George Cruikshank, from "The Comic Almanack. 1st Series, 1835-1843"
Texts
Recorded
June 7, 2025
Group Variations I - Benjamin Boretz - Ensemble Nomad
{NB: Ben sent this recording to me recently, and the effect of it was as though a fascinating object that had been a presence in my consciousness for decades suddenly rose and spoke. I listened to it each day of listening this week.}
unstillness
exploited moments
dis-ceasing
pushing through
the shape of the events it creates
by pushing through the events it
creates
start at all times
observe all angles
absorb all
obstacles
Madrigals, Book VIII: Altri canti d'amor, tenero arciero - Claudio Monteverdi - Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Alessandrini
through keyholes and dim hallways
brightly lit festivities
a
speech in honor
general acclamation
Sehet an die Feigenbaum, SWV 394 - Heinrich Schütz - Capella Augustana
repetition
imitation of entrances and figures
slows our
contemplation of the pericope
ends
with a sense
of having
been pulled
from a continuing flow
Canzona in E minor, BuxWV 169 - Deiterich Buxtehude - Simone Stella
games for music to play
in its idle moments
Deuxieme Ordre (re) - La Diane - François Couperin - Kenneth Gilbert
we will dance
through our days
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| Bickleton, WA |
Group Variations I - Benjamin Boretz - Ensemble Nomad
so how is the going of this?
each note
a probe
a leap
a new now
or also
reverberation
of the other new nows
that constellate about them
after all these years
this piece continues to astonish me
by
remaining as recalcitrant to assimilation
into anything like familiarity
the landmarks behave differently each time
this performance is astonishingly fine
the whole comes across
as a
single
albeit complex
statement
a firm challenge
Es ist nichts Gesunde an meinem Leibe, BWV 25 - Johann Sebastian Bach - Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Amsterdam Baroque Choir, Ton Koopman
figures in sequence
form formal lines
that need not match
the lines that any one instrument
would play
or
that one voice
would sing
these lines
float
within the
formal lines
formed from figures in sequence
chorales
presented
in the rhythms
of moral certitude
Sonata in D Major, Kk. 278 - Domenico Scarlatti - Pieter-Jan Belder
these sequences of figures
take tight corners
Symphony in C Major, K. 551 "Jupiter" - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - London Philharmonic Orchestra, Laurence Siegel
1
a pantomimed opera buffa
how'd we get back here?
is there
a better door?
all this folderol
with the drawn-out cadential
formulas
smoke and mirrors
distractions and beguilements
2
dimness
fear
comfort
but not respite
are the signifiers of the Romantic Spirit
we recognize in Berlioz or
Schumann or Liszt
(such as chromaticism
eschewal or subversion of
binary forms
et cetera)
useful
as explainers
of that
Spirit?
that is
do we understand Romanticism
because we
understand how chromaticism works?
3
balance among parts
concords of times
bold proposals
tart replies
cosmic stakes ennui
4
celebratory fanfares
for nicely turned counterpoints
all
the guests comment
how lovely how lovely
wanders into a thicket of
thorny mirrors
nothing a fair bit of stage craft can't resolve
 |
| Bickleton, WA |
Die Schöpfung, Der Dritte Tag - Franz Joseph Haydn - Berliner Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan, Gundula Janowitzs, Christa Ludwig, Fritz Wunderlich, Werner Krenn, Walter Berry, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Wiener Singverein
creation proceeds as an ordered series of distinctions
light and
darkness
day and night
upper waters from lower waters
dry
land from ocean
creatures from their respective substrates
Prelude in E-flat Major, Op. 28 #14 - Frédéric Chopin - Garrick Ohlsson
this tonality boils
Album für die Jugend: "Ein Choral", Op. 68 #4 - Robert Schumann - Eric Le Sage
chorales are moral lessons
to be learned by rote
correctness
is of their essence
Poeme in D Major Op. 32 #2 - Alexander Scriabin - Dmitri Alexeev
this tonality wears its passion on its sleeve
Ill Natured Blues - Ada Brown [from That Devilin' Tune]
a stage blues
rather than a porch blues
Finnegans Wake Chapter 7 (end) - James Joyce - Neal Kosály-Meyer [recorded live at The Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, July 15, 2023]
flash as flash can
this dastard century
repopulate the land of
your birth
defenseless paper
all daughters of anguish
sniffer of carrion
the leveling of all customs
your new
Irish stew
our place of burden
I hope that chimney's clear
shall we follow each others a step longer
he mussed your speller
how his innards work
sought to touch both Himmels
be advised
by Mooks
and take your medicine
to make you go green in your gazer
a kingship through a fault
The Very Thought of You - Billie Holiday [from That Devilin' Tune]
Broadway smooth
tune-smithery
Sonata No. 2 for Piano, Concord, Mass. (1943): Emerson (partial) - Charles Ives - Charles Ives [from Charles Ives Plays Charles Ives]
a relatively coherent segment
 |
| Bickleton, WA |
and now a tender lullaby
so sweet and motherly
Jayne - Ornette Coleman [from Something Else!!]
tricks upon a standard type tune
even solos are ultimately a cooperative
venture
Don't Bother Me - The Beatles [from With The Beatles]
melodically adept
on a rubber band beat
White Light/White Heat - The Velvet Underground [from White Light/White Heat]
street lingo
the pulse breaks apart
Living For The City - Stevie Wonder [from Innervisions]
testament of a family life
the engineering is exquisite
complete
with an action scene
fabulous work by the back up singers
a
multi-part saga
Come On Let's Go - Los Lobos [from And A Time To Dance]
his vocal does some pretty fancy footwork
I Wanna Be Sedated - Ramones [from Road To Ruin]
once a persona becomes an attitude
they're trapped
footwork not
fancy but full of grace
 |
| Bickleton, WA |
the opera continues as were it a soap opera
rubadubdubia and hopland
eggs are also used in sacrifice
gilt eggshells brought by the
Easter Bunny
egg rolling
folklore
is lore of irrecoverable
provenance
broken loose of their originary context
world egg
good
it's still in character
unless
they are
deviled
gradual school
a house
full of thousands of cakes
a cake
baking frenzy
prevented
they are going to dye one of my letters
what a scandal
my letter
is now
the Italian flag
Sesame Street is too hard for me
this is a mess
how is an egg going to fit in this
copyright 1988
Muppets Incorporated
legal notice
on every
child's toy
tunes that folks can hum
sing
and stand still
there is no brutal action
what was Norma doing by Bellini?
rumor is spread
that I will listen to anything
the memory will be fresh
these eggs will stand out
Group Variations I - Benjamin Boretz - Ensemble Nomad
dendritic times
dendritic tone space
the orchestra is playing their parts
as lines
as statements
meaning what they say
even the familiar bits
are utterly new and weird
 |
| Bickleton, WA |
Today Is Not Yesterday - Sun Ra [from Monorails & Satellites]
thinking out loud
with study examples
Glory to God (050517A) - Keith Eisenbrey - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey [recorded at Jack Straw Cultural Center, Seattle, May 17, 2005]
simple poetic meter
accommodates
a more ornate
presentational meter
Dance - Jesse Canterbury, Bradley Hawkins [from Bradley Hawkins & Jesse Canterbury]
accept the cyclic meter grid
a convenience for social dance
a
choice for presentation dance
Zither Film 15 - Keith Eisenbrey [May 18, 2008]
fitfully falling
folded to the floor
snort in slumber
site of consciousness: exploded view
thought shrapnel
blanknesses
elisions
from outside
debris field
 |
| Bickleton, WA |
setting the industry standard in lab
Corollaries (Down's Down) - Keith Eisenbrey - Keith Eisenbrey [recorded live at The Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, March 24, 2018]
drop a probe into a deep shaft
You Make a Strong Girl Weak - Jeanne & The Darlings [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
using the back up singers
as a place to offload lines
and parts of
lines
Group Variations I - Benjamin Boretz - Ensemble Nomad
I became acquainted with Group Variations
before I had heard of Ben
outside of the card catalog
in the University of Washington
Listening Library
one might say
that Group Variations
or the
card
introduced Ben to me
it came up again
in John Rahn's theory seminars
where some of
Ben's output was being discussed
that was the computer version (Group
Variations II)
of course
the 1968 orchestra recording
didn't come to my acquaintance
until
quite recently
but
these players
get up and say stuff with those notes
the
piece
is awake
it asks
what we presuppose
at some point
I decided
that one way I might come to a more direct
acquaintance
with the orchestral version
was
to copy out the
score
with engraving software
which I did
(and promised
myself
I would never do that sort of thing again)
during that
process
Ben gave me his copy of the orchestral score
which is
considerably easier to read
than the one you get
when you order
the dissertation version
which
is where I had started
I believe these folks
are using my computer score
and possibly
my parts
if so
my plan
succeeded brilliantly
 |
| Bickleton, WA |
as though they were toys they were playing
theater
tongue wag
kiss off
Can't Help Lovin' That Man - Helen Morgan [from Really The Blues]
that early talky sound
soft focus
high contrast
proximity
effect
Daddy Let Me Lay It On You - Georgia White [from That Devilin' Tune]
the conversation
among the instruments
in their verse
is a
clearly arranged little dance number
Parker's Mood - Charlie Parker [from Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz]
who is that singing along back there in the mix behind the piano solo?
{journal entry of March 5, 2006:
some gray area precisely hued between an inflection and a note}
I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise - Sarah Vaughan [from Sarah Vaughan Sings Goerge Gerswhin]
a do re mi of changes and of key
Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town - The Crystals [from A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector]
watch out not not shout
hm
Spector glockenspiel shiny
I Had A King - Joni Mitchell [from Song To A Seagull]
from an hallucinatory narrative
 |
| Bickleton, WA |
Jennifer Had - Morgana King [from New Beginnings]
analysis of Jennifer's problem
from a close omniscience
that is
the voice of cultural pressure
Don't Get Around Much Anymore - Willie Nelson [from Stardust]
didn't try very hard with that one
What Am I Supposed To Do - The PKs [from Live In The Living Room]
words wholly inaudible-ized
Bone Machine - Pixies [from Surfer Rosa]
vocal parts wander into the instrument's bailiwick
from dive bar
conversation rhythms
Sidewalk Jostle - Helen Alexander [from The City Sketches]
quick impressions in charcoal
made in the midst
Birds and Ships - Billy Bragg & Wilco [from Mermaid Avenue]
set in the manner
of folk song
from the English speaking islands
 |
| Bickleton, WA |
rashly rushed
pretty focused on the slower ones
Afterglow Vista - Low Hums [from Live In Echo Bay]
light-made music
for the slowly spaced
Gradus 232 - Neal Kosály-Meyer - Neal Kosály-Meyer [August 26, 2013]
I find myself fond of tangles
as designs
in photographic space
and in pitch space
a tangle develops organically
when
for instance
independently growing vegetable organs
interact with each other
in the sky
or in the soil
one might say
they compete
but
that's only our ascription
of motive
to the vegetable organs themselves
each individual
vegetable being
does what it does
without requirement
of a
motive
for doing so
a tangle
is an inscription upon space
of
coevally
developing beings
is this music a tangle?
if not
I can make it so
by asking
should I so desire
I find myself fond of tangles
so
I suppose
I do so
desire
 |
| Bickleton, WA |
was a tangle
brute force its undoing
a tangle
can be easily broken
but less easily disentangled
better
I think
to join it
entangle oneself
an agent
of pleaching
only colonialists
need machetes
to move
in the jungle
but
what is a tangle as an image?
an unsolvable puzzle
a
convolution
(a self?)
a synthesis
tangles
intrigue our
speculationary organs
wrest our attentions
I prefer tangles to grids
Eleven Years - The Science of Deduction [from Alternative Works]
gizmo geek
cool clean and smooth
hard surfaces without warmth
Oregon - Keith Eisenbrey [May 12 & 13, 2023]
a collage of some sounds I recorded while we were vacationing in Oregon
that Spring
for burning heretics
a drain is draining a liquid
we hear the sounds of the pipe
as the liquid tickles it
in
flowing through
birds chirrup in its outer space
I do not recall
my reasons
for making any of these parts
Group Variations I - Benjamin Boretz - Ensemble Nomad
so here it is
utterly unlike any other music
on any level that
matters
to it
its lyricism
is obsessed
with figures of
bare quantity
two is two
and three is three
and yet
it
is a lyricism
a poetic
nothing unrhetorical about it
there
is flesh and blood behind it
amplitude is not presence
 |
| Bickleton, WA |
if the key isn't where you looked first
try again
first class
big city sound
for the roaring 20s
loose drinks and strong dames
Violin Blues - The Johnson Boys [from Really The Blues]
blues singer
as a folk-clown
medicine
for troubles
magnetic mojo
From Ab to C - John Kirby [from That Devilin' Tune]
something about the melody
reminds me of Thelonious Monk:
a way
with patterns in the contour
Misteriosoic
In Session at The Tintinabulary
June 8, 2025
Coleshill - Keith Eisenbrey
June 9, 2025
Gradus 415 - Neal Kosály-Meyer
a gathering of tones
dreaming of past melodic attachments
silence
a sleep beyond dreaming
the long silences
become
for me
an essential feature of the
project
but not
because I'm listening
to the music the
street makes
but
because
that
is where I find
myself
asking questions of myself
reflective
what one really hears
is ones self
blabbering on and on
the
blabbering
being part of the ritual of it
after all
blab berries
blab bears
blown bears
tones on lonely quests
tones in caves
tones atop towers
ascetic tones
teasing tones
out of tones
blown tones
blue tones
Postscripts
Drops
Music of Ken Benshoof
As a young composer-pianist I was profoundly fortunate to have worked with the eminent Seattle-area composer Ken Benshoof when I was at the University of Washington. These recordings are from various recitals I gave between 2004 and 2018, except those of the last four Preludes and the last four of Patti's Parlour Pieces, which were made at my home in 2022.
Tracks 1-7: Sweeter Than Wine: American Folk Images (1959)
Tracks 8-31:
Patti's Parlour Pieces (2000)
Tracks 32-55: 24 Preludes (2003)
recordings of my compositions (and more!) can be found at keitheisenbrey.bandcamp.com - free to download or stream
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