Preface
"It's okay to come clean on what we care about. Even if it's not nice stuff.
It's a bad scene to have to pretend that everything you care about is nice. If
music is serious then that's how it's serious, because it somehow enables all
kinds of characteristics about people, most of which are not admissible in
polite society, to be expressed, and to be endured and survived and perceived
and understood."
- Benjamin Boretz - "July 29, 1989: a talk with Ben (about writing
Meta-Variations and other things)" from "inside in . . . / . . . outside
out" Open Space Publications, 2020
Texts
From Recent Arrivals
I thought I would try to do better to listen to and share at least a few new tracks as they come in. The following are arbitrary selections new to the library.
September 10, 2021
Apokatastasis - Jon Forshee [from Open Space 48]
surface similarities to Stockhausen
(to the best aspects of him anyway:
sensitivity to instrument color
phenomenal textures)
but these players sound like they mean what they say
without all those grinding axes
KS always seems to throw around.
(to the best aspects of him anyway:
sensitivity to instrument color
phenomenal textures)
but these players sound like they mean what they say
without all those grinding axes
KS always seems to throw around.
It draws in rather than pushes out
a deep focus surface
or
not a surface at all
King Arthur's Seat - Slothrust [from Parallel Timeline]
a growing up song
through one's mid thirties
through one's mid thirties
Riven - Heather Stebbins - loadbang [from
Plays Well With Others]
the pattern of the opening gestures,
a near echo
a near echo
shade of the mid 18th Century
something heavy and loose
is trying to move
there are pests
flying pests
pitch/note thinking?
(this is not, not really)
(this is not, not really)
more pitch/gesture thinking
each sound speaks its character.
Joycean?
Recorded
September 4, 2021
Sweetie Dear - Isham Jones [from Allen Lowe's
That Devilin' Tune]
we may have lost our money
but we can still dance
but we can still dance
filling every beat with liveliness
Blue Ridge Mountain Blues - Vernon Dalhart [from Evans 78s]
guitar voice and fiddle
suitable for a traveling stage act
suitable for a traveling stage act
3 Sacred Songs (Psalm 150, Angels and Shepherds, Whitsuntide) - Zoltan
Kodály - Kodály Girls Choir, Ilona Andor
1
each verse moves to a new stage of rhetorical complexity
2
a theme is announced
gloria in excelsis deo
which is then explored
bit by bit
bit by bit
segment by segment
3
wears its Gregorian duds proudly
followed by bum bum bells
similar in some ways to Carmina Burana
but loads more fun
encouraging words
if you don't dig too deep into the misogyny
if you don't dig too deep into the misogyny
but
the little chorus
stands in a different
though not much better
light
superbly sung of course
Baby I'm Coming Home - Charlie Booker [from Allen Lowe's
Turn Me Loose White Man]
rockin'!
close acquaintance of I'm a Lonely Frog
the advent of fuzzy guitar and sloppy drums
Good Golly (Pretty Molly) - Rusty Draper [a Rescued Record]
very white party music for lusty teen boys
I presume they dressed in matching outfits
Shepherd's Song - Lake Washington Singers, Betty Eisenbrey [April 10,
1962]
sophisticated simplicity
though the verse to verse composition is a bit clunky
Goin' Back - The Byrds [collected from Dave Marsh's
The Heart of Rock & Soul]
so sentimental!
empowering the empowered
not quite a slow dance
but certainly no twist
the dancers can move
and their movements chat
flirtily
the male-centric lyrics lead me to wonder who it was that wanted to be
seen?
I guess it's so the girl can admire the nice sincere guy she's with?
Praise Him - Bellevue First United Methodist Church Children's Choirs,
Betty Eisenbrey [April 14, 1972]
I fully presume I'm one of those voices
Postlude (ERB for AVB at 65) - Elaine Barkin [from
Open Space 29]
this piece, short as it is, opens a place for tunes to think about themselves
Book of Windows - Keith Eisenbrey - Keith Eisenbrey [realized March 20,
2005]
the dance mix
to show just how 80s this piece always had been
the voice isn't speaking in common rhythm with the instrumentals
but it isn't not so speaking either
looking back at it from its realization in 2005
it is quite clear I knew what all that had been about
back in 82
it is quite clear I knew what all that had been about
back in 82
when it was composed
but
back in 82
I would not have been able to articulate it so clearly
but
back in 82
I would not have been able to articulate it so clearly
makes quite the stew of Stus in there
with all of them stacking up like that
with all of them stacking up like that
accidentally
a nearly Schützian play of pattern and line
not a bad tune to finish it with, past me!
not a bad tune to finish it with, past me!
September 5, 2021
H'un (Lacerations): In memoriam 1966 - 1976 - Bright Sheng - New York
Chamber Symphony, Gerard Schwarz
outside forces
impress within
after the manner
if not the style
of late Shostakovich
after the manner
if not the style
of late Shostakovich
Schwarz performed this with the SSO back in the day. I enjoyed the piece then,
but remember thinking it extremely odd that a composer who grew up in China
would gravitate toward a Euro-centric New Music style, of all things.
It is hard to see the political/cultural ramifications of one's own time in
one's own time.
Banned Rehearsal 295 - John E, Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Aaron
Keyt [July 2, 1992]
(shall we)
with a D.C.
with a D.C.
The 8th Bannediversary
Prudence and Kuru appear herein
we attempt
to cajole
a toddler
to toot
to cajole
a toddler
to toot
a trumpet
I'd rather toot
than
give a hoot
than
give a hoot
toot timely
to timely toot a toot
to timely toot a toot
that none have e'er so timely tooted before
{{from my journal entry of January 9, 1995}}
::
lullaby diaper change
ostracized from our society of cannibals
like a lid on it
nothing coming in
hoot
too many distant rooms?
toot it
sink mazurkas
ostracized from our society of cannibals
like a lid on it
nothing coming in
hoot
too many distant rooms?
toot it
sink mazurkas
toe tooting at Toad Hall
TONIGHT
TONIGHT
rolls in his boots
the problem with simplistic music
is that it requires of the listener
far too much work
to make of it
anything more than its simplisticness.
the problem with simplistic music
is that it requires of the listener
far too much work
to make of it
anything more than its simplisticness.
tonight is a continuity problem.
K on piano
solve by slowing?
A: I'd rather toot than give a hoot
simple simplistic simpleton
solve by slowing?
A: I'd rather toot than give a hoot
simple simplistic simpleton
sophisticated sophistry sophist
subtle subtly subtlist
close-up sounds in this room are fine
but not so far away
is so far away
but not so far away
is so far away
"anyone lived in a pretty how town" - Jeremiah Lawson
He sings some pretty mean vocals there!
Wow!
yet another wow for JL
one of our most imaginatively skillful guitar player composers
a student of figuration
a fellow wizard
one of our most imaginatively skillful guitar player composers
a student of figuration
a fellow wizard
Work / Architecture / Unity / And / The - Keith Eisenbrey - Keith
Eisenbrey [February 3, 2021]
this time I'm leaving a solid thinking space between each bit,
but not a long one,
just enough.
but not a long one,
just enough.
It's working pretty well.
It's like they're lined up on a shelf,
but not packed together,
allowing the page reassembly time
to determine some longer breaks
but not packed together,
allowing the page reassembly time
to determine some longer breaks
- this one's a keeper
Beautiful Beast (for String Bass) - Robert Morris - Scott Worthington
[from Robert Morris at 70]
irascible
I love all the fancy bowing
a character study
it wants out
perhaps to get to know them
I love all the fancy bowing
a character study
it wants out
perhaps to get to know them
some fine playing there Scott!
September 6, 2021
Banned Rehearsal 808 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Steve Kennedy,
Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer [February 27, 2012]
I say 809
but that was not correct
but that was not correct
playing with rhythms on the Yamaha
they can't be combined like they could be on the funmaker
digital not always best
washboard
low roar
and brass
and some bells
drums contribute to the roar
I think the Yamaha (a midi synth)
may also be involved
attempts are made to jumpstart things
but it may be contrary to our mood
tone tubes
bop
periodic blats from brasses
gets silly
swing batter batter batter
ping pong balls roll
inside the bodhran
xylophone
lots of tiny tapping
playful now that we've stopped trying to jumpstart it
flute tones and a quiet Aaronsbundler
with soft brassberries
they can't be combined like they could be on the funmaker
digital not always best
washboard
low roar
and brass
and some bells
drums contribute to the roar
I think the Yamaha (a midi synth)
may also be involved
attempts are made to jumpstart things
but it may be contrary to our mood
tone tubes
bop
periodic blats from brasses
gets silly
swing batter batter batter
ping pong balls roll
inside the bodhran
xylophone
lots of tiny tapping
playful now that we've stopped trying to jumpstart it
flute tones and a quiet Aaronsbundler
with soft brassberries
which proceeds then
to snore quietly in a corner
to snore quietly in a corner
Huge Guy in the Mosh Pit - Your Mother Should Know [from
Demos of February 23, 2017]
please don't crush me
actually a St. Rage Song
September 7, 2021
The Woods so Wilde, Fvb 40 - Orlando Gibbons - Claudio Columbo [from
The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book]
innocent of any impulsion to cadence at balance points
or to hint at such
anywhere
except at period's end
or to hint at such
anywhere
except at period's end
each note of the reference tune
is a sufficient location
this allows a subtle composition
of each such moment
is a sufficient location
this allows a subtle composition
of each such moment
without looking so eagerly
for the end of the phrase
for the end of the phrase
Symphoniae Sacrae II, Op. 10, #18 "Iss dein Brot mit Freuden" -
Heinrich Schütz - Capella Augustana
. . . and drink your wine with good courage
Praeludium in G Major, BuxWV 149 - Dieterich Buxtehude - Craig Cramer
Praeludium
as in
the music played before
or at the start of
the service
or at the start of
the service
establish
the tone
the key
the whole atmosphere
the key
the whole atmosphere
this is quite an elaborate piece
not based on a chorale as best I can tell
it follows its own fancy
without informing us just what a skillful composer
the composer is
he is
but he's not as concerned you know it
as JSB
generally
is
not based on a chorale as best I can tell
it follows its own fancy
without informing us just what a skillful composer
the composer is
he is
but he's not as concerned you know it
as JSB
generally
is
I like her execution of the short ornaments
very clear unfussy
Sonata in A-flat Major, Kk. 130 - Domenico Scarlatti - Pieter-Jan
Belder
if it's fun to play it's fun to play more than once
and pulls one in
and pulls one in
balanced with subtle disbalances
to keep it lively
to keep it lively
and apparently I listened to this twice
(see last week's blog post)
joke's on me
(see last week's blog post)
joke's on me
Sonata in B-flat Major, Wq. 62.16 - Carl Phillip Emanuel Bach - Miklos
Spanyi
1
hang time
ponder time
question time
includes its own study questions
ponder time
question time
includes its own study questions
2
wandering about in its key as if in an empty room
3
gently playful
September 8, 2021
6 Variations in C Major, Hob. XVII:5 - Franz Joseph Haydn - Christine
Schornsheim
theme provided with an elaboration angle for each thematic note
these he proceeds to expand subsequently
as though the theme consists largely of the index to the variations
these he proceeds to expand subsequently
as though the theme consists largely of the index to the variations
Concerto in A Major, K. 414(385p) (#12) - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart -
English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner, Malcolm Bilson
all entrances are carefully prepared for drama
how far back does the extensive cadenza go:
it seems like a creature of the 18th Century.
CPEB?
as instrumental virtuosity was really getting going
- stemming from organ improvisations?
opera?
some of both?
it seems like a creature of the 18th Century.
CPEB?
as instrumental virtuosity was really getting going
- stemming from organ improvisations?
opera?
some of both?
I love the later piano solo entrance in the rondo
where it is clearly a new entrance
even though it's been there for pages
where it is clearly a new entrance
even though it's been there for pages
Sonata in D major, Op. 47, #1 - Johann Ladislav Dussek - Zvi Meniker
1
posing in fancy clothes
2
the same advice over and over
warning label
3
sing a comic song
weave it into quite the story
before returning
oh that's right
this was a funny story
weave it into quite the story
before returning
oh that's right
this was a funny story
the long opening notes get an added boost at the end
not a stable world
this Sturm done dranged
not a stable world
this Sturm done dranged
interjectionary orchestration
heavy on the underlines
by the end we're sure ready for something!
heavy on the underlines
by the end we're sure ready for something!
Etude in E Major, Op. 10 #5 - Frédéric Chopin - Alfred Cortot [recorded
1933]
a frenetic moth and its observers
Ballet Scene, Op. 6 - Ferrucio Busoni - Wolf Harden
clearing the cobwebs from out of Lisztomania
Selection 10 for Selections from The Nutcracker - Pyotr Ilyich
Tchaikovsky - Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy
lots of harp in this one
we'll get to the waltz shortly
here we go
such a sweeping off of feet
here we go
such a sweeping off of feet
Empire's sensual triumph
Circus Band - The Gregg Smith Singers [from
The Great Sentimental Age]
of a piece with silent film of the next age
clumsy
2 Poems, Op. 63 - Alexander Scriabin - John Ogdon
nothing flimsy or diaphanous in these
full of razors and arrows
full of razors and arrows
Fuzzy Wuzzy Rag - W.C. Handy [from Allen Lowe's
That Devilin' Tune]
behind it one hears a verse format
like doggerel
aiming at the punch rhyme
like doggerel
aiming at the punch rhyme
September 9, 2021
Finnegans Wake, Chapter 1 (start) - James Joyce - Neal Kosály-Meyer [at
Gallery 1412 on November 22, 2015]
the gathered chat before listening
doors squeak and we start
Neal being Neal
with a lecture
doors squeak and we start
Neal being Neal
with a lecture
each line at first invents its own character to speak it
one story told from a thousand voices
speech afore feast
the book that talks all talkings
all reports
accepted
first set piece
The Willingdone Museum
stutterland
(history lesson)
stutterland
(history lesson)
how we talk
second set piece
scuse us chorely guy
Jute and Mutt
(geography as history)
yeehaw oompah
allegro energico
calling the dance
a collaborative endeavor
fancy duds not required
allegro energico
calling the dance
a collaborative endeavor
fancy duds not required
Say It Isn't So - Lil Armstrong [from Allen Lowe's
Turn Me Loose White Man]
her long sung tones have stories to tell
the backing vocals are amazingly weird, mocking
Emaline - Art Tatum [from Classic Early Solos]
any half of a second stretch is pretty straightforward
he just has more dimes to turn on than you have
Rodeo (4 Dance Episodes) - Aaron Copland - London Symphony Orchestra,
Aaron Copland
muscular americana
now with costumes and manure
now with costumes and manure
what did this look like as a dance?
one imagines a technicolor glow
one imagines a technicolor glow
hey a canon
how learned
how learned
let's feel good about ourselves for a moment
we're at war and all
it isn't Billy the Kid (my favorite Copland) but the focus is pretty
clear
my problem?:
East Coast romanticization of the Empty West
as a masculine paradise
(there may be some Nez Perce
who beg to differ)
my problem?:
East Coast romanticization of the Empty West
as a masculine paradise
(there may be some Nez Perce
who beg to differ)
exoticism as a form of colonialism?
The Freedom Train - Peggy Lee (and others) [from
The Complete Recordings 1941-1947]
advertisement for our collective delusions
pablum
but there it is
early version of Live Aid
rah rah
but there it is
early version of Live Aid
rah rah
Reeling and Rocking - Fats Domino [from Allen Lowe's
Turn Me Loose White Man]
And here I am in a rocking chair my own self as I listen.
The piano sound is awesome, pungent.
Flying Saucers Rock and Roll - Billy Lee Riley [from
Sun Records Definitive Hits]
topical!
to both then and now
little green men
to both then and now
little green men
real hip cats
something new
just a decade or so ahead of Ziggy too
something new
just a decade or so ahead of Ziggy too
Up On The Roof - The Drifters [collected from Dave Marsh's
The Heart of Rock & Soul]
where they landed?
Astronomy Domine - Pink Floyd [from
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn]
on topic!
complete with weirdass celticky solo
on what?
a keyboard of some kind?
complete with weirdass celticky solo
on what?
a keyboard of some kind?
Five Years - David Bowie [from
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars]
and here they are right on cue
not quite what was promised
not quite what was promised
for little green hip cats
a wake up call
a wake up call
September 10, 2021
Prelude for Clarinet and Piano - Keith Eisenbrey - Paul Eisenbrey,
unnamed pianist [June? 1979]
in which my motives, the structural ones, are clear
up one whole step
down one half step
up one whole step
down one half step
for all its one track mind
the mechanics of the counterpoint are rather good
as a whole it wanders around as though lost
without being aware of the fact
stuck
the mechanics of the counterpoint are rather good
as a whole it wanders around as though lost
without being aware of the fact
stuck
nicely played, Paul! (and unnamed pianist!)
I Confess - The English Beat [collected from Nancy's Mix]
post Elton John post Bowie
the more pop version of Elvis Costello
the more pop version of Elvis Costello
Gradus 3 (San Diego Series) - Neal Kosály-Meyer - Neal Kosály-Meyer
[January 13, 1987]
the first ever Gradus with two different notes.
In this iteration of Gradus the duration of the session is set by the length of the tape, as we did in Banned Rehearsal then, and as was the Bard practice. By the next iteration he had replaced that with a specific chosen length of session. I think BR may have been doing that also by then, as a response to the differently durationed digital media (cassette sides were 45 minutes, DAT media could be 2 hours) in use by then. An aspect of BR etc. entirely born of the cassette tape industry. There are some strange artifacts on the audio. Briefly, at the start of the digital media time, we tried putting an old fashioned cassette tape in a machine, running silently, just to time how long the session should be. We clung to it. Finally it seemed cumbersome and silly. Probably, as well as pitch, the two notes are played on different numbers of strings. the lowest A nat on one string the next A nat on multiple strings. Do the longitudinal vibrations of the multiple stringed note behave differently in acoustic space than those of the single stringed note? Choral in places, downright.
In this iteration of Gradus the duration of the session is set by the length of the tape, as we did in Banned Rehearsal then, and as was the Bard practice. By the next iteration he had replaced that with a specific chosen length of session. I think BR may have been doing that also by then, as a response to the differently durationed digital media (cassette sides were 45 minutes, DAT media could be 2 hours) in use by then. An aspect of BR etc. entirely born of the cassette tape industry. There are some strange artifacts on the audio. Briefly, at the start of the digital media time, we tried putting an old fashioned cassette tape in a machine, running silently, just to time how long the session should be. We clung to it. Finally it seemed cumbersome and silly. Probably, as well as pitch, the two notes are played on different numbers of strings. the lowest A nat on one string the next A nat on multiple strings. Do the longitudinal vibrations of the multiple stringed note behave differently in acoustic space than those of the single stringed note? Choral in places, downright.
In Session at the Tintinabulary
September 6, 2021
Gradus 370 - Neal Kosály-Meyer
the 5th D down appears
the damper pedal can be used to isolate acoustic parts of sounding tones
as well as to mix them
or prolong them
or lush them up
once isolated it is hard to hear those parts of tones as parts and not as distinct sounds
secondarily associated with the note's incipit
once analyzed always analyzed?
like trying not to think of radishes
the damper pedal can be used to isolate acoustic parts of sounding tones
as well as to mix them
or prolong them
or lush them up
once isolated it is hard to hear those parts of tones as parts and not as distinct sounds
secondarily associated with the note's incipit
once analyzed always analyzed?
like trying not to think of radishes
a low C-sharp quieter
and fewer
role swap
temporary
and fewer
role swap
temporary
Postscripts
::Consult the Oracle
the dorm door in to slipping down away
him standing like a platform in moves the
walls and hell of a clip beds and all the
Reality Check::
is language itself
the risen throne
the corridor
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