Preface
"'Rudel?'
'The Seigneur Geoffrey Rudel, Prince of Blaye-en-Saintonge.'
I
shook my head.
'Never met him, I'm afraid. Pal of yours?'
'He lived
in the Middle Ages. He was a great poet. And he fell in love with the wife of
the Lord of Tripoli.' I stirred uneasily, I hoped she was going to keep
it clean.
'For years he loved her, and at last he could resist no longer.
He took ship to Tripoli, and his servants carried him ashore.'
'Not
feeling so good?' I said, groping. 'Rough crossing?'
'He was dying of
love.'
'Oh, ah.'
'They bore him into the Lady Mélisande's presence
on a litter, and he had just strength enough to reach out and touch her hand.
Then he died.'
She paused, and heaved a sigh that seemed to come straight
up from the cami-knickers. A silence ensued."
P. G. Wodehouse, from The Code of the Woosters
Texts
Live
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| Dry Falls State Park, Washington |
Never Leave a Story - Bonnie Whiting
Meany Hall Studio Theatre
flow/bell curve/ebb - Bonnie Whiting - Bonnie Whiting
Slackwater - Bonnie Whiting - Jennifer Salke, dance; Bonnie Whiting, percussion
Corpus to Corpus (The Third Body) - Bonnie Whiting - Timea Tihanyi, ceramics; Bonnie Whiting, percussion
Being Pollen - Jeffrey Treviño, Alice Notley - Bonnie Whiting
Kassandra - Iannis Xenakis - Bonnie Whiting
Some Work of Noble Note - Kevin Clark - Bonnie Whiting
a striking sound intrigues
of themselves and of their origins
we touch originary objects
via the textures of the sounds
of
themselves
shapes of sound
evoke shapes of other experience
location grouped in time sequence
new origins require movement among
stations
sound to sense
sense to sound?
sense in what sense?
prayer and its critics
prophecy and its brick walls
enhanced gastromancy
Recorded
 |
| Dry Falls State Park, Washington |
Lost Canon No. 2 - S. Eric Scribner [from Sketches: Electronic Music]
texture of the constant
dimpled as tones are applied
Across The Universe - The Beatles [from The Beatles Anthology Volume 2]
these words are crowded into their lines
No One Has (live in Santa Barbara) - Mudhoney [from Superfuzz Bigmuff]
music
as an extremity of experience
with low bar of entry
modest risk of deafness without precautions
SSBB-Ted - Sacajawea Elementary Students [from Digital Dreams]
a chord is a horizontally decorated vertical state
Marry The Night (Zedd Remix) - Lady Gaga [from Born This Way]
words can be part of that decoration
Mister Sandman - Brenda Ray [from Original Songs/1950s Music]
is there a Mrs. Sandman?
Take a Walk Down My Street - Bettye Crutcher [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
celebration of neighborhood
come on in
Wish You a Merry Christmas - Smokestack and The Foothill Fury [from Smokey's Jugband Christmas]
extended guitar play
until the fig pudding is provided
Album d'un voyageur, S. 156, Book II "Fleurs mélodiques des Alpes": No. 9c, Andantino con molto sentimento - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
three rhythmic figures the same
the fourth a fancy variation
a
sign of civilized thinking
but that's just on the door
we enter
the establishment
and see sketches of the motley guests
in their
states of various merriment
Drei Clavier-Sonaten für die Jügend, Op. 118 #3 in C Major - Robert Schumann - Eric Le Sage
1
right hand melodic figure
comes in ahead
of where the left
hand indicated
enough disbalance
to enliven the rest of the
movement
after the hinge
we wander through a tonal wildscape
after which
the familiar disbalance of the return
is a
comfort
2
we are being pious and balanced
as best our ardency allows
daydream in the margins
3
skipping games
4
attention distracted
right and left
 |
| Dry Falls State Park, Washington |
Lady Madonna - The Beatles [from The Beatles Anthology Volume 2]
but does he offer to help?
The River - Bruce Springsteen [from Tunnel of Love Express Tour]
escaping the traditions of ones upbringing
(failed)
audience claps
in trudge rhythm
Talkies-Cassidy & Friends - Sacajawea Elementary Students [from Digital Dreams]
we pass a ship full of squirrels
Taffeta Phantom - Steve Layton [from The Composer Plays Revisited]
scriabinesque specificity of registral tonalities
Free Improvisation Quartets Project (continued) - Amelia Love Clearheart, Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Bruce Greeley, Ha-Yang Kim, Aaron Keyt, Jim Knodle, Carol Levin, Neal Kosály-Meyer, S. Eric Scribner [recorded September 30, 2018, Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle]
five minutes to switch people
in which we hear that particular social
murmur
of audience members speaking only to their immediate neighbors
while anticipating the hush of attention
juncos click
while foraging
boats groan
in their moorings
a trumpet sings a poem
I
on the floor
scribble letters in crayon
Before The Honeymoon - Homer Banks [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
impatient groom
Touch Me I'm Sick (live in Santa Barbara) - Mudhoney [from Superfuzz Bigmuff]
flip side of Here Comes Sickness
Dope - Lady Gaga [from Artpop]
devotion during regret
(an apology)
Unchained Melody - Brenda Ray [from Original Songs/1950s Music]
how and when it holds to its first pitch (home base)
each line
and
how and when it veers
and how and when it returns
chained to it
I would say
Old River - Smokestack and The Foothill Fury
hymn to a familiar
Teenage Rebel - Your Mother Should Know [from Run Through Test, recorded at the Tintinabulary, Seattle, October 17, 2013]
I don't recall this song
pretty good sound except for the vocal
must have been a runthrough for a possible gig
Album d'un voyageur, S. 156, Book III "Paraphrases": No. 10, Ranz de vaches – Aufzug auf die Alpe – Improvisata - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
opening exploration of ways
to slip away from holding still
while
remaining still
or opening up a multitude of possibilities
within
a single field of reference
the trickster enters and does a dance for us
a characters study
as they alternate on stage
Etudes sur un thème de Beethoven: Vier Etüden aus dem ersten Autograph: IX. Passionato - Robert Schumann - Eric Le Sage
much business about a fragment
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| Dry Falls State Park, Washington |
Honey Pie - The Beatles [from The Beatles Anthology Volume 3]
work in progress
Lucky Man - Bruce Springsteen [collected from Neal Kosály-Meyer's Springsteen Miscellany]
from vinyl with vintage crackle
telling oneself what one is
under
ones breath
first person
restrained arrangement
Thatsnomoonthatsaspacestation-Amanda - Sacajawea Elementary Students [from Digital Dreams]
ringtone
Scheiße (DJ White Shadow Mugler) - Lady Gaga [from Born This Way]
producing fodder for mixing
dancers demand regularity and amusement
sung forms mean naught
nor narratives
Postlude - Steve Layton [from Virtual Composition]
glaring lights
insistent tones
A Slow Swirl of Distant Light - S. Eric Scribner [from Sketches: Electronic Music]
motions within a tonal beam
moving ones ears around the space
in
which this sound is resident
generates a supplemental swirl
not
unlike its own cleansing
By Her Own Hand (live in Santa Barbara) - Mudhoney [from Superfuzz Bigmuff]
measured gaps
bumps in the track
Pretending I'm Well - Your Mother Should Know [from Run Through Test, recorded at the Tintinabulary, Seattle, October 17, 2013]
sloppy energy release
Sleepwalk - Brenda Ray [from Original Songs/1950s Music]
lazy dance
Nobody But You - Mack Rice [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
no room for the inbetween
no extraneous arrangement in evidence
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| Dry Falls State Park, Washington |
Album d'un voyageur, S. 156, Book III "Paraphrases": No. 11, Un soir dans les montagnes. Nocturne pastorale - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
to paraphrase is to translate into a new voice
it being presumed
that any translation will leave something unsaid
it is a selective
process
we fill
in what we imagine
might have been being
said
in the pre-translated text
extra-communicational information
necessarily
involves
self-discovery
Etudes sur un thème de Beethoven: Vier Etüden aus dem ersten Autograph: X. Idee aus Beethoven - Robert Schumann - Eric Le Sage
not every worked-out thing
fit into a place
with the others
this one's more finger exercisey
Piggies (Demo) - The Beatles [from The Beatles Anthology Volume 3]
Paul and George playing for each other?
Here She Comes Walkin' - Bruce Springsteen [from Tunnel of Love Express Tour]
surfing on the sound of the acclaim of thousands
band enters slowly
following sax lead
a trance dance
The Family-Pete - Sacajawea Elementary Students [from Digital Dreams]
not an uninteresting thought this one
One Summer's Night - Steve Layton [from The Composer Plays Revisited]
metallic chimes in their clangor
Free Improvisation Quartets Project (continued) - Amelia Love Clearheart, Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Bruce Greeley, Ha-Yang Kim, Aaron Keyt, Jim Knodle, Carol Levin, Neal Kosály-Meyer, S. Eric Scribner [recorded at The Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, September 30, 2018]
clarion call
trumpet like a flute
a drum and piano
(could be
me)
(don't remember)
Hot Line to Jesus - Mack Rice [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
rock solid connection
G**** - Lady Gaga [from Artpop]
of course the show-ending mega-anthem
could be a Stevie Nicks song
(stadium required)
come along on the star ride
To Know Him Is To Love Him - Brenda Ray [from Original Songs/1950s Music]
heavily pounded
plodding
verse after verse
Don't Make Me Lie - Your Mother Should Know [from Run Through Test, recorded at the Tintinabulary, Seattle, October 17, 2013]
tuning and equipment settings
let's start again
friendly advice
comes across as somewhat angry
Album d'un voyageur, S. 156, Book III "Paraphrases": No. 12, Ranz de chèvres. Allegro finale - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
but the biggest adventure of all
was getting to the airport on time
that last morning
such a scurrying and hurrying I never did see
kids these days!
Lisztomania camp
down to the wire
the whistle blows
this piece is hilarious
slapstick
a veritable Buster Keaton contraption
Etudes sur un thème de Beethoven: Vier Etüden aus dem ersten Autograph: XI. Prestissimo - Robert Schumann - Eric Le Sage
figuration puzzles for nimble fingers
Junk (Demo) - The Beatles [from The Beatles Anthology Volume 3]
a song before it had collected all its words
Two for the Road - Bruce Springsteen [collected from Neal Kosály-Meyer's Springsteen Miscellany]
lots of roads in Springsteen
the old elsewhere
Fashion of His Love (Fernando Garibay Remix) - Lady Gaga [from Born This Way]
such glitz!
so 80s!
a remix
is a re-arrangement
an
other solution
a relation of parts
The Church of The World - Steve Layton [from Virtual Composition]
jumps and bites
so keep back a bit
or be bit
an hostile fear
attention fixed
existential imminence
primal
an immediate
consciousness
an experience
Lost Canon No. 3 - S. Eric Scribner [from Sketches: Electronic Music]
tones within a tonality room
Hey Yesterday/Love Blackmail - Your Mother Should Know [from Run Through Test, recorded October 17, 2013]
we are being quiet
find the standby switch
not a bad performance of it for all that
excellent tempo for Love
Blackmail
why doing it all as a single performance
is so much more
effective than overdubbing
Serenade in the Night - Brenda Ray [from Original Songs/1950s Music]
when that left hand cuts out
it leaves the studio
vanishes
hard ends
I Hear Footsteps (Coming Closer) - William Brown [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
paranoid jealousy with plea
Soirées italiennes (After Mercadante), S. 411: I. La primavera. Canzonetta - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
I heard some lovely pieces
here is how one went
as it might have
been
had you heard it
as I had
why
back in my day
when Liszt
was all the rage
Etudes sur un thème de Beethoven: Vier Etüden aus dem ersten Autograph: XII. Legato teneramente - Robert Schumann - Eric Le Sage
in 3D meter
Glass Onion (Demo) - The Beatles [from The Beatles Anthology Volume 3]
Paul wrote stories
John talked back to himself
Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen [collected from Neal Kosály-Meyer's Springsteen Miscellany]
roads and road machines
just Bruce and his guitar
see how nice
that can be?
Frenetic Interlude #5-Shalaidah - Sacajawea Elementary Students [from Digital Dreams]
operating as a poetic articulation
among the track grid
Six Seattle Pieces - S. Eric Scribner - Keith Eisenbrey, S. Eric Scribner, Mike Senkewitz [recorded at The Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, by Steve Kennedy, October 4, 2013]
any prescribed activity is absurd
by virtue of its prescription
but the result of the activity
need not be therefore absurd
imbuement happens
to visit sets of percussion instruments
and sets of instructions
(activity prescriptions: makers of absurdity)
as a performer
one acts within an environment
that includes
instructions
but no demand that they be followed
an allotment of time
is a further absurdity
setting stakes in a
hypothetical construct
exploiting and explaining the acoustic cyclicity
of the twelve
tones
ominous
hissish
low and distant
nears
and enacts
a dance
a casting of sticks
 |
| Dry Falls State Park, Washington |
Juju - Steve Layton [from Pròxima Estaciòn]
a rolling groove
small critter life moves in
lamellophones and
drums do the roll
I'll Be The Other Woman - Shelbra Bennett [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
outlining conditions
for acquiescence
to a compromised situation
Rocks and Glass - Your Mother Should Know [from Run Through Test, recorded October 17, 2013]
I wonder if this would work better
without the long extension of final
syllables
which almost inevitably stray from comfortable intonation
Can't Help Lovin' That Man - Brenda Ray [from Original Songs/1950s Music]
when all else fails
repeat chorus
Applause - Lady Gaga [from Artpop]
begging acclaim
Soirées italiennes (After Mercadante), S. 411: II. Il galop - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
having too much fun to concern itself with profundity
Etudes sur un thème de Beethoven: Vier Etüden aus dem zweiten Autograph: XIII-XVI - Robert Schumann - Eric Le Sage
theme with costume and gesture
profundity here
is a fascination
to be sought earnestly
Polythene Pam (Demo) - The Beatles [from The Beatles Anthology Volume 3]
the song with too many words to fit
Movin' On - Bruce Springsteen [from Tunnel of Love Express Tour]
one of those loudmouth blues
The New Era-Michael - Sacajawea Elementary Students [from Digital Dreams]
music becomes playing along with
SoundScroll IX - S. Eric Scribner- Keith Eisenbrey, S. Eric Scribner, Mike Senkewitz [recorded at The Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, by Steve Kennedy, October 4, 2013]
I remember being there
an hour of music that barely exists
and
doesn't move
less an episode
than a space
held
in
duration
it sits still
need we follow?
events in a passage
of time
a dragon deep in slumber
scraps of human life drop in
dragon REM
passing into deeper sleep
this music
is its
presence
sequence
impacts little
Wreckkit - Steve Layton [from Trouble In Mind]
larger scale cycles
irregular and uncertain
We've Got Love On Our Side - Bettye Crutcher [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
working out personal problems in song
Shed a Tear Every Day - Your Mother Should Know [from Run Through Test, recorded at The Tintinabulary, Seattle, October 17, 2013]
hook is the best part
another sad sack love story
Soirées italiennes (After Mercadante), S. 411: III. Il pastore svizzero. Tirolese - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
we are told a story in full animation
even the little birds sing back
but each verse starts
with just the unsung words
we imagine
the melody
to be singing
Sieben Fuguetten, Op. 126: I. Nicht schnell, leise vorzutragen - Robert Schumann - Eric Le Sage
gently the leaves fold the air to ground
Mean Mr. Mustard (Demo) - The Beatles [from The Beatles Anthology Volume 3]
rhymes
queen
been
obscene
Roullette - Bruce Springsteen [from Tunnel of Love Express Tour]
what's left of the sound
after dubbing
is pathetic
nights
rivers roads highways boardwalks
it's clear what the title would be
supposed to be
but I can't make out what he says
 |
| Dry Falls State Park, Washington |
The Solo Isn't Boring-Zander - Sacajawea Elementary Students [from Digital Dreams]
some unfortunate ripping artifacts intrude toward the end of the CD
If You Go and See Shelby Tonight - Your Mother Should Know [from Run Through Test, recorded at The Tintinabulary, Seattle, October 17, 2013]
melodic contour sticks close to speaking tones
Border Crossing - Steve Layton & Sound-In [from The Summer Sessions 2018]
compound anxieties
surveillance patrols
Four Pentatonic Sonicifications - S. Eric Scribner [from Sketches: Electronic Music]
the sense of fiveness seems distant
even if factual
It's So Wonderful - Fredrick Knight [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
solo and its amplification by backup singers
repeating the message
Soirées italiennes (After Mercadante), S. 411: IV. La serenata del marinaro - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
set up expectations
wherein anything might happen
A contrasts to B
contrasts to C
contrasts to You Get The Picture
breaks composition open
Sieben Fuguetten, Op. 126: II. Mäßig - Robert Schumann - Eric Le Sage
working at prying it open quietly
from the inside
Happiness is a Warm Gun (Demo) - The Beatles [from The Beatles Anthology Volume 3]
fishing for a song
Cover Me/Brilliant Disguise - Bruce Springsteen [from Tunnel of Love Express Tour]
the poor dub quality
exacerbates the general sameness of the
arrangements
Tiger Grrr!-Phoebe - Sacajawea Elementary Students [from Digital Dreams]
artifacts of an overfull burned CD
too bad
this one seems to be
more worked out than many of the other cuts
Don't Black Out - Your Mother Should Know [from Run Through Test, recorded October 17, 2013]
especially if you've got big plans to make a good impression
Shattered - Steve Layton [from Virtual Composition]
this music is a scenario
full of dread
any music has a remove from its listeners
which can be quite thin or
nearly impervious
a music's remove
is an aspect of its personality
That's What Friends Are For - Mack Rice [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
a segment of these tracks
speaking directly to ones neighbors
fall
into life advice
rhymes occur
with for (fur)
Songs from Voices on Earth - S. Eric Scribner - Mary Kantor [recorded live at The Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, November 22, 2008]
in this music the remove is dropped
it allows without enticing
it
accepts itself in itself
a demand which might be offputting
it has
no remove
and does not approach
to hear it
one must drop
ones own remove
Soirées italiennes (After Mercadante), S. 411: V. Il brindisi. Rondoletto - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
if one opens with various fragments
then where it finally settles is
easily acceptable
as is moving elsewhere
Sieben Fuguetten, Op. 126: III. Ziemlich bewegt - Robert Schumann - Eric Le Sage
the first note of the subject
stands as a pointer
to indicate a
tonal position
Don't Pass Me By (Take 3 & 5 Remix) - The Beatles [from The Beatles Anthology Volume 3]
as they got older
their aesthetic interests diverged
Tougher Than The Rest - Bruce Springsteen [from Tunnel of Love Express Tour]
do rock drummers ever get heartily tired
of whacking two and four?
musician turned functionary
Frenetic Interlude #6-Duncan - Sacajawea Elementary Students [from Digital Dreams]
artifacts artifacts
clippy and harsh
Demos - Your Mother Should Know [recorded at The Tintinabulary, Seattle, October 17, 2013]
Tear Shaped Bruise
just Neal and his guitar at a faster tempo
See You at the Next Show
when it was brand newish
Guan Yin - Steve Layton [from Próxima Estación]
remove can be established rhetorically
(stand back!)
architecturally
(sit that side the proscenium)
instrumentally
(clavichord's close remove for example/massive
orchestra distant remove for another)
and combinations and mitigations
in all directions
finding the optimal remove of a music is important
Lost Canon No. 4 - S. Eric Scribner [from Sketches: Electronic Music]
a solo acoustic sound
even among synthesized sound
gives the ear
an index to the size of thing the music is
clarifies its remove
Sugar Daddy - Bettye Crutcher [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
spilling the goods
 |
| Dry Falls State Park, Washington |
Soirées italiennes (After Mercadante), S. 411: VI. La zingarella spagnola. Bolero - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
as an art
music is a staged act
a dancing pony
or a vaunted
tragedy
this music is toward the pony end of the spectrum
quite
the dance though
Sieben Fuguetten, Op. 126: IV. Lebhaft - Robert Schumann - Eric Le Sage
subjects interrupt their predecessors
with their predecessor's prior
doings
born to stretto
less stage show than puzzlements and
figgerings
Blackbird (Take 4) - The Beatles [from The Beatles Anthology Volume 3]
one of Paul's best
Spare Parts and Broken Hearts/War/Born in the USA - Bruce Springsteen [from Tunnel of Love Express Tour]
a long piano solo breaks no bounds
every tale told to the same hero hymn
into preacher mode for the cover
The Sad Life of Max's Snarehead
let's go all psychedelic in the extended rave-up anacrusis
and
then we'll do it again
in case you tripped out the first time
Tribute to Play-Zander - Sacajawea Elementary Students [from Digital Dreams]
sounds like instruments being played
Free Improvisation Quartets Project (continued) - Amelia Love Clearheart, Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Bruce Greeley, Ha-Yang Kim, Aaron Keyt, Jim Knodle, Carol Levin, Neal Kosály-Meyer, S. Eric Scribner [recorded at The Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, September 30, 2018]
call for volunteers
this was an enjoyable event
to be both audient
and participant
can song and music coexist within a music
without
becoming song?
or can melody so coexist
without taking over?
or theater?
does music risk vanishing
behind its
manifestations?
Twice Upon a Time - Steve Layton [from Bedtime Stories]
can music survive being made of sound?
track or channel based
performance
(artifact)
travel narrative
(high speed)
Woman to Woman - Henderson Thigpen [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
devotion threat posture
(I am devoted
and will stop at nothing
so be warned)
Nuits d'été à Pausilippe (Amusements sur des motifs de l'album de Donizetti), S. 399: I. Barcarola - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
an amusement is a kingly offering
a flattery
a delight
a
respite from cares
Sieben Fuguetten, Op. 126: V. Ziemlich langsam, empfindungsvoll vorzutragen - Robert Schumann - Eric Le Sage
subjects join their predecessors
in their rapt meditations
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (Outtake) - The Beatles [from The Beatles Anthology Volume 3]
story teller time
Chimes of Freedom - Bruce Springsteen [from Tunnel of Love Express Tour]
a plug for human rights
and international cooperation
such times
preacherman
World's Most Cheerful Typist-Amber - Sacajawea Elementary Students [from Digital Dreams]
an illustration in a mag
Seven-Up - Steve Layton [from Trouble In Mind]
a drumming study
on a single pulse string
working out
possibilities patiently
So Glad To Have You - Bettye Crutcher [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
so that we can send a card and a sentiment
Night Signals, Journey to the Sea - S. Eric Scribner - Dean Moore, Steve Scribner [recorded live at The Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, November 2, 2008]
surfaces transfer energies
windows allow limited invasion
mysterious scratching
suddenly a gong is gunged
we pass
under the surface
into paper
ink no more!
a trace of past
impression
a micro-seism
fibers under tension
twang
as
energies are transferred
here's our friend the whale
into deeper
abyss
always dark
another sudden gong
returns us to the
temple life
a whale of a gull cry
far behind
deeper we go
at the depths of the merfolks' harps
all above us
here on
the strand
ships in the distance
upon the keening whales
all
the whales and bells
across the whole ocean broad
lifted back
into the above
the surface
to view
from above
the taller abyss
the hull rings
the wave's medium
surface
return
to our former state
post-transformation
it is wise to rinse well
before leaving the experience bubble
Nuits d'été à Pausilippe (Amusements sur des motifs de l'album de Donizetti), S. 399: II. Notturno "L'alito di bice" - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
such disarmaments
hints of intrigue
mystery cleverly composed
to seem harmless
Sieben Fuguetten, Op. 126: VI. Sehr schnell - Robert Schumann - Eric Le Sage
subjects chase their predecessors about the yard
breathless
Cry Baby Cry (Take 1) - The Beatles [from The Beatles Anthology Volume 3]
scene from a life in the woowoo land
Had a Wave and Wanted to Go (?) - Bruce Springsteen [from Christmas in Asbury Park]
not sure what this is
but those are the best I can make of the words
Jesse Malon?
Yes-Amanda - Sacajawea Elementary Students [from Digital Dreams]
trip down stairs
We're The Kids - Steve Layton [from The Month of Endings]
hard to hear a tea kettle in the kitchen from this
show your work so the
parts can be repurposed
To Sleep, To Dream, To Uss - S. Eric Scribner [from Sketches: Electronic Music]
the temple of the preconscious mind
great with telling
astral
speaker cone on the wall
who's the dreamier one of all
Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin' - Mack Rice [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
home life at the holidays
 |
| Dry Falls State Park, Washington |
Nuits d'été à Pausilippe (Amusements sur des motifs de l'album de Donizetti), S. 399: III. Canzona napoletana "La torre di Biasone" - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
contemplate the object
until its qualities overwhelm all sensibility
Sieben Fuguetten, Op. 126: VII. Langsam, ausdrucksvoll - Robert Schumann - Eric Le Sage
fugue subjects drift out of the trees
to rest upon the ground
Helter Skelter (Take 2 remix) - The Beatles [from The Beatles Anthology Volume 3]
the process
by which a commercial song
becomes locked into a
finished form
R.O.C.K. Rock - Bruce Springsteen [from Christmas in Asbury Park]
a big kiss
didn't catch the name of the guest
company ad
Sound Forms Suite - S. Eric Scribner - Stuart Dempster, Neal Meyer, Steve Scribner, Dean Moore [recorded live at The Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, November 2, 2008]
a backdrop of electronically produced sounds
a front of trombone and
guitar or gongs or whatever
there are sounds being made
in the moment
into the room
and
sounds made before the moment
unresponsive to the now moment
the
premade sounds fade into backdrop
because they are nonresponsive
as though they weren't there
On the Great Longing - Steve Layton [from Virtual Composition]
splotches of sound hurled into stasis
a set of sounds punched into space
Dy-No-Mite (Did You Say My Love) - Mack Rice [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
cheerful whistling to start
Grand galop chromatique, S. 219 - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
any aspect of anything is fair game
for entertainment of the moneyed
class
no need felt
to feed the profundity beast
Piano Sonata in F minor, Op. 14 (1853 version) - Robert Schumann - Florian Uhlig
1
curved balance
leaping ahead of itself
2
square balance
full to bursting
caught up
in a
larger balance
3
balance with sharp angles
dreams
of curvilinear beings
Sexy Sadie (Take 6) - The Beatles [from The Beatles Anthology Volume 3]
early cancelation policy
96 Tears - Bruce Springsteen [from Christmas in Asbury Park]
the first
now last
will be first again
or will they
perhaps it makes the former first
feel better
to dream
of
returnabout
introducing a Little Stevie
Play it Cool - Steve Layton [from Próxima Estación]
artist's rendering
comes
uncombobulated
Phonography No. 3 - S. Eric Scribner [from Sketches: Electronic Music]
recording the passage of sound
disephemerates a part of experience
playing back
re-ephemerates physical presence
back
into an experience
in the process
we discern
how much
of the experience
of the passage of sound
isn't sound
Your Love is Amazin' - Eddie Floyd [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
if I'm reading this correctly
a guy is writing a song
for a gal to
sing
about how great her guy is
Grand galop chromatique, S219/R41 - Franz Liszt - Jue Wang
Keystone Cops in mass chase mode
early slapstick
Exercice Fantastique in C Major, Anh:F11 - Robert Schumann - Florian Uhlig
squirrel energy
A Beginning - The Beatles [from The Beatles Anthology Volume 3]
George Martin gets creative
and pretends to be Debussy
Merry Christmas (I Don't Wanna Fight Tonight) - Bruce Springsteen [from Christmas in Asbury Park]
for Joey
Free Improvisation Quartets Project (continued) - Amelia Love Clearheart, Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Bruce Greeley, Ha-Yang Kim, Aaron Keyt, Jim Knodle, Carol Levin, Neal Kosály-Meyer, S. Eric Scribner [recorded September 30, 2018]
we love to start quiet
to be sure we don't overwrite anyone's quiet
thought
a concatenation of lingos
to release inner beasts in a
safe environment
Yelahey - Steve Layton [from Red Sky]
motions beyond the surface
of bodies
as they glide past
Walk On To Your New Love - Bettye Crutcher [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
romance in flux
 |
| Dry Falls State Park, Washington |
12 Lieder von Franz Schubert, S. 558: No. 1, Sei mir gegrüsst (After D. 741) - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
in the manner of a lullaby
veering near to the Schubertian abyss
Piano Sonata in G Major, Op. 118 #1 - Robert Schumann - Florian Uhlig
we demonstrate how balance works
and how it can be opened
a
composition
a portable event
afterthoughts
to fill and open
the balance
Good Night (Rehearsal & Take 34) - The Beatles [from The Beatles Anthology Volume 3]
slightly different tune in spots
This Love is for Real - Bruce Springsteen [from Christmas in Asbury Park]
South Side Johnny
in order to signal sincerity
a manly man
must say it loud and firmly
like a command
or a fact
in order to make a mark in a show
such as this
it must
sprawl
Fonemas - Steve Layton [from Trouble in Mind]
a demonstration of vowels
with a sequence of consonantly starts
to
a rolling boil beat
Something Ain't Right - Mack Rice [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
reportage street level
Free Improvisation Quartets Project (end) - Amelia Love Clearheart, Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Bruce Greeley, Ha-Yang Kim, Aaron Keyt, Jim Knodle, Carol Levin, Neal Kosály-Meyer, S. Eric Scribner [recorded at The Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, September 30, 2018]
each individual's expression is heard
and becomes part of the stimulus
for each individual's expressive response
communication feedback
fluent transformation
quartets become a chamber orchestra
enfolding all within its space into
its time
12 Lieder von Franz Schubert, S. 558: No. 2, Auf dem Wasser zu singen (After D. 774) - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
recently a pianist recorded a score
of a composer's 200 year old
transcription
of another composer's then recent song
a long
cultural echo
culture
is a cooperative hermetic field
Piano Sonata in D Major, Op. 118 #2 - Robert Schumann - Florian Uhlig
1
now we'll discuss butterflies
and their flutter paths
2
now we'll play a game
with many doors
that pop open
3
now we'll play kittens asleep
4
and today
we'll to the fair!
While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Demo) - The Beatles [from The Beatles Anthology Volume 3]
an inverted lullaby
quite a nice performance
Talk to Me - Bruce Springsteen [from Christmas in Asbury Park]
sprawl and bloat
a music with all the intimacy of an NFL extravaganza
Torsdag - Steve Layton & Sound-In [from The Summer Sessions 2018]
industrial sneak night
we'll take the ventilation shafts
There is a God - Bettye Crutcher [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
everyday grace
12 Lieder von Franz Schubert, S. 558: No. 3, Du bist die Ruh' (After D. 776) - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
what Liszt heard
was that the music of the song
was easily the
equal of the poem of the song
a poem in its own right
Piano Sonata in C Major, Op. 118 #3 - Robert Schumann - Florian Uhlig
and now in mode heroic
we'll discuss how quick echoes make for open
skies
and we'll dream a quiet dream
wherever it may lead us
and now
a clever game
with cups and balls
watch
closely
and
at last
a picnic
creekside
looking
back at all we've been
sleep well
Hey Jude (Outtake) - The Beatles [from The Beatles Anthology Volume 3]
instructive that these were made by humans
in rooms together
working things out
It's Been a Long Time Baby - Bruce Springsteen [from Christmas in Asbury Park]
launching a song into the void
of an arena
requires more literal
energy
than any song can survive
one can't effectively tap dance
in a lunar lander
not even South Side Johnny
Insect Chorus - Steve Layton [from The Month of Endings]
a field of shakers and chirpers and scrapers
Packed Up and Took My Mind - Denise LaSalle [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
in a bad way following a breakup
 |
| Dry Falls State Park, Washington |
12 Lieder von Franz Schubert, S. 558: No. 4, Erlkönig (After D. 328, 2nd Version) - Franz Liszt - Leslie Howard
at the level of the written score
the act of transcription
is
relatively transparent
what has been done
is there for any to
inspect
notes are notes after all
but a song is also the
impression it made
which is more difficult to cross-check
8 Fugen und Kanons, Anh:F19: Fugue No. 1 in D Minor - Robert Schumann - Florian Uhlig
in solemn dotteds
Mother Nature's Son (Take 2) - The Beatles [from The Beatles Anthology Volume 3]
destination Pleasantville
Track 2.4 - Bruce Springsteen [from Christmas in Asbury Park]
band with maximized cubic centimeters and horses power
Crossroads - Steve Layton [from Virtual Composition]
overladen wagons haul heavily
from before to ahead
difficulties on
all sides
Don't You Know That It's All Right - Joe Shamwell & Eddie Floyd [from Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos]
courtship plea/boast
(I've got you covered,
I'm your hero)
In Session at The Tintinabulary
October 4, 2026
Louisville - Keith Eisenbrey
Shawmut - Keith Eisenbrey
October 5, 2026
Banned Rehearsal 1160 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Aaron Keyt
October 7, 2026
Detritus 1 - Keith Eisenbrey
 |
| Dry Falls State Park, Washington |
Gradus 439 - Neal Kosály-Meyer
an academic figure drifts free of its moorings
spins in the shifting
tide
two tunes struck together
separate
as their conjoined resonance
profiles
beguile attention from each other
to each other
what might a figure become
were we not so abstemious
in our
transformational allowance?
does the earmind insist
on one to one mapping
or might it just as
easily
fathom a more plastic geometry?
a figure adrift
might find itself involved
with motions outside of
its originary derivational relations
contorting it beyond mapping
decay and disintegration
a figure decays into its prevenient matrix
a tonal motion
once
signaled
is free to move in other directions
such implication
being always ambiguous
Postscripts
Drops
Keith Eisenbrey 33
Sabbatical Improvisations 2014-2015
Another album of solo improvisations for you.
recordings of my compositions (and more!) can be found at keitheisenbrey.bandcamp.com - free to download or stream.
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