Japanese Masterpieces for the Shakuhachi

The Masters of Meian-ryu, Kimpu-ryu, Tozan-ryu, and Kikusui-ryu - Japanese
Masterpieces for the Shakuhachi

* not the actual album cover above

From the liner notes:

Of all oriental instruments, the shakuhachi has the most fascinating background. the name itself means 1.8 Shaku (feet), the standard length, but others, from 1.4 to 3.3 ft., are also frequently used. It is as closely linked with Japanese history as the bagpipes are to Scotland's, or the lute and guitar to the Iberian peninsula. It is the only device that has served simultaneously as a musical instrument, as a weapon of defense, and a cover for spying.

Simple in construction, it is extremely intricate to play. It is made of bamboo with 3 or 4 joints, has 4 holes on the top and one on the back, and is played vertically, like a saxophone. It has no mouthpiece, and its half and quarter tones are produced by the control of fingers on the holes. It is presumed to have originated in ancient Egypt and to have migrated gradually through India and China. It was first used in Gagaku in the Sixth Century, but was abandoned when the dynasty fell. The revival came in the 13th Century with the rise of the fuke sect, a branch of Zen Buddhism, in which sutra chanting was replaced by the shakuhachi; many Fuke monks went on pilgrimages with shakuhachis, and bamboo baskets to hide their identity.

The tone of the shakuhachi is as mysterious and veiled as its history: its color changes from a shrill, penetrating high through a breathy middle to a mellow low that would do credit to the finest wood or gold flute. Its melodies exploit the tension of shaded intervals, sliding away from the true scale pitches controlled by the partial covering of the five finger-holes. By shifting the position of the open mouthpiece against the lips and changing his breath pressure, the player increases the instrument's basic pentatonic scale to wider ranged special modes. Sudden swells in the dynamics and a fast tremolo is part of the style, not unlike the quivering hand action of the "hot" trumpeter. According to Professor William Malm, author of 'Japanese Music and Musical Instruments' the pieces tend to be structured like rondos, a recurrent melody alternating with new material.

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Koku {8:52}

2. Sekiheki no Fu {13:25}

Side 2

1. Matsukase {6:29}

2. Ajikan {6:13}

3. Oshusanya {6:59}

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Ferrante and Teicher with Percussion

Ferrante and Teicher - ...with Percussion

Ferrante and Teicher, working as a piano duo, are known for their easy listening style of music having released many albums over the years. However, their earlier records were adventurous and thus more interesting with releases such as Soundblast, Blast Off! and this record. They experimented with prepared piano techniques in a similar manner as John Cage although they themselves considered their techniques gimmickry while getting these ideas from Cage. As the title mentions, the duo adds percussion to their prepared piano sounds.

Bios of Ferrante and Teicher are here and here.

Tracklisting:

SIDE ONE

1. How High the Moon {2:59}

2. The Nearness of You {2:43}

3. Che Si Dice {2:32}

4. Temptation {1:57}

5. Three O'Clock in the Morning {2:51}

6. Va Va Voom {2:22}

SIDE TWO

1. Beyond the Blue Horizon {1:59}

2. Aflame {2:01}

3. Get Out of Town {2:55}

4. Parade of the Bobbies {2:33}

5. Yesterdays {2:11}

6. Cielito Lindo {3:12}

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Shadow Music of Java

Hardo Budoyo Ensemble of Wono Giri, Central Java - Shadow Music of Java

Performance by Hardo Budoyo Ensemble of Wono Giri, Central Java on August 2, 1991 at the Sackler Gallery of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.

From the liner notes:

The mystical gamelan orchestra of Central Java has captured the hearts of non-Javanese audiences for many years. The shadowpuppet drama of Java relies on the gamelan to express the drama of a mighty warrior, a silly clown, an evil king, a sage on a mountain top. Interwined with the multi-layered gamelan orchestra, the puppeteer's mood songs and the female vocalist's sinuous melodic lines weave an exotic spell. A selection of musical highlights from a live performance, this recording is the first digital release anywhere of shadowpuppet music.

Tracklisting:

1. Gendhing "Bondhet", ketuk 2 kerep, minggah 4 (composition) {13:16}

2. Patet Sanga Wantah (patetan) {1:32}

3. Patalon {4:24}

4. Ada-ada Srambahan, Srepegan nem {2:08}

5. Sendon Tlutur Srepegan Tlutur, manyura {4:09}

6. Eling-eling, laras slendro nem {4:06}

7. Srepegan Tlutur, manyura {6:01}

8. Ladrang Asmarandana, manyura {4:01}

9. Jineman Uler Kambang, manyura {1:49}

10. Srepegan Nem {2:08}

11. Patetan Sanga Wantah {4:23}

12. Ladrang Jangkrik Genggong {2:16}

13. Lagu dolaman Bintang Kecil {1:37}

14. Srepegan Kemuda, sanga {4:16}

15. Sampak sanga {0:56}

16. Gendhing Majemuk. Ketuk 2 kerep, minggah 4; Dados Ladrang Kijing
Miring, patet nem (composition) {14:37}

17. Patet Lindur Nem (patetan) {3:08}

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Avant Garde Piano

various artists compilation - Avant Garde Piano

UPDATE June 4, 2010: This has been reposted here with upgraded files.

Richard Felciano

Richard Felciano - Instrumental Music

Sorry, it's been awhile since I've posted. There were some events in real life that required most of my attention that I barely had time to do anything here on the net. Add to that the hosters have been mostly malfunctional in the last two weeks. I think everything may be back to normal now.

From the liner notes:

Richard Felciano was born in California in 1930. He holds degrees from Mills College, the Paris Conservatory, and the University of Iowa. His principal teachers of composition were Darius Milhaud, with whom he worked at Mills and in Paris, and Luigi Dallapiccola, with whom he studied privately during a year in Florence. He had held grants from the French and Italian governments, the Woolley and Copley foundations, a Fulbright grant, two Ford Foundation fellowships, and a Guggenheim fellowship. In 1967 he was appointed Professor of Music at the University of California at Berkeley and in the same year became resident composer to the National Center for Experiments in Television in San Francisco. The sensitive eloquence and boldness of design which characterize his works have made him one of the highly respected American composers of his generation.

Crasis for seven instruments and electronic sounds - credits: David Subke, flute; Donald O'Brien, clarinet; Robert Bloch, violin; Bonnie Hampton, cello; Beverly Bellows, harp; Naomi Sparrow, piano; Lawrence Blackshere, percussion; conducted by the composer

Spectra for piccolo flute, alto flute and contrabass - credits: Nancy Turetzky, flutes; Bertram Turetzky, contrabass

Gravities for piano, four hands - credits: Milton and Peggy Salkind, pianos

Chöd for six players and electronics - credits: The Philadelphia Composers' Forum; Joel Thome, conductor Eric Rosenblith, violin; Marcy DeCou, cello; Jack Kulowitch, contrabass; Arthur Maddox, piano; Michael Sirotta, David Woodhill, percussion; Romulus Franceschini, electronics; Timothy Mabee, electronic engineer

Tracklisting: 

Side 1

1. Crasis {8:24}

2. Spectra {6:35}

3. Gravities {6:48}

Side 2

1. Chöd {22:22}

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L'Experience Acoustique

Francois Bayle - L'Experience Acoustique

For more about Bayle visit this site. (It's a flash site.)
This is volumes 5 & 6 of Bayle's works. Composed between 1970 and 1972.
"It" contains elements from "We Did It Again" by Soft Machine and Robert Wyatt.

Tracklisting:

CD1

1. Themes-sons (1) {0:20}

2. Themes-sons (2) {0:24}

3. Themes-sons (3) {0:31}

4. Themes-sons (4) {0:11}

5. Themes-sons (5) {0:39}

6. I L'aventure du cri: ...l'inconscient de la forme (1) {1:03}

7. I L'aventure du cri: ...l'inconscient de la forme (2) {1:16}

8. I L'aventure du cri: ...l'inconscient de la forme (3) {2:45}

9. I L'aventure du cri: ...l'inconscient de la forme (4) {2:34}

10. I L'aventure du cri: ...l'inconscient de la forme (5) {2:30}

11. I L'aventure du cri: Match nul (1) {2:26}

12. I L'aventure du cri: Match nul (2) {0:45}

13. I L'aventure du cri: Match nul (3) {1:43}

14. I L'aventure du cri: Solitioude (1) {1:59}

15. I L'aventure du cri: Solitioude (2) {0:27}

16. II Le Langage des fleurs: Substance du signe (1) {1:39}

17. II Le Langage des fleurs: Substance du signe (2) {1:54}

18. II Le Langage des fleurs: Substance du signe (3) {1:51}

19. II Le Langage des fleurs: Substance du signe (4) {1:44}

20. II Le Langage des fleurs: Substance du signe (5) {5:46}

21. II Le Langage des fleurs: Theme dechirure {0:36}

22. II Le Langage des fleurs: Metaphore (1) {3:24}

23. II Le Langage des fleurs: Metaphore (2) {2:56}

24. II Le Langage des fleurs: Metaphore (3) {1:51}

25. II Le Langage des fleurs: Metaphore (4) {0:49}

26. II Le Langage des fleurs: Metaphore (5) {0:59}

27. II Le Langage des fleurs: Metaphore (6) {0:24}

28. II Le Langage des fleurs: Metaphore/lignes et points (1) {3:00}

29. II Le Langage des fleurs: Metaphore/lignes et points (2) {1:46}

30. II Le Langage des fleurs: Metaphore/lignes et points (3) {2:41}

31. II Le Langage des fleurs: Journal (1) {1:03}

32. II Le Langage des fleurs: Journal (2) {1:02}

33. II Le Langage des fleurs: Journal (3) {1:02}

CD2
1. III La Preuve par le sens: La langue inconnue (1) {2:30}

2. III La Preuve par le sens: La langue inconnue (2) {1:21}

3. III La Preuve par le sens: La langue inconnue (3) {2:11}

4. III La Preuve par le sens: La langue inconnue (4) {1:55}

5. III La Preuve par le sens: La langue inconnue (5) {2:29}

6. III La Preuve par le sens: Intervalles bleus (1) {1:17}

7. III La Preuve par le sens: Intervalles bleus (2) {1:50}

8. III La Preuve par le sens: Intervalles bleus (3) {3:46}

9. III La Preuve par le sens: Uirapuru (1) {1:11}

10. III La Preuve par le sens: Uirapuru (2) {2:37}

11. III La Preuve par le sens: L'ecriture acoustique (1) {4:38}

12. III La Preuve par le sens: L'ecriture acoustique (2) {1:42}

13. III La Preuve par le sens: L'ecriture acoustique (3) {1:10}

14. III La Preuve par le sens: It (1) {1:32}

15. III La Preuve par le sens: It (2) {1:36}

16. III La Preuve par le sens: It (3) {0:43}

17. IV L'epreuve par le son: Transparence du purgatoire (1) {9:16}

18. IV L'epreuve par le son: Transparence du purgatoire (2) {15:29}

19. V La philosophie du non: Energie libre, energie liee (1) {1:56}

20. V La philosophie du non: Energie libre, energie liee (2) {2:03}

21. V La philosophie du non: Energie libre, energie liee (3) {3:34}

22. V La philosophie du non: Energie libre, energie liee (4) {1:21}


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Gentle Fire (1974)

Earle Brown: Four Systems (1954)

John Cage: Music for Amplified Toy Pianos (1960)

John Cage: Music for Carillon 1 - 3 (1952/54)

Christian Wolff: Edges (1968)

Gentle Fire: Richard Bernas, Hugh Davies, Graham Hearn, Stuart Jones, Michael Robinson

Engineers: Allan Parsons & Stuart Eltham

A milestone of electro-acoustic music from this legendary British ensemble. The group, and each of its members for himself, were pioneering in the fields of live-electronics, instrument construction and collective composition. Also closely associated with the experimental work of Stockhausen in the early 70s, they were one of the groups playing in "Sternklang").

This record features a selection of graphic scores from three of the four composers of the New York School. It is remarkable how each of the pieces on this album unfolds in its own sound world.

"Edges" by Christian Wolff is just one page of loosely arranged symbols and words, to be (not) played in rather unusual ways. Here's the instructions for the performance:

The score for Cage's "Music for Amplified Toy Pianos" is a collection of transparent sheets with dots, small circles, a line and a grid. Superimposing the sheets, the performers are instructed to read the markings as predefined categories of sound events, in relation to the grid which provides the dimensions of pitch/sound (vertical) and time (horizontal). A single reading of the score material may look like this:

The two long extra tracks by Gentle Fire, "Music Project V-II" (1974) and "Group Composition III" (1971), are unreleased live recordings by the "Hessischer Rundfunk" (HR) in Frankfurt, from the same year as the album release.

Enjoy electro-sonic beauty: (1)

Korea: The Royal Ancestral Shrine Music

played by The National Classical Music Institute: (1)

After the bluesy P'ansori post from September by Grey Calx, here's another example of Korea's rich and varied musical traditions.
Every year in May, Korea pays homage to its ancestral kings with a ceremony at the Royal Ancestral Shrine in Seoul. Music and dance are important elements of the ceremony which includes symbolic offerings of gifts and wine. There are two dances used throughout the ceremony: munmu celebrates the cultural achievements of the nation while mumu celebrates past military achievements.

The music features two lengthy suites of 11 movements each: "Chongdaeop" (Achieving Great Works) and "Pot'aep'yong" (Achieving Great Peace). These suites were composed in the 15th century during the reign of King Sejong. Documents with full scores of notation show us that the music has remained virtually unchanged since then.

This shrine music is a major orchestral work which employs two complete orchestras, the "deungga" located up on the terrace and the "hunga" located down in the courtyard. The orchestras alternate as the piece progresses.

The two center-pieces of the recording, "Chonp'ye Huimun" and "Chinch'an", which represent the music for the Offering of the wine and the table, are newer compositions.
For detailled info, including notated examples, please read Mee Eun Jeon's "The Design of a Korean Ritual Musical Offering": http://www.sapaan.com/vol3/jeon2.htm

Or take a closer look at the exceptionally beautiful instruments: www.angelfire.com/alt/koreanmusic/instruments.html

Next up: an old EMI LP from 1974 by the British electro-acoustic ensemble "Gentle Fire", with graphic works by Brown, Cage & Wolff, plus two long extra-tracks: group compositions by Gentle Fire, performed live in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1974.

John Cage: Empty Words Part IV (1973-78)

Due to circumstances of obnoximost and climactic nature, this post comes a little later than planned, but it's truly a marvellous one ...

Imagine a dimly lit, vault-like ancient cellar, obscured paintings on the masonry. At a small table, illuminated by a single lamp, sits a lone man, calmly intoning vocal sounds, and silences. The changing and sometimes longish pauses between sounds seem to alter the pace of time itself. It goes on and on, and after 2 1/2 hours, a listener might notice that he/her's hearing the world with new ears.

 
"Empty Words" (1974/75), Cage's four-part poem of epic proportions (a complete performance of all four parts would take about 10 hours), is a beautiful exercise in de-militarizing and atomizing language.

Using H.D. Thoreau's "Journals" as source material, Cage derived his text through computer-aided chance procedures. The process of de-militarization progresses from part to part. While Part I features phrases, words, syllables, and letters (but no complete sentences), all that remain in Part IV are letters and silences. The published text features a great number of illustrations from Thoreau's "Journal", selected and inserted by using the "I Ching".

 
"A transition from Language to music (a language already without sentences, and not confined to any subject) ... Language becoming musics, musics becoming theatres; performances; metamorphoses (stills from what are actually movies). At first face to face; finally sitting with one's back to the audience (sitting with the audience), everyone facing the same vision. Sideways, sideways." - John Cage, introductory text to "Empty Words, Part IV"



Edition Michael Frauenlob Bauer MFB 003-004 (double LP released in 1987). This remarkable recording of highest artistic and technical qualities won the "Award of the Deutsche Schallplatten-Kritik".
Thanks to Gebrueder Hartmann for digital transfer and cover pics.

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Music of Otto Luening

Otto Luening - Music of Otto Luening

Otto Luening biography

SONATA FOR PIANO (IN MEMORIAM FERRUCCIO BUSONI)

performer: Ursula Oppens - piano

recorded November 5, 1974

FUGUE AND CHORALE FANTASY WITH ELECTRONIC DOUBLES FOR ORGAN AND TAPE

performer: Alec Wyton - organ

tape realized at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center

recorded November 4, 1974

The FUGUE AND CHORALE FANTASY WITH ELECTRONIC DOUBLES FOR ORGAN AND TAPE (1973) consists of varied and easily recognizable sections from my Fugue (1971) and Chorale Fantasy (1922) for organ. The Electronic Doubles are based on tape recorded fragments from these two works, sometimes with slight variations, as played by the brilliant organ virtuoso Dr. Fred Tulan on the large Ruffati pipe organ in St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco, and on the poly-synthesis stops of the new Hammond Concorde and the special Hammond X-66 organs. With the technical assistance of Daria Semegen, approximately fifteen reels of timbre variations of these fragments were produced with the Bode Frequency Shifter at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center in New York, and then put on tape. These variations were subsequently developed and worked into Electronic Doubles of the original material, being, in effect, electronic echoes of the various sections played by the organ. Careful timing and the timbre relationships between live and taped sound bring cohesiveness and an overall balance to the work. (Otto Luening)

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Sonata for Piano (In Memoriam Ferruccio Busoni): Introduction {3:00}

2. Sonata for Piano (In Memoriam Ferruccio Busoni): Dramatic Scene {4:47}

3. Sonata for Piano (In Memoriam Ferruccio Busoni): Burlesque {6:22}

4. Sonata for Piano (In Memoriam Ferruccio Busoni): Fantasia {6:05}

Side 2

1. Fugue with Electronic Doubles for Organ and Tape {10:27}

2. Chorale Fantasy with Electronic Doubles for Organ and Tape {10:44}

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Historic Moments Volume Two

Creation Rebel - Historic Moments Volume Two

From the liner notes:

"Historic Moments Vol. 2" is the third installment of the On-U sound Creation Rebel collections [no I don't have any more on hand, please don't ask]. This compilation contains tracks from "Starship Africa" and "Threat To Creation".

The talents of musicians such as Dr. Pablo, Crucial Tony, Clifton "Bigga" Morrison, Style Scott, Bonjo I, Tony henry, Desmond "Fat Fingers" Coke, Mr. Magoo, Sucker and Keith Levine are well in evidence along with the blossoming production skills of one Adrian Sherwood circa 1979 - 1980.

This album as the title suggests is a snapshot of an historic moment in time and is a must for all ON-U Sound fans and connoisseurs of great music alike.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The product of the fertile and prolific British producer, mixmaster, and dub genius Adrian Sherwood, Creation Rebel was one of Sherwood's first endeavors as a producer. Originally the backing group for the late reggae great Prince Far-I, Creation Rebel worked with Sherwood from 1977-1980, recording some of the best reggae dub music this side of Lee Perry during the early English punk era. Languorous, funky, spacy, and totally intoxicating, it's exciting to hear the awesome production/mixing talents of Sherwood in their early days. Similarly, the band (drummers Style Scott and Fish Clarke, bassist Clinton Jack, keyboardist Bigga Morrison, guitarist Crucial Tony, and percussionist Slicker) play with a grace, effortlessness, and power that most studio bands would kill to achieve. With the band's talents so wonderfully used by Sherwood, this is without a doubt some of the best and most important non-rock music to be made in England in the late '70s. (bio from AMG)

Tracklisting:

1. Space Moment Section 1 {4:59}

2. Space Moment Section 2 {5:16}

3. Space Moment Section 3 {4:33}

4. Space Moment Section 4 {3:19}

5. Space Moment Section 5 {0:48}

6. Space Moment Section 6 {8:57}

7. Space Moment Section 7 {4:08}

8. Space Moment Section 8 {4:15}

9. Space Moment Section 9 {4:33}

10. Chemical Specialist {4:19}

11. Threat to Creation {3:35}

12. Last Sane Dream {3:22}

13. In I Father's House {3:53}


(1) or (1) (2) or (2) [maybe reposted soon]

Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center 1961-1973

various artists compilation - Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center 1961-1973

CD released in 1998

This is an excellent and essential compilation of vintage first-generation electronic music from one of the most well-known electronic music studios.

The Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center was the first electronic music center of its kind to be established in the United States, and from 1959 to the late 1970s it was one of the premier sound facilities in the world. The history of the EMC falls into four sections: 1951-59, as the original experimental studio begun by Vladimir Ussachevsky; 1959-1983, the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center, directed by Ussachevsky, and the leading electronic music studio in the United States; 1983-1994, as the Columbia University Electronic Music Center, directed by Mario Davidovsky; and 1994 to the present, as the Columbia University Computer Music Center, directed by Fred Lerdahl and Bradford Garton. [now directed only by Bradford Garton] From 1951 to 1983, the function of the EMC was the teaching and production of electronic music, and the vast majority of pieces composed at the Center - approximately three hundred - were composed during this period. Some of these compositions have become classics of music history.
...
In 1959, with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center was founded, with Ussachevsky as director, and his colleagues Otto Luening, Milton Babbitt, and Roger Sessions on the committee of direction. A number of composers were invited to do the first work at the Center, including Bulent Arel (Turkey), Halim El-Dabh (Egypt), Mario Davidovsky (Argentina), and Charles Wuorinen, who was then a graduate student at Columbia. The Center presented its first concert in May 1961, the program consisting of Ussachevsky's Creation-Prologue, Arel's Stereo Electronic Music No. 1, Halim El-Dabh's Leila and the Poet, Milton Babbitt's Composition for Synthesizer, Mario Davidovsky's Electronic Study #1, Otto Luening's Gargoyles for Violin Solo and Synthesized Sound, and Charles Wuorinen's Symphonia Sacra. [all of these pieces with the exception of Wuorinen's piece are on the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center LP] This wide variation in musical style and aesthetic continued at the Center for the next twenty years, until Ussachevsky's retirement.  (Alice Shields)

Tracklisting:

1. Bulent Arel - Postlude from "Music for a Sacred Service" {4:01}

2. Charles Dodge - Earth's Magnetic Field {14:08}

3. Ilhan Mimaroglu - Prelude No. 8 (To the Memory of Edgard Varese) {3:59}

4. Bulent Arel and Daria Semegen - Out of Into {16:38}

5. Ingram Marshall - Cortez {8:35}

6. Daria Semegen - Electronic Composition No. 1 {5:52}

7. Alice Shields - Dance Piece No. 3 {5:53}

8. Alice Shields - Study for Voice and Tape {5:17}

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P'ansori: Korea's Epic Vocal Art & Instrumental Music

various artists compilation - P'ansori: Korea's Epic Vocal Art & Instrumental Music

Sorry, it's been over a week since the last post, but I had to resolve some technical issues with the internet connection. Hopefully, that won't be a problem for a long time.

From the liner notes:

For a vocal tradition of such remarkable virtuosity and power, it is surprising that Korea's p'ansori is so little known outside its native country. This extraordinary difficult art demands that a single performer impersonate and enact all of the roles of epic folk tales, conveying the entire saga with the voice alone, and with none of the theatrical trappings - scenery, lighting, costume, make-up, dramatic exits and entrances - that aid the Western opera singer. Moreover, where the opera diva has a full orchestra for accompaniment, the p'ansori soloist is supported by just one drummer who plays the pook (a kind of barrel drum). A full performance of one of the p'ansori "epics" - basically, moralized folk tales of which five are in existence - can easily last eight hours. During the elaboration of the tale, the vocalist must act out all of the roles as they occur, with appropriate characterization, using only a fan and occasional stylized gestures. To place this feat in a "western" perspective, imagine a performance of a work longer than Tristan by an unaccompanied singer. But the vituosic vocal technique required by p'ansori communicates a richness and subtlety essentially different from that encountered in the Western lieder or opera tradition. What the listener experiences is a unique synthesis of song and speech - a kind of verbal dynamic in which, as composer Chou Wen-Chung has pointed out, phonemes and speech sounds themselves become musical events. What Westerners usually think of as decorative musical "ornamentation" is actually the essential material of p'ansori, with its rapid timbral and rhythmic changes, falling glissandos, enormous variety of articulative shadings, fluctuating tremolos, and wide vibratos.

The first track on Side One and the last track on Side Two are the p'ansori and the rest are the instrumental tracks.

Performers:

Kim, So-hee, singer

Kim, Yoon-duk, pook, kuhmoongo

Chi, Young-hee, p'iri, changgo, haegeum

Sung, Keum-yun, changgo, kayageum

Tracklisting:

Side One

1. Kim, So-hee and Kim, Yoon-duk - Scene from Heung Boo-Ga (p'ansori) {7:38}

2. Chi, Young-hee and Sung, Keum-yun - Pyungjo Hoe Sang (first movement) {3:33}

3. Sung, Keum-yun and Chi, young-hee - Kayageum Sanjo {7:10}

Side Two

1. Chi, Young-hee and Sung, Keum-yun - Haegeum Shinawi {3:08}

2. Kim, Yoon-duk and Chi, Young-hee - Kuhmoongo Sanjo {6:17}

3. Chi, Young-hee and Sung, Keum-yun - Chambu Taryong {2:13}

4. Kim, So-hee and Kim, Yoon-duk - Scene from Shim-Ch'ung-Ga (p'ansori) {9:22}

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Digital Soundscapes

Barry Truax - Digital Soundscapes

The Blind Man (1979), for two-channel tape based on a poem and reading by Norbert Ruebsaat

Aerial (1979), music for solo amplified horn and four computer-synthesized soundtracks; Steven Field - horn

Wave Edge (1983), for four computer-synthesized soundtracks

Solar Ellipse (1984-85), for four computer-synthesized soundtracks

Riverrun (1986), for four computer-synthesized soundtracks

From the liner notes:

All of the works on this recording have been composed with reference to environmental sound, whether as actual source material, as in "The Blind Man", or as metaphor, as in the computer-synthesized pieces. I find it significant that as computers are increasingly involved in music that I and other composers should look to the richness of environmental sound and its spatial characteristics for acoustic models and sound symbolism. This development occurs ironically at a time when noise as a byproduct of the same technology continues to be a major environmental problem. It is my hope that the musical vision of these works may encourage in the listener a greater soundscape awareness and sensitivity. (Barry Truax)

Tracklisting:

1. The Blind Man {16:00}

2. Aerial {9:32}

3. Wave Edge {9:38}

4. Solar Ellipse {11:14}

5. Riverrun {19:44}

(1)

For anyone interested in the book, Handbook for Acoustic Ecology, look in the comments.

Musical Atlas: Thailand

various artists compilation - Musical Atlas: Thailand

This is a compilation of music from the Thailand province of Chieng Mai. The cover above is for the long-ago reissued CD version. The post is for the LP version. Just like with Musical Atlas: Cambodia, I borrowed this and had to return it so I was unable to snap a picture of the album cover.

Excerpts from the liner notes:

Liké: Introductory Piece

The liké is a traditional theatre form, now becoming obsolete, in which music and dancing are the most important factors. The musical accompaniment is provided by an instrumental ensemble called piphat, the Thai version of the Khmer pinpeat orchestra. It consists of two xylophones, ranad ek and ranad thum, two sets of small knobbed gongs placed in circular frames tuned an octave apart, gong wong yai and gong wong lek, a keyed metalophone, ranad ek lek, two oboes, pi nai, and several percussion instruments: a pair of barrel drums, khlong thad, a horizontal double-headed drum, taphon, and a pair of small cymbals, ching.
The introductory piece heard on the present recording is performed while the audience is arriving.

Plasat Vai

This type of music, which is performed during religious processions, shows a very distinct Chinese influence. The scale employed, however, is one of those on which Thai music is based. In addition, the instruments are found only in this region. The ensemble is made up of three soeung lutes with three strings, two of which run in double courses while the third is a single string, tuned a fifth apart, each soeung being pitched an octave below the preceding one, a six-holed khluy bamboo flute, a two-stringed fiddle of Chinese origin, the so-u, which was undoubtedly assimilated to South-East Asian music several centuries ago, a pair of large cymbals, chhap, a pair of small cymbals, ching, and a horizontal double-headed drum, khlong.

Hay Ya Ret

This ensemble, which is called kruang say thai doeum, <<>>, resembles the Khmer and Laotian ensembles even more closely. The melodies played by this ensemble are thought to date back to the old kingdom of Laos at the time when it occupied the northern part of Thailand. It may be compared with the North Laotian orchestras that play at weddings and some Cambodian ensembles that perform magic music and music for entertainment. The scale is similar to that of Khmer traditional music. The ensemble consists of two double-stringed fiddles, so duang and so-u, a zither, khim, these three instruments having a distant Chinese origin, a khluy flute, and a percussion ensemble made up of small single-headed drums always played in pairs, thon and ramana, and a long double-headed drum, khlang khek, of Malayan origin. This ensemble generally accompanies entertainment songs or courting songs. In earlier times it was used to accompany the reception of the guests at wedding ceremonies.

Tracklisting:

Side I

1. Piphat Orchestra of Plo Sieng Pieng Ensemble - Liké: Introductory Piece {24:15}

Side II

1. The Ritual Orchestra of Va Nantaram Monastery - Plasat Vai {8:28}

2. Krung Say Thai Doeum Orchestra of Chieng Mai Sankhit Ensemble - Hay Ya Ret {12:46}

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György Ligeti

György Ligeti - György Ligeti [5-LP set]

This set is an excellent overview of avant-garde composer György Ligeti's music from just about all periods of his career. This includes pieces for string quartet (Streichquartett Nr. 1, Streichquartett Nr.2), electronic music (Artikulation, Glissandi), organ (Etüden Nr.1, Etüden Nr.2, Volumina), harpsichord (Continuum), chamber music (Kammerkonzert, Ramifications), orchestra (Konzert für Violoncello und Orchester, Lontano, San Francisco Polyphony, Atmosphères) and choral/vocal (Requiem, Aventures, Lux aeterna). I've wanted to post the 2001 soundtrack as an accompaniment to the earlier 2001 post (Arthur C. Clarke reading), but I believe it's been posted several times elsewhere so I hope this is an adequate substitute as at least there is more music by the most fascinating composer on the soundtrack.

Tracklisting:

LP1

Side 1

1. Streichquartett Nr.1 - Metamorphoses Nocturnes {21:15}

Side 2

1. Streichquartett Nr. 2: Allegro nervoso {4:56}

2. Streichquartett Nr. 2: Sostenuto, molto calmo {4:07}

3. Streichquartett Nr. 2: Come un meccanismo di precisione {3:21}

4. Streichquartett Nr. 2: Presto furioso, brutale tumultoso {2:08}

5. Streichquartett Nr. 2: Allegro con delicatezza {5:36}

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LP2

Side 3

1. Continuum {3:33}

2. Zehn Stücke für Bläserquintett {12:31}

3. Artikulation {3:45}

4. Glissandi {7:27}

Side 4

1. Etüden Nr. 1 Harmonies {6:26}

2. Etüden Nr. 2 Coulée {3:12}

3. Volumina {15:01}

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LP3

Side 5

1. Kammerkonzert {19:52}

2. Ramifications, Version für Streichorchester {7:49}

Side 6

1. Ramifications, Version für 12 Solostreicher {7:38}

2. Lux aeterna {9:12}

3. Atmosphères {8:15}

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LP4

Side 7

1. Konzert für Violoncello und Orchester {12:15}

2. Lontano {10:02}

Side 8

1. Doppelkonzert {12:14}

2. San Francisco Polyphony {10:11}

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LP5

Side 9

1. Requiem {26:01}

Side 10

1. Aventures {10:37}

2. Nouvelles Aventures {11:38}

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American Contemporary

various artists compilation - American Contemporary

A compilation of "new music" pieces, released in 1977, that vary in style. The first one "Fantasy" is an exciting harpsichord piece. "Four Preludes for Leigh Howard Stevens" is a rather calm piece for marimba. "Echoes" mixes amplified clarinet with two-channel electronic tape. The final piece "Automobile" uses percussion, bass, flute and a soprano. The piece's composer Russell Peck explains in the liner notes: "In the first movement of 'Automobile', I postulated a lounge act in the year 2000, when supposedly Stockhausen-Boulez sounds will be in, as Chopin's are today....Movement II is a 50s' nostalgia number. Indeterminacy and R&B are combined into what George Rochberg called a 'Borsch - Circuit Comedy Act.' Players are dealt cards with cues, vamps, monologues, solos and ensembles which interact across a chance grid of accelerating tempi."

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. William Penn - Fantasy {11:15}

2. William Penn - Four Preludes for Leigh Howard Stevens {6:00}

Side 2

1. Olly Wilson - Echoes {10:21}

2. Russell Peck - Automobile {9:26}

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Multi Bass '70

Francois Rabbath - Multi Bass '70

On Multi Bass '70, Rabbath incorporates jazz, contemporary classical, Indian and African elements into the pieces on this recording. These elements combined with Rabbath's innovative style of double bass playing make for a great listen. For further information, this page has a biography on Rabbath and an interview with him.

Tracklisting:

1. L'odyssee d'eau {8:47}

2. Poucha-Dass {2:37}

3. Incantation pour junon {3:21}

4. Horda {2:18}

5. Embruns {2:26}

6. Papa Georges {3:54}

7. La Guerre et la paix (War and Peace): 1 Avant-Guerre (Before the war) {2:53}

8. La Guerre et la paix (War and Peace): 2 Guerre (War) {3:09}

9. La Guerre et la paix (War and Peace): 3 Apres-Guerre (After the war) {3:14}

10. La Guerre et la paix (War and Peace): 4 Paix (Peace) {3:03}

11. Mutants d'eau pale {3:38}

12. Breiz {1:46}

13. Equation du temps {1:33}

14. Thyossane {4:04}

15. Olivier {3:13}

16. Sete quate {1:32}

17. Ma mere, baidja {4:25}

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Musical Atlas: Cambodia

* no image available *

various artists compilation - Musical Atlas: Cambodia

I apologize to my visitors for having no picture of the album cover. My batteries on my camera died so I wasn't able to take a picture of the cover before I had to return the album to an acquaintance. I was unable to locate a picture of the album cover on the Internet. I thought of placing some other picture in its place, but it wouldn't seem right to do so.

This LP is in the UNESCO Musical Atlas series and covers folk and ceremonial music of Cambodia. Here's a little background derived from the liner notes:

Cambodia has been the cradle of one of the most vigorous civilizations of South-East Asia. During its golden age in the 11th and 12th centuries this civilization brought forth the architectural wonders embodied in the monuments of Angkor and a highly developed musical and choreographic activity, distant echoes of which have come down to our time. We can no longer admire the orchestras of several hundred musicians presented by the princes to the Brahmans or the king, or the thousands of female dancers engaged by Jayavarman VII, the illustrious builder of Bayon, to perform at ceremonies in the great temples. Nevertheless, several distinctive musical forms have survived, and their great originality has influenced the music of neighbouring countries such as Thailand and Laos, which, depending on the vicissitudes of history, were sometimes subject to the Khmer Empire, as well as Burma and Malaysia.
Cambodian music can be divided into two main categories: the orchestras consisting mainly of stringed and wind instruments, and the orchestras of melodic percussion instruments such as keyed metellophones, sets of gongs, xylophones and other percussion instruments. This record presents several aspects of both categories.

Tracklisting:

Side I

1. The Orchestra of Pêang Lovea - Bât Phleng Khlong {5:40}

2. The Orchestra of Pêang Lovea - Bât Ham Rong {5:03}

3. Srey-Yim - Bât Khlong-Saray Andet {6:49}

4. Srey-Yim - Bât Sampong {2:30}

5. Tuk-Môn - Roeung Moyolvong {6:34}

Side II

1. Tuk-Môn - Entertainment Music for the Chapey {4:00}

2. The Musicians of Siem Reap - Khlang Khêk {5:40}

3. The Artists of the Ta-Phul Village Troupe (Siem Reap) - Nang Sbek Thom-The "Sampeah Kru" Ceremony {4:10}

4. The Artists of the Shaow-Theatre Troupe of the Village of Ta-Phul (Siem Reap) - Nang Sbek Thom-Episode from the Ramayana {4:35}

5. The Musicians of the "Pinpeat" Orchestra of Siem Reap - Krao Nay {7:44}

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2001: A Space Odyssey read by Arthur C. Clarke

Arthur C. Clarke - 2001: A Space Odyssey

When I was transferring posts to this new version of this blog on the new Blogger engine, this one somehow got lost in the shuffle and never made it here until now. I forgot about this LP on the old version of this blog originally posted on October 12, 2006.
This particular release contains the final chapters of 2001 read by Arthur C. Clarke himself and a snippet of the memorable Richard Strauss piece, Also sprach Zarathustra, used as the film version's theme music. No need for me to explain the plot as I'm sure most people are familiar with it, but just in case this Wikipedia site explains everything. There is an audiobook of the complete novel on tape and CD, but I am not aware of any other release having a reading of this work by Clarke.

Tracklisting:

SIDE A

1. The Moons of Saturn {14;17}

Experiment --- The Sentinel --- Into the Eye --- Exit

2. Through the Star Gate {12:16}

Grand Central --- The Alien Sky (beginning)

SIDE B

1. Through the Star Gate {28:53}

The Alien Sky (conclusion) --- Inferno --- Reception --- Recapitulation --- Transformation--- Star-Child

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La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura

Luigi Nono - La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura

First, I would like to thank H.C. Earwicker for his contributions during the past week. He did an outstanding job with his first three posts. As he already said, he'll return in a few weeks with something delightful.

The item that is the focus of this post is a piece for solo violin, 8 magnetic tapes and 8 to 10 music stands. I don't know of many pieces of music composed for music stands or that emphasize music stands. Actually, I do not know of any other pieces for music stands. Throughout the piece (split into 6 separate tracks) at points there seems to be sounds of music stands themselves being dragged or being moved. As mentioned in the liner notes on how this is supposed to be performed: "The 6 parts (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) of 'La Lontananza' should be placed on 6 music stands on the stage (and in the audience as well), irregularly and asymmetrically, never near each other, but in such a way as to permit free although never direct passage between them, the player searching them out. They can also be 'complicated' with 2 or 4 empty music stands in order to make the passage way more varied and imaginative, the players even suddenly getting lost or coming to a halt."

Performers:

Melise Mellinger - violin

Salvatore Sciarrino - sound design / sound projection

Tracklisting:

1. Leggio I {9:25}

2. Leggio II {12:21}

3. Leggio III {10:33}

4. Leggio IV {8:16}

5. Leggio V {11:30}

6. Leggio VI {9:30}

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JAPANESE KOTO ORCHESTRA

Originally, I wanted to post some recordings from the Japan Collection of the UNESCO world music series here, but they are on DAT tape, and I didn't get to make the transfer in time. So here's an equally beautiful substitute, the CD reprint of a rather old Lyrichord LP. Judging by the "patina" of the recording, I'd say it's from the 1960s.

1 - Otone No Nagare Ni Sote (Along the Great Tone River), composed by Tsuyoshi Sakamoto
2 - Nagare (The Stream), composed by Kazuko Tsukushi
3 - Shochikubai (Music of Pine, Bamboo and Plum Blossoms), composed by Mitsuhashi Koto

Featured are different schools of composers, but unfortunately no dates of birth are mentioned, so we're left wondering how old these poetic pieces may be. Without doubt, the lengthy and episodic "Otone No Nagare Ni Sote" is the highlight here. It's played by 5 kotos, hoteki (flute), shamisen and shakuhachi. Some passages, like the chromatic part in the second half, suggest Western classic-romantic influences. The use of illustrative "sound painting", as well as the frequent quotation of phrases and themes from folk music, are amazing - and even ears less accustomed to Japanese music will have a fantastic listening experience.

"Shochikubai", for a trio of koto, shamisen and kokyu (the only bowed traditional Japanese instrument), seems to have something of a Chinese "touch", though that impression may be attributed to the sound of the seldom heard kokyu.

Enjoy, with a nice cup of light green sencha, or hot sake.


Now it's time for me to step back and let grey calx take over. Next from me, in a few weeks: John Cage's "Empty Words IV", as read by humself, and released way back on double LP by the long gone Edition Michael Frauenlob Bauer.

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Christian Wolff: WERGO 60063

- For Piano I (1952)

- For Pianist (1959)

- Burdocks (1970/71)

A rare LP from 1971, featuring 3 compositions by the youngest composer of the New York School, Christian Wolff, documenting different stages from nearly 20 years in his work.

The virtuosic chance composition "For Piano I" provides an interesting contrast to the cue-controlled open form piece "For Pianist", and the outstanding "Burdocks" with its added

improvisational possibilities is a MEISTERWERK of its genre. It can be performed by any number and any kind of players, be it trained classical, traditional, electronic, rock, jazz, professional or non-professional musicians. To the listener it either sounds like universal music or music from another planet. Or both.

Musicians are: David Tudor, Frederic Rzewski, David Behrman, Gordon Mumma, John Nash, and Christian Wolff. Included are texts on the pieces, written by Wolff, as well as excerpts from the "Burdocks" score.

Coming on Monday: something rare from Japan. 

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Morton Feldman: "Why Webern?" - H. C. E.’s first Post

Hello. Regular visitors to "A Closet of Curiosities" may have noticed a new name on the contributors-list: H. C. Earwicker. That’s supposed to be me, and this is my initial post here. First of all, many thanks to grey calx for letting me aboard. We’re both looking forward to this collaboration.

I’ll be posting something between two and four recordings per month, somewhere along the line of what you’re already used to on this blog: New, Electronic, and Ethnic Music, plus some borderline stuff - mostly rare, hard-to-get, deleted or unreleased recordings from radio broadcasts.




One of the commentors to an earlier post by grey calx asked for more Feldman, so here we go - with a seldom-performed piece by MF in the recording of its world premiere, taken from a radio broadcast: Morton Feldman - Violin and Orchestra (1979), played by Paul Zukofsky and the Radio-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, conducted by Christóbal Halffter.
Feldman’s working title for "Violin and Orchestra" was "Why Webern?" and it represents a link between his earlier non-repetetive styles and his later, pattern-oriented "minimalism". It’s one of his first VERY long (60 plus minutes) pieces. He started his series of contemplative and hypnotic large scale works with "Why Patterns?" in 1978 and refined this style of writing continuously to his last composition, "Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello" from 1987.
"Violin and Orchestra" was written for Paul Zukofsky and is scored for a big orchestra, featuring two harps, two pianos and a rich assortment of percussion. It is a mesmerizing microcosmos of changing and shifting figures/patterns and colours/shades. The solo part is carefully woven into the orchestral arrangements. One can hear the solo instrument distinctly, but it is always part of the ensemble. Zukofsky’s interpretation of Feldman’s microtonalities is outstanding and marvellous. "Violin and Orchestra" may sound somehow "chaotic" from the surface, but a dive deep into it will surely be most rewarding for the listener.
"I prefer to think of my work as: between categories. Between Time and Space. Between painting and music. Between the music's construction, and its surface."
Morton Feldman, in: "Between Categories" (1969)

Next post; tomorrow: a WERGO LP from 1971, with two essential piano pieces by Christian Wolff, and a kick-ass version of his "Burdocks", played by a veritable All-Star-Band of legendary composers-slash-performers.

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