-hide cutouts. The "dalang," the real hero of the shadow-play, conducts the ensemble of genders. He sits behind a screen lit by an oil lamp.

3. Pendet (kendangs, genders, sarons, bonangs, and gongs)

Selection: This religious dance is performed by "pemangkus" (priests and priestesses), women, or little girls. Recently introduced into the Legong performances, the pendet is usually danced by three young girls. In their hands they hold silver cups or braided palm-leaves containing offerings of flowers, food, etc. At the conclusion of the dance, they throw flowers at the audience to bless it.

4. Legong (kendangs, genders, sarons, bonangs, and gongs)

Selections: From the age of five, every little girl hopes to be chosen to belong to the group of Legong dancers who meet in the village every evening. Thus, the girl-child you pass on the road in the daytime may appear among the temple dancers in the evening; her peasant father will leave his rice-field to take his place at the gamelan, while her mother will oversee the family preparation of the offering (i.e. the plaiting of palm-leaves).

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Ramayana Ballet [excerpt] {6:17}

2. Barong or Kris Dance [excerpts] {6:57}

3. Offering Procession {1:36}

Side 2

1. "Ketjak" or Monkey Dance [excerpts] {5:26}

2. Gender Wayang: Ansarun {2:22}

3. Pendet [excerpt] {2:54}

4. Legong [excerpts] {4:11}

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80 Trombones and 30 Basses

Henry Brant/Gerhard Samuel - 80 Trombones and 30 Basses

Henry Brant - ORBITS

ORBITS was recorded in St. Mary's Cathedral, San Francisco, California, on February 1979.

Credits: Bay Bones Trombone Choir and assisting artists; Will Sudmeier and Billy Robinson, directors; Henry Brant, organ; Amy Snyder, voice; Gerhard Samuel, conductor

From the liner notes:

Berlioz is said to have exclaimed "No instrument can lift you from the depths of hell to the heights of heaven as can the trombone." Perhaps this was after hearing the sinister unisons of pedal tones on eight trombones in his Requiem, notes previously unknown or thought impossible by trombonists. But what might Berlioz have thought of a complete orchestra of trombones, eighty strong, playing at times in eighty real parts, and spanning a better than five octave gamut, comprising soprano, alto, tenor, bass and contrabass trombones?

This is what HENRY BRANT has undertaken in his ORBITS, and the present CRI recording was made during the first performance on February 11, 1979, described in the following account of the concert in Time Magazine's issue of March 5, 1979.

"The scene at St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco was vaguely surreal. In the pews was an audience of 1500, sedate as any church-goers. Ranged about them in a huge semicircle was a gleaming array of 80 trombonists, as if a parade had lost its way and sought sanctuary.

"But when the music began, the sound was a far cry from Sousa. Separated by staccato commentaries from the cathedral's pipe organ, densely dissonant sonorities clashed and blended over the listeners' heads. Full-throated blares, splintery muted phrases, the crooning tones of the soprano trombone, the rumble of its contrabass relative - all seemed to accelerate in a circular motion, spinning into the cathedral's 190-foot cupola like an earthly echo of the music of the spheres."

Gerhard Samuel - WHAT OF MY MUSIC!

WHAT OF MY MUSIC! was recorded in the Ralph Corbett Auditorium of the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati on July 1979.

Credits: Nelga Lynn, soprano; 36 string basses from the International Summer School for Double Bass of the International Society of Bassists (Barry Green and Paul Ellison, soloists); Allen Otte, James Culley, and Michael Hakes, percussion; Gerhard Samuel, conductor

From the liner notes by the composer:

WHAT OF MY MUSIC! was written between March 13 and 29, 1979 at the request of Barry Green on behalf of the International Society of Bassists which holds an annual summer school at the College-Conservatory.

WHAT OF MY MUSIC! requires a lyric coloratura soprano, two solo double basses, (also two solo basses in the ensemble), twenty-eight tutti basses and three percussion players playing flexatone, vibraphones, marimbas, tam-tams, suspended cymbal, triangle, crotales, snare drum, chimes, thermos-shell and gourd. On a basic level the soprano represents the exterior manifestation of Emily Dickinson's intense quest for reaching 'the sole ear I care to charm'; the basses carry the interior monologue. But, as always when talking about music, this is gross oversimplification, since fundamentally WHAT OF MY MUSIC! is, after all, my reaction to Miss Dickinson's poem.

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Henry Brant - Orbits {21:07}

Side 2

1. Gerhard Samuel - What of My Music! {15:10}

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Earwicker News

The bad link in my La Monte Young post from last week is fixed.

I'm sorry for the inconvenience caused by Massmirror's instability.

There's also a new mix up at my HCE blog. Very deep and slow-flowing.
I hope you like it.

The Language and Music of the Wolves

The Language and Music of the Wolves

I missed last Sunday's nature/environmental sounds post. Didn't mean to do that. I guess that's the way it goes sometimes. I decided to post something other than bird songs this Sunday. Hope this is educational as our foolish government thinks it's okay to shoot wolves again so they could go back on the verge of extinction.

From the liner notes:

The actual language and music of the Wolf recorded in his remaining territories. And the true explanation of the Wolf and Man, narrated by Robert Redford, actor and nature lover. (Another project of Natural History Magazine)

Some slightly technical information:

The wolf howl is a long, low, mournful sound. It is continuous - from about half a second to 11 seconds in length. It consists of a fundamental frequency, between 150 and 780 cycles per second, and contains up to 12 harmonically related overtones. The pitch remains constant or varies smoothly, and may change direction as many as four or five times. Total intensity does not vary greatly throughout. Yet there is much variation in the howling of different wolves.The following howls were recorded in Ontario, Michigan, and Minnesota.

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Robert Redford narrates The Wolf You Never Knew {14:25}

Side 2

1. Sounds of the Wolf: Opening Howl {1:07}

2. Sounds of the Wolf: First Growls {1:28}

3. Sounds of the Wolf: Pup Howls {1:26}

4. Sounds of the Wolf: Wolf Barking {1:15}

5. Sounds of the Wolf: Series of 3 Adjacent Single Howls {2:12}

6. Sounds of the Wolf: Comparative Difference in Howls {0:50}

7. Sounds of the Wolf: Single Howls {0:54}

8. Sounds of the Wolf: Combined Sounds of the Wolf {1:17}

9. Sounds of the Wolf: Distant and Close-up Howling {1:54}

10. Sounds of the Wolf: Series of Group Howls {4:14}

11. Sounds of the Wolf: Joint Group Howl {3:00}

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Ceremony

Spooky Tooth and Pierre Henry - Ceremony

Electronic music pioneer Pierre Henry collaborates with Gary Wright, then a member of blues-based hard rock band Spooky Tooth, for this concept album revolving around a Mass. Even though this album was Pierre Henry's idea and Spooky Tooth were called in as a session band to record some songs for Henry, Ceremony was sold as a Spooky Tooth album. From what I understand, Spooky Tooth fans generally enjoyed the previous album Spooky Two and were looking forward to their next release. Most of the fans seemed to be rather disappointed with Ceremony with some still hating it up to this day. Spooky Tooth's rock music is blended with Pierre Henry's electronics throughout the album. The mix works for some while it doesn't for others. Overall, I think this album rocks.

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Have Mercy {7:50}

2. Jubilation {8:21}

3. Confession {6:46}

Side 2

1. Prayer {10:48}

2. Offering {3:25}

3. Hosanna {7:35}

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TONES, EXTRA-LONG

The bad link is FIXED now. DL via Mediafire. I've been away for a few days, so I couldn't do it earlier. Thanks for your patience.

As stated in the comments section, this version is from 1984, performed in Cologne by the Trio Basso.

In 1958, when John Cage worked on his anarchic "Concert for Piano and Orchestra", young La Monte took off in a different direction with his composition "Trio for Strings". Inspired by Indian Ragas and Japanese Gagaku, this 12-tone piece conveys a strong feeling of musical stasis.

***

"This serial piece, with its silences and long tones, paved the way for music based on tonality, drone and infinite time spans, brushing aside elaborate formal development in favor of the contemplation of pure sound."

David Paul, Seconds Magazine No. 50, NYC 1999

***

"After completing UCLA, I got my BA in 1958. Over the summer I had permission to compose on the large organ in Royce Hall. I had the idea that I wanted to write something with long sustained tones. I wanted to actually hear the tones sounding. The idea to write a piece with long sustained tones came to me totally by intuition. It was not something that I calculatedly decided I should try. It wasn't an experiment. It was not a lark. It was something that came to me totally through inspiration and intuition. Something that was inspired from above, and I felt that I must write long sustained tones. I had to do this. It was my calling. I began to write them.

I had written some long sustained tones in the middle section of For Brass in 1957. These tones were so long that it prompted Lucas Foss to once say, "La Monte Young lived on Zen standard time; a second to him was just a heartbeat in the life of the Buddha." He was very supportive of me, whereas nobody else at UCLA was really understanding of this kind of work with serial composition. He was understanding of it, and he was encouraging me to continue even though I was not at the time directly having a class with him. I had previously had classes with him, and so we knew each other, and he was very supportive of me.

So, in the summer of '58 I wrote the Trio for Strings at the great organ in Royce Hall at UCLA. I actually finished writing out the transparencies, the "onion skins", on Sept. 5 after I had already arrived at the Berkeley campus. I was just finding my way around at Berkeley. I showed this composition to my new composition teacher Seymour Schiffrin, and he expressed concern about the piece. He was having these private music calls for the graduate students in his composition class at his home. It was a very interesting composition class, because not only did it include me, but it included Pauline Oliveros, David Del Tredici, Lauren Rush, Charles McDermott, and Terry Riley who was auditing the class. ... Meanwhile though, Seymour was concerned. I didn't know what I was hearing with these long sustained tones, even though I had written it at the organ mind you. He arranged to have a performance of the work at his house, which was nice. The violinist was Oleg Kovalenko, the violist was John Graham, and the cellist was Bonnie Thompson. In any case, they played it and I was very happy to hear it. Clearly I had known what I was writing and so I was able to talk about the piece. The piece became a constant topic of conversation at Berkeley forever after that, especially in that class. I venture to say that none of the people in that class would have ever gone on to do what they did had they not heard the Trio for Strings at that time."

An Interview with La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela, by Gabrielle Zuckerman, American Public Media, July 2002

***

"I think that this kind of sense of time has to do with getting away from the earthly sense of direction which goes from birth to death, in other words, like developmental form, and has to do with static form and moving up into, by up I mean like vertically, as in Vertical Hearing, moving, then, up through the sound of a chord or the sound of a tamboura or the sound of an interval that's sustained, using this to create a drone state of mind as I described. By using this to create a drone state of mind, it provides a means toward achieving a state of meditation or an altered state of consciousness that can allow you to be more directly in touch with universal structure and a higher sense of order. And that once one achieves this kind of state of consciousness, in order to maintain it, one is not trying to get back down to the earthly level and get back involved with directional, climactic form, developmental form, one wants to stay in this more static state. The drone constants are very supportive and allow you to use them as positioning points of reference, to remain aloft, so to speak, in this special state of consciousness and awareness."

La Monte Young & Marian Zazeela: an interview by Ian Nagoski.

***

Stasis

Inside the Great Pyramid

Paul Horn - Inside the Great Pyramid

Flute player Paul Horn recorded this album in three rooms of the Great Pyramid of Gizeh (Cheops). Sides one and two were recorded in the King's Chamber and side three was recorded in the Queen's Chamber. Side four was actually recorded in the Burial Chamber of another pyramid (Kephren). Horn was attempting to obtain a spiritual experience from playing in the pyramids as well as record his playing including the unique echoes, in the pyramids' rooms, generated by his playing.

Previously, Horn has played and recorded inside of a structure. In 1968, he recorded his playing from inside the Taj Mahal. The tape of the results were released as the album Inside. Afterwards, Horn would go on to record the "Inside" series of albums including this album, Inside the Cathedral, Inside Canyon de Chelly and Inside Monument Valley.

Horn started out as a jazz musician playing mainly what is described as "cool jazz" then went to India in 1967 to study trancendental meditation. This experience would mark a new direction in his career as he started to create more new age or meditative style of music starting with his Inside album from Taj Mahal.

In the first week of May 1976, Horn went to Cairo with his recording engineer. Horn and his recording engineer accompanied a group touring the pyramids and other Egyptian ancient structures and monuments. Horn only had a few days available to get permission to play in the Great Pyramid after closing hours. Horn eventually was granted permission to go in the Great Pyramid on the evening of May 6th, 1976 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Horn's recording engineer had one tape recorder and a microphone which were used to record Horn's playing. The music Horn created that evening was totally improvised. He interacted with the echoes as if he was playing with another musician. The next evening Horn and his recording engineer were granted permission to go after closing hours in the pyrmaids Kephren and Mycerinus and Horn's playing was recorded in these pyramids.

Inside the Great Pyramid was originally released as a 2-LP album with a booklet that was used as a source to provide some of the information in this post.

Tracklisting:

Side One - Initiation

1. Invocation {0:41}

2. Psalm 1 {4:06}

3. Psalm 2 {2:10}

4. Psalm 3 {2:18}

5. Psalm 4 {2:49}

6. Psalm 5 {3:18}

7. Psalm 6 {2:20}

8. Psalm 7 {4:04}

Side Two - Meditation

1. Psalm 1 {3:45}

2. Psalm 2 {1:17}

3. Psalm 3 {4:55}

4. Psalm 4 {2:57}

5. Psalm 5 {2:59}

6. Psalm 6 {5:08}

Side Three - Enlightenment

1. Psalm 1 {4:01}

2. Psalm 2 {4:07}

3. Psalm 3 {2:28}

4. Psalm 4 {3:04}

5. Psalm 5 {4:26}

6. Psalm 6 {0:53}

Side Four - Fulfillment

1. Psalm 1 {5:07}

2. Psalm 2 {3:21}

3. Psalm 3 {1:52}

4. Psalm 4 {3:43}

5. Psalm 5 {2:11}

6. Psalm 6 {1:24}

7. Psalm 7 {2:15}

8. Psalm 8 {1:21}

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New Events: Boston Composers of the '70s

various artists compilation - New Events: Boston Composers of the '70s

Neyrac Lux by Pozzi Escot

performer: Harry Chalmiers - guitar

"Neyrac Lux" (1978) was written in memory of the French scientist, M. Emm. Pozzi-Escot, "le jeune savant de Nancy", born in Neyrac Mont in 1880.Harry chalmiers, remarkable young virtuoso on the guitar and for whom the work was composed, is on the faculty of Lowell State University. In this work he plays three different guitars: 12-strings, classical and electrical.

Utterances by Robert Cogan

performer: Joan Heller - voice

"Utterances" is an open-ended folio of music for a single solo voice. Open-ended means that the composer retains the option of continually adding to it: it is never to be complete, he will simply stop adding. For a performance, pages are chosen from the folio and ordered (we lack a better word) by the performer: for this recording by Joan Heller, at whose request "Utterances" was composed during the years 1977-79. The work draws on texts, and not only texts, by Jorge Juis Borges, Bertholt Brecht, Chiang K'uei, ch'in Kuan, Huang P'u-sung, Kalidasa, Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams; by anonymous Balinese, Chinese, Japanese, and Kwakiuti poet-musicians; and especially by William Bronk and William Butler Yeats.

Constellations by Shirish Korde

performer: Boston Saxophone Quartet

"Constellations" for saxophone quartet was composed in 1973-74 for the contemporary music festival held at Brown University in May of 1974. The work is in one movement which evolves gradually from a single sustained pitch, sounding in the middle of the combined saxophone range, to a cluster of pitches, sounding in the outer extremities of the quartet's range. The gradual unfolding of the acoustical space is controlled by a series of symmetrical harmonic formations which are co-ordinated with a characteristic texture motion from pure beatless sounds to complex multifaceted tone color formations.

Serenade by Thomas DeLio

performer: Michael Dewart - piano

Thomas DeLio's "Serenade" for solo piano was composed in 1974 in response to a commission from the pianist-musicologist Ivan Waldbauer. In it the composer explores various applications of mathematical information theory to musical composition. The work is in three sections and traces the evolution and dissolution of various fixed pitch and time fields which are continuously being juxtaposed and transformed as the composition unfolds.

Tracklisting:

SIDE A

1. Pozzi Escot - Neyrac Lux {7:41}

2. Robert Cogan - Utterances {13:07}

SIDE B

1. Shirish Korde - Constellations {9:18}

2. Thomas DeLio - Serenade {8:42}

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Earle Brown: String Quartet

Here's a Deutsche Grammophon LP from the 70s, featuring three great string quartets played by the legendary Lasalle-Quartett:

György Ligeti: II. Streichquartett (1967/68)
1 - I: Allegro nervoso
2 - II: Sostenuto, molto calmo
3 - III: Come une meccanismo di precisione
4 - IV: Presto furioso, brutale, tumultoso
5 - V: Allegro con delicatezza, stets sehr mild

6 Earle Brown: String Quartet (1965)

7 Wolf Rosenberg: III. Streichquartett (1960/61)

The radical and wild, if not "Sturm und Drang", open form quartet by Earle Brown may attract the most attention here. After all, this is its only released recording, and the brilliant musicianship of the Lasalle members makes it an exciting, thrilling listen.

But the other two pieces should not be neglected: I don't know any other works from Wolf Rosenberg, but his 3rd string quartet leaves a strong impression and must be heard several times before it can be fully appreciated.

As for Ligeti's 2nd string quartet, I can sum it up nicely with just a few words: it's a Monster, and it rocks!

Liner notes in English are included as JPG files.

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Birds of Japan

In our series of bird song records, Kiyoshi Mizutani's album "Bird Songs" from 2000 is a unique thing, representing a variety of approaches from "environmental recording" and "musical performance".

"Essentially these are field recordings of various nature locations. The focus mostly remains on bird songs, but it goes a little bit beyond that: Mizutani arranged and enhanced the material a bit. The song of the "Binzui" is echoed by electronic treatments, broken down to its constituents for us to marvel in its complexity. That's as far as the artist goes though. In "Aokigahara," the only non-nature sound is the tinkling of a music box (or a jack-in-the-box or other toy) played very slowly, two or three notes at a time. "Hokora no Mizuba," recorded near a spring fountain, features metallic sounds, like someone lightly hitting a metallic grid. A similar addition is heard in "Nimbo". This piece is a collage of recordings in a Chinese city. It is the only manifestation of human civilization on this album and also features a metallic "klang " (a fence?, rods of different lengths?). All these alterations (except for the electronic "birds" in the first tracks) vanish into the recorded environment." - François Couture

1 Binzui
2 Toratsugumi
3 Hokora no mizuba
4 Tokyo bay bird sanctuary
5 Aokigahara
6 Nimbo

Early bird catches the worm

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Dear friends of Fauna & Flora ...

we have some truely great & wicked bird sounds coming up very soon. Please hang in there.

In the meantime, you can go over to Hush! Caution! Echoland! and get my new mix:

Lewis Carroll in the mix. A strange little affair - it's almost like Halloween...

New Music for Piano(s)

various artists compilation - New Music for Piano(s)

all pieces performed by Yuji Takahashi

* not actually the cover, it's a photo of Takahashi; cover wasn't quite fit enough to be photographed

Excerpts from the liner notes:

Herma

"Bond," "foundation," "embryo." This piece is based on logical operations imposed upon classes of pitches; this is why I call this music "symbolic." Starting from the four classes defined in the score, others can be formed outside of time, as a result of the complementary relationship (negation), e.g., class A; the negation of A is written in the score A; also as a result of the operation of union (disjunction) and of intersection (conjunction). Union is shown symbolically by the sign +, and intersection by the juxtaposition of letters. Union corresponds to or and intersection to and. This A+B signifies that class in which the elements belong either to A or B; AB indicates the class in which the elements belong to classes A and B at the same time. The classes in this piece are defined solely within the realm of pitch. (Iannis Xenakis)

Fantasy for Pianist

"Fantasy for Pianist" was written during 1963-64 in Paris. Frankly concerned with sonority and ornament (it was originally based on an analysis of the textural features of four photos - stalks, vines, twigs in the snow) the work maintains a complex and detailed order. Forms of serialization were applied to proportional time structures (at all architectonic levels), pitch, dynamics, and attach characteristics; but all techniques were used primarily as stimulants to invention. The piece, as it evolved, determined its attach characteristics; but all techniques were used primarily as stimulants to invention. The piece, as it evolved, determined its own priorities which took precedence over continued allegiance to any particular technical device. Only the time structure remained firm from conception to completion. (Roger Reynolds)

Metathesis

"Metathesis" - to place differently; transposition; change or reversal of condition; the transposition of letters or sounds in a word; the interchange of atoms or groups of atoms between two molecules, the structure of the molecules being not otherwise altered, double decomposition. The structure is based on the subgroups of a permutation group of degree 6 and order 24, which are applied to the various factors of the tone events for piano, such as the density, the duration, the dynamic form, the tone form (all of them are extratemporal structures). The temporal structures are stochastic. The work was written at Tanglewood in 1968 and is dedicated to Gunther Schuller. (Yuji Takahashi)

Corroboree

"Corroboree" (for 3 pianos) was composed in 1963-64 on commission from Radio Bremen, Germany, and first performed in that city by Aloys, Alfons and Bernhardt Kontarsky in May 1964. The Work is dedicated to them. The title is an Australian native word of which webster says: "a nocturnal festivity with songs and symbolic dances by which the Australian aborigines celebrate events of importance: a noisy festivity: tumult." It will be a little noisy, and although the Kontarsky brothers are not Australian (and actually did not sing or dance) the festivity aspect of any of their activities is legendary and joyous, and thus the title seems quite apt. ...

When Yuji suggested this work for his record I had not considered the possibility of one pianist playing all three of the parts ("through the magic of recording"), but it is of course practical and interesting in this context. The technique was to record the first piano part and then the second while hearing the first and acting and reacting to the structure and the impulsive flexibility potentials within the given form:... then the third part in relation to the first two. The immediacy of "playing together" remains with the added fact of there being a single performance concept, rather than a correlation of three, as it was initally conceived. Although there are three of him here the nature of the piece is less virtuosic than the other works on the record, in which one might think that there were five of him. Yuji to any coefficient, and in all cases, is an astonishing technician and "poet." (Earle Brown)

Tracklisting:

Side A

1. Iannis Xenakis - Herma {6:39}

2. Roger Reynolds - Fantasy for Pianist part 1 {5:18}

3. Roger Reynolds - Fantasy for Pianist part 2 {11:56}

Side B

1. Yuji Takahashi - Metatheses {5:20}

2. Earle Brown - Corroboree {10:43}

NOTE: Fantasy for Pianist was accidentally ripped into two parts; only a few seconds of silence were lost

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Songs of Eastern Birds

Donald J. Borror - Songs of Eastern Birds

It appears that the bird songs album posted last Sunday received a good reception, so the nature/environmental Sunday postings will go on. There was also an unexpected treat provided by H.C. Earwicker in the middle of last week which is Peter Szöke's The Unknown Music of Birds.

Here's info from the liner notes:

This record contains the songs of 60 species of birds all of which are common in at least some sections of Eastern United States, either as breeding species or migrants. All recordings were made in the field by the author, a noted bird watcher and ornithologist.

The songs have been arranged on 10 bands in more or less increasing order of complexity, with similar songs or calls together on the same band so they may be more easily compared. Thus, the first band begins with relatively simple songs, most of which appear to be a single note or phrase, while the last band contains complex songs, most of which are relatively loud with a whistled or warbled quality, and some of which are quite long.

The emphasis is on songs typical to the species, but as Professor Borror notes in the introduction to the accompanying booklet, variations often occur in the songs of a single individual, from individual to individual, and also due to factors of maturity and season. For this reason, recordings of two or more individuals are included for almost all species, and in some cases the songs of immatures or migrants are also given. Each example is from a different bird, and they are designated on the record by numbers. In this way the listener can obtain a good idea of all aspects of a species' song or call pattern.

Accompanying the record is a 32-page booklet also prepared by Professor Borror. Here you will find ornithological material on the characteristics, function, and production of song for each species, as well as an appendix giving sound spectrographs and place of each recording. Each bird is pictured in a black-and-white drawing.

The bird watcher should find this a valuable set, indeed, particularly as poor lighting, densely forested or inaccessible areas, and the similar appearance of some species make visual identification difficult in some cases.

Tracklisting:

Side One

1. Chuck-will's-widow, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Acadian Flycatcher, American Woodcock, Red-tailed Hawk, Common Grackle, Henslow's Sparrow {5:16}

2. Worm-eating Warbler, Pine Warbler, Myrtle Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Dickcissel, Long-billed Marsh Wren {6:57}

3. Killdeer, Belted Kingfisher, Sora, Common Gallinule, Common Tern, Herring Gull {4:55}

4. Red-headed Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker {3:00}

5. Starling, Purple Martin, Barn Swallow, Tree Swallow, Eastern Bluebird, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow-breasted Chat {6:26}

Side Two

1. White-crowned Sparrow, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler {3:42}

2. Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Prothonotary Warbler, Connecticut Warbler, Mourning Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Northern Waterthrush {5:41}

3. Bachman's Sparrow, Bewick's Wren, Fox Sparrow, Magnolia Warbler, Canada Warbler {4:44}

4. Hermit Thrush, Swainson's Thrush, Gray-checked Thrush, Veery, Solitary Vireo, Yellow-throated Vireo {4:46}

5. Blue Grosbeak, Orchard Oriole, Western Meadowlark, Horned Lark, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Winter Wren, Lark Sparrow {7:27}

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Music from Around the World Vol. 2: The Near East

Music from Around the World Vol. 2: The Near East

Vol. 1 is called The Far East which of course featured music from the Orient (in case you're wondering, I don't have a copy). Vol. 2 features music from the Middle East and the Arabic world. The countries represented include Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Morocco and Afghanistan. This is a solid collection that could serve as an introduction to The Near East's music.

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. EGYPT: Oriental Melody {13:04}

2. EGYPT: Bayaty Erian {2:37}

3. IRAQ: Taqsim (Improvisation) {3:31}

4. IRAN: Santur Solo (Cembalom) {6:13}

Side 2

1. IRAN: Nai {3:36}

2. MOROCCO: Mhin-I-Fqis {6:01}

3. MOROCCO: Touachi {7:58}

4. AFGHANISTAN: Qawali Song of Moslem Religion {5:22}

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More Birds

Well, ain't that fishy: while Grey Calx was preparing his "Bird Songs of Dooryard, Field and Forest" post last Sunday, I was simultaneously doing my bird-mix for "Hush! Caution! Echoland!". In my mix I used excerpts from another very interesting Bird Song record, so I think it's a neat idea to post this record here in its full length.

Hungarian scientist Peter Szöke's "The Unknown Music of Birds", released in 1987, takes a very unique approach towards the anthropomorphous musical non-art of our fine feathered friends.

From the liner notes:

The true Music of Birds

This unusual record reveals for the first time to the human ear the hidden and hitherto undiscovered microcosm of the true music of birds and bird vocalization in general. Bird song is not as it seems to man as he hears it under normal conditions in nature, nor do the birds themselves perceive it in that seemingly natural form. It is possible to slow down (stretch) bird song (the tape recording) to 2, 4, 8, 6 and 32 times its natural duration. This is mainly for use in audio demonstrations (as on this record, too). If the vocalizations are too fast and exceedingly high pitched, then they can (sometimes must) be slowed down to 64 or even to 128 times their natural duration. On this basis it is possible to make authentic and wholly detailled musical or non-musical representations as the case may be. A one second recording slowed down in this way and usually transposed to a lower register can last for one to two minutes. Once they are slowed down in an appropriate form, then our ears can recognize the true melodic structure of the bird songs, whether musical or non-musical, which was hidden behind their original microscopic form. We can also measure both the slowed down as well as the natural speed of the vocalization. Songs frequently comprise 50 - 100 - 150 or even more tiny successive sounds per second. This is the reason for which it is necessary to slow down the recordings. The method of slowing down and the necessary lowering of pitch register do not alter the physical frequency relations and the actual melodic form of the bird vocalization. In fact it is due to this very method that the existence of true avian music was discovered. A new, hitherto unknown anthropomorphous musical (partly non-musical) world has been found outside the realm of musical art, in the biological sphere of the life of birds.

The essence and the theoretical significance of the discovery of true animal (avian) music have been explained in detail and illustrated with numerous slowed down bird vocalizations in the author's book "The origin and the three realms of music - on the levels of pre-life, animal, and human existence", published in Hungarian in 1982 ... In making the choice of sound material for the record the author was guided not so much by the beauty of the vocalizations but by the beauty and the importance of the recognition ofthe Unknown.

***

Of course, after reading this, you just HAVE to hear the record: Chirpy-chirpy-cheep.

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Dance of the Hareem

various artists compilation - Dance of the Hareem

released in 1965

From the liner notes:

In the traditional oriental house there is a department called the "HAREEM" which is really the woman's quarter. This quarter is mysterious and romantic. It is full of beauty, charm, and music. This is all concentrated to provide for the entertainment of man. It is also the place where culture and learning are promoted. Therefore, to become a dancer in a Hareem you have to have a great deal of talent and qualifications. Your knowledge of poetry has to be extensive and to the same extent in literature and folklore and you must be a musician and a singer at the same time. In an evening of entertainment in a Hareem a dance is a must and the dances portray the expression of emotions and passions. The music for the dance is melodious, rhythmic and stimulating.

On this LP we have selected a number of excellent pieces of music of this type. When you have this record you have all the ingredients necessary for an evenings entertainment except the Hareem which we are unable to supply.

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Ahmad Fuad Hassan and Al-Firka Al-Massiya - Dimashq {3:14}

2. Ahmad Fuad Hassan and Al-Firka Al-Massiya - Awatif {2:54}

3. Chafic Hashim - Nadia {5:09}

4. Ahmad Fuad Hassan and Al-Firka Al-Massiya - Najwa {2:56}

5. Ahmad Fuad Hassan and Al-Firka Al-Massiya - Raos Al-Ghawazi {2:40}

Side 2

1. Ahmad Fuad Hassan and Al-Firka Al-Massiya - Layali {2:52}

2. Chafic Hashim - Rabia {6:16}

3. Ahmad Fuad Hassan and Al-Firka Al-Massiya - Mabruk {3:39}

4. Ahmad Fuad Hassan and Al-Firka Al-Massiya - Tuha {4:48}

5. Ahmad Fuad Hassan and Al-Firka Al-Massiya - Samba {2:41}

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Jalaleddin Takesh

Jalaleddin Takesh - Jalaleddin Takesh

Jalaleddin Takesh's record is a private press LP. He plays an instrument called the kanoon (also spelled qanun or kanun), a stringed instrument related to the zither. The kanoon is a classical instrument in Turkey and throughout the Middle East. Takesh arranged all of the music on this record. Side 1 is background music for belly dances as anyone can figure out from the title of the track. Side 2 has five pieces that stand out on their own. There is a bit of a western music influence fused with the Turkish music that is noticeable on Side 2. While doing some research for the background for this record, I've read a secondhand dealer's page where the dealer thought that it has psych overtones and I may have to agree. Quite honestly, for those reasons, I prefer Side 2 over Side 1.

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Belly Dance Music {25:13}

Side 2

1. Vara Tageree {2:24}

2. Dotis Mood {3:46}

3. Yasaria {6:10}

4. Z {4:31}

5. Jalaleddin Mood {7:29}

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Narrative Musical Wallpaper

A new mix by me is up on "Hush! Caution! Echoland!"

You will find Takemitsu and Feldman here, a nice ditty by Aphex Twin spiced up with the voice of Aleister Crowley, a piece by electronic pioneer Franca Sacchi from Italy, a lengthy Sho solo by Mayumi Miyata and some perfectly static Gamelan music from Java. All glued together and modelled with music & sounds from me.

The first segment is structured after and uses samples from Peter Szöke's "The Unknown Music Of Birds". On this LP, the Hungarian musico-ornithologist reveals hidden aspects of birdsong via tape-manipulation. Fascinating. I'll post it in the "Closet of Curiosities" soon.

Bird Songs of Dooryard, Field and Forest Vol. 1

Jerry and Norma Stillwell - Bird Songs of Dooryard, Field and Forest Vol. 1

I'm thinking about posting an environmental/nature sounds type recording every Sunday for a while and see how this goes. I'll start with this LP of bird songs. It's nice to listen to this during winter (here in the northern hemisphere) while waiting for spring to return.

Here's a little background information from the liner notes:

Here is the husband and wife team that made these remarkable recordings. Both Jerry and Norma Stillwell had been interested in birds since childhood, but it was only after Jerry retired as Chief Technical Editor for the American Petroleum Institute at Dallas, Texas, that they were able to devote their full time to recording the songs of American birds.

In 1948 they sold their home and car, bought a truck and house trailer, and began the most exciting trip of their lives. Through state after state, they travelled with thousands of dollars worth of sound recording equipment in quest of one thing - the best possible recordings of bird songs. Today they have one of the largest and finest collections of bird songs in the United States.

"Wild birds do not sing at the nod of a conductor or in a sound proof room," Jerry points out. That is why he and Norma usually get up at three o'clock in the morning, drink six cups of coffee, find a likely spot, and spread a network of lines to half a dozen microphones before the birds start singing. At the recorder, Jerry listens to each microphone in turn while Norma aims the parabolic reflector which has the effect of bringing the bird much closer to the microphones.

By seven or eight a.m., breezes usually stop the recording, and they spend the rest of the day listening to the results. They save only the best songs, usually from five to ten percent of the total amount recorded. More and more of their daytime hours are being given to visiting birdlovers, amateurs and experts who have heard of the famous Stillwell bird song collection.

From the many hundreds of songs in their collection, Jerry and Norma have selcted for this record more than 135 distinctive songs and calls of 49 different species. They hope you will enjoy them as much as they have enjoyed recording them.

Tracklisting:

SIDE A

1. Cardinal; Titmouse; Chickadee; Flycatchers {5:04}

2. Warblers; Wrens; Woodpeckers {5:33}

3. Vireos; Dove; Blackbird Family {4:50}

4. Chat; Catbird; Thrasher; Mockingbird {4:55}

SIDE B

1. Sparrows; Dickcissel {5:22}

2. Finches; Buntings; Bob-White {5:41}

3. Crows; Cuckoo; Jay; Nuthatch; Night Birds {5:04}

4. Martin; Tanager; Thrushes {4:32}

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Tangram

Robert Normandeau - Tangram

Excerpts from the liner notes by Normandeau:

Taken from the title of one of the works appearing on the disc, Tangram represents the almost infinite permutations which lie hidden in elements as sparse and simple as the voice of a child, the sound of a passing train, or a few notes of classical music. Though highly contrasted, the pieces presented on this disc exhibit several common denominators. Firstly, they all utilize, without exception, sampled acoustic sounds ...Secondly, the entire cycle was conceived for multitrack presentation ... Last but not least, the works represent the quintessence of my work during 1990-93, and exemplify the perspective which I'd embraced during that period: cinema for the ear. Basically, this consists of seeking inspiration outside of the musical context, specially in the work of cinema. Themes are inspired directly from the titles; once elaborated, they then underlie the work, becoming axes around which the composition takes shape. They serve as landmarks for the listener exploring these unheard-of spaces.

Tracklisting:

1. Bédé {3:05}

2. Éclats de Voix {14:54}

3. Spleen {14:59}

4. Tropes {13:48}

5. Tangram {26:55}

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Gagaku and Beyond: Frozen Time?

Finally I find some time to post something again - so I better make it special: Great music from Japan in an excellent production. Enjoy. 

* * *

Gagaku is the oldest of Japan's performing arts, with a history of more than 1000 years, and is the oldest living ensemble music in the world. In its contemporary sense, the term gagaku signifies the whole body of classical Japanese music and dance performed by the musicians of the Kunaicho Gakubu (Music Department of the Imperial Household Agency, Tokyo).

Tokyo Gakuso is a relatively young group, founded in 1978 in response for the need for a group of expert gagaku musicians able to deal not only with traditional repertoire, but also with the challenges of contemporary pieces for the gagaku ensemble. Its founding music director was the sho specialist and Imperial Palace musician, Tadamaro Ohno. After his death in 1994, his place was taken by his nephew Tadaaki Ohno. Like other members of the Imperial Palace group, Tadaaki Ohno has spent a good deal of his life studying and performing on several of the instruments, the dance, and the vocal music of gagaku. 

Since its formation, Tokyo Gakuso has been very active in the performance of new compositions, as well as long and rarely heard pieces from the classical repertoire. This CD marks the first time that the musicians of the Imperial Court of Tokyo have recorded for a non–Japanese record label.

The pieces on this CD, performed by a full gagaku orchestra of up to 16 musicians and over 20 instruments, are set out in an order that reflects the typical structure of the regular spring and autumn concerts given by the Palace musicians, which are open to the public. The first half is made up of a kangen performance, the second half is composed of a bugaku performance, with two dances as a rule: a togaku (or 'Left') dance followed by a komagaku (or 'Right') dance (on the CD we have the togaku dance Ryoo and the komagaku dance Hassen). The program finishes with the rhythmic togaku piece Chogeishi, which is traditionally played at the conclusion of a dance performance. 

* * *

"This court music is a block of sound; it does not move but allows other things to move through it." 

William P. Malm, "Traditional Japanese Music and Musical Instruments", Kodansha International

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A Basement of Curiosities

There should be something new tomorrow or the next day. In the meantime, I'll take the time to promote my newest blog.

I started the blog, A Basement of Curiosities, a little over a month ago and I somehow forgot to mention it here till now. Basically, the Basement has stuff that would not fit here on the Closet. There is mainly an assortment of audio oddball/weird/unusual/novelty recordings of both spoken word and music. It's stuff that I found while combing the flea markets, thrift stores, garage sales, swap meets and other similar places looking for music such as some of the music here on the Closet. I couldn't resist buying the records posted on the Basement. Of course, I am interested in that sort of thing anyway. My new blog may or may not be of interest. If it is, just click on the link at the start of this paragraph.