"Th' inferior Priestess, at her altar's side,
Trembling begins the sacred
rites of Pride.
Unnumber'd treasures ope at once, and here
The
various off'rings of the world appear;
From each she nicely culls with
curious toil,
And decks the Goddess with the glitt'ring spoil.
This
casket India's glowing gems unlocks,
And all Arabia breathes from yonder
box.
The Tortoise here and Elephant unite,
Transform'd to combs, the
speckled, and the white.
Here files of pins extend their shining rows,
Puffs,
Powders, Patches, Bibles, Billet-doux."
Alexander Pope - "The Rape of the Lock"
Texts
Live
November 1, 2022
Cristina Valdés - Preludes and Etudes
Katharyn Alvord Gerlich Theater (Meany Hall), Seattle
Trois Préludes pour piano - Henri Dutilleux
Four Preludes, Op. 33 - Alexander Scriabin
Transfigured Etudes - Huck Hodge
Piano Preludes 1, 5, and 6 - Ruth Crawford-Seeger
internal spaces
Estudios entre Preludios - Gabriela Ortiz
Sketches of an Anniversary Prelude - Cristina Valdés - with Cuong Vu, trumpet
Recorded
Lamb of God (midi) - Keith Eisenbrey
midi plays the notes without fuss
one hopes
in a way to illuminate
the design
by freeing the performance
of any stray expressive
rhetoric
not that rhetoric is evil
but
that it can
if
allowed
be overbearing
hearing it plain is instructive
the
plainer the better
Monument - The Tripwires [from Makes You Look Around]
firmly rooted energy
fills the track
no slop
I Don't Know (take 1, edit) - Your Mother Should Know [August 2, 2012]
broadway show tune in a piano lounge
I Never Thought It Would Come To This - Sun Dummy [recorded live at the Victory Lounge, Seattle, April 27, 2017]
sung statements mutter off
into a humming
decorative wiggle
Banned Telepath 89 Tintinabulary - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Anna K, Steve Kennedy, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer [July 4, 2022]
six of us on the patio
facing North
keep it low
an
enhancement of the neighborhood sounds
rather than an overlay
we'll let the fireworks be distant
we are breeze
drums
beneath the jet lanes
we usher them across our sky
a windup and a
melodic sneeze
repeat
a music can be associated
with a
social macro-group
such as
"show business"
or "church"
or a "circuit of dive bars"
or
as narrow
as a backyard
gathering
which do we choose
when we wish to speak without
pretense
six of us on the patio
noisemakers in hand
mostly
being pretty quiet
old uncle horn
says humph humph hm
and we
discover
he is snoring
advert jingle
the question of tone quality
as a thing that
keyboardists need to consider
even when there is no direct control over
it
or so it is said
comes down to listening to the whole sound
as it hangs in the ear
and not just
how it sounded when
struck
but durationally
as experienced over time
Sonata in F Major, Kk. 205 - Domenico Scarlatti - Pieter-Jan Belder
the resonating body of the harpsichord's sound
is further removed from
its immediate strike
than it is on piano
that is
the ratio
of impact noise
to resonating time
is greater in amplitude
and lesser in duration
no matter where you jump in
he's
always doing something interesting with repeats
Wild Man Blues - Louis Armstrong's Hot Seven [from Allen Lowe's Really the Blues]
he plays both the complaint
what would be the vocal
and the wry
commentary
what would be the guitar licks
the seven take care of
the steady bumps
as needed
no more
clarinet solo follows the
same game plan
He's Funny That Way (take 1) - Billie Holiday [from Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia]
one could almost forget she's singing
and not just saying
Don't Blame Me - Charlie Parker [from The Complete Savoy and Dial Master Takes]
the thread of a melody is clearly traceable within the florid commentary
each note of which is precisely angled in relation to the said thread
Displacement - Bill Evans [from New Jazz Conceptions]
an alternate music taking place on a separate plane
Novara - Earle Brown - Harro Ruijsenaars, Harry Sparnaay, Earle Brown, Govert Jurriaanse, Ton Hartsuiker, Emile Elsen, John Floore, Gerrit Oldeman, Jaring Walta, Roelof van Driesten
insight:
how open form is capable of comprehension:
if the
performers are listening carefully enough to each other
their
concentration and intent
is where the experience of the piece lives
not in its notes
or sequence
nor its plot
recorded
intimately
so that we sit among them
each page composed
so as
to activate
that concentrated listening
and exactness of intent
Bridgett Flynn - The Irish Rovers [from The Unicorn]
marriage as a negotiation between families
Peace In The Valley - Carol King [from Rhymes and Reasons]
words applied to a situation
from a village of speakers
more than
one monolog in the world
just ask everybody
Be My Wife - David Bowie [form Low]
two sides of a proposal
why
and
what
Drifting Moment - Orbaneja [from Orbaneja]
keep it cool
like Miles
then kick it into gear
but so
briefly
better off just keeping a low profile
some unfortunate
wobble got into the mix
too many dubs
may have taken some
liveliness off the top of the sound too
the instruments mostly sound
generic
un-present
definitely Memorex
Banned Telepath 12 Seattle - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey [June 24, 1987]
not much going on
so we whisper then we sing hymns
O For a
Thousand Tongues To Sing
from memory all
kitty is chasing a bug
Anarchy or Amnehitabel
from the first part of the pre 1989 UM
Hymnal
lots of kingy hymns
a hymn tune ought not to end too
finally
since it isn't intended as the sort of thing that ends
but
a thing that goes back to the beginning
the customary plagal cadence
is a marker of endingness
otherwise pointless
the phone
rings in the middle of Joyful Joyful
Paralyzed Veterans of America
and our table grace
and our bedtime carol
somebody is
messing with the left channel
a cat
now it's back
then
our repertoire of comic songs
Don't You Push Me Down - Woody Guthrie and Family [from Woody's 20 Grow Big Songs]
skip together to the pretzel house
Wind Your Spring (Japanese) - Shonen Knife [from Brand New Knife]
stanzas divvied into four segments
of four to five syllables
chorus divvies differently
but not in kind of divvy
I'm Scared - Ice Cube [from The Predator]
a public question
open for discussion
Gradus 114 - Neal Kosály-Meyer [February 26, 2007]
the 7th A
a signal sings
sings signal times singly
evidence
from an other sphere
out there
unoccupied by any
but it
intentful broadcast
occupied with the content of its signal
shifting within being
singular
with the dampers off
the sound flares out
a tea kettle is rattled
Joy To The World - Smokestack and the Foothill Fury [from Smokey's Stocking Stuffers]
referencing the well-known melody but only as it suits the moment
quite a few notes to choose from for each rung
As Es C-sharps and Gs
is the requirement
that each note
that is part of the rung
be played
as part of the rung
a necessary stricture
limit
or requirement
for each of those rungs that include
more than just a few notes
Neal makes himself a mnemonical score
essentially a list of the notes to be included
does the program of
learning to play piano one combination of notes at a time
limit one's
concept of playing piano
to only allow one to play rungs of them
and
as lists of notes
disallowing a generalizing leap of
logic
outside of its limits
in that
although any piano piece
can be considered as an iteration of a rung
it can't be played
except as such an iteration
allowing and disallowing at one moment
if the content of the rung
is all of the rung
to what
purpose is the performance
its unleashment of utterance
from
within a stricture
Side 1 - Steve Layton [from Mandala]
oceanic
at depth
surrounded repletely
wreckage sinks past
immovably
never where we have always been
the temple band
raises their alarum
as the ground shifts from below
A Gigge - William Byrd - Claudio Columbo [from The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book]
a placid tempo
perturbation in meter
outside of bar-line
regimentation
Royal Garden Blues - Bix Biederbecke and His Gang [from Allen Lowe's Really The Blues]
bass or baritone sax taking on the oomp part
but gets a nice solo too
big band party time
Wreck of the Old 97 - Vernon Dalhart [from Evans 78s]
faded clipping
his voice is just about lost in all that noise
there's the train whistle
and there's the Vernon whistle
some melody instrument in back is in there too
saw or fiddle perhaps
Pomus Blues - Doc Pomus [from Allen Lowe's That Devilin' Tune]
inside out blues
with comic overtones
very nearly rock and
roll
or completely
hair's breadth from Blue Suede Shoes
Dancing on the Ceiling - Peggy Lee [from Dream Street]
Peggy's on top of her game
not sure about the intro on the strings
though
right in my ear
out of place
I'm glad they don't stay
there
the fade-out is kind of weird too
keyboard player is
excellent
Hammer and Nails - The Staple Singers [from Hammer and Nails]
structured lesson
with style
Pow R. Toch - Pink Floyd [from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn]
get a beat going with mostly vocals
the drums and keys do a thing
then the crazies take over
dinking around in the studio
giving the Beatles ideas
when the talent infiltrates
both
sides of the board
Bye, Bye Baby - Big Brother and The Holding Company, Janis Joplin [from In Concert]
each verse trajects a journey
returns to start again
It's so Obvious - Wire [from Pink Flag]
it's in four
Overpowered by Funk - The Clash [from Combat Rock]
a way to move
words are there
to serve a syllable count
and
dance pattern
any iamb in a storm
Don't Be Cross - Carl Zeller [from 100 Greatest Classics]
dreamy sentiment waltz
would fit right into The Sound of Music
all business-like
E.S.P. (Japanese) - Shonen Knife [from Brand New Knife]
formula pop
how the songs go
is less material than the projected
persona
and the dance
and the fashion
Lamb of God (take 1) - Keith Eisenbrey [recorded at Jack Straw Productions, Seattle, May 10, 2005]
I must have played a few wrong notes
the setting is a reflection of
Stravinsky's The Owl and The Pussycat
by giving the words an
abstract projection
the hope was
to cleanse them of individual
expression
to let the words mean what they mean
no thumb on
the scale
Left Hand - Curtains For You [from Heaven's Waiting]
hit the hook heavy
I Don't Know (take 2 edit) - Your Mother Should Know [August 2, 2012]
there's something about this style of piano pounding that bugs me
it
seems thrown away and careless
rather than considered and treasured
D Line To The Streamline - Alone in Dead Bars [recorded live at the Victory Lounge, Seattle, April 27, 2017]
diary entry
Banned Rehearsal 1054 - Jennifer Chung, Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Anna K, Steve Kennedy, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer [July 2 and 4, 2022]
matching our breathing to the jets of the sky
friendly fireworks
and a Dungeness bell clang
stepping outside of music
to hang
with sounds
is our mind a free for all
kings and provisional hills
our self
a desperate ploy
to bind a mind
within our
onrushing moment
our daily backyard life
the Dungeness bell
clangs periodically
Pipers Paven - Martin Peerson - Claudio Columbo [from The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book]
for what purposes might we attend to old music
have we not progressed
beyond
or
do we seek ancient wisdom
or
simply an
otherwise inaccessible frame of mind
a window
to another
however obscured it may have become in the interim
any composition
in whatever form it has been transmitted
is a thought of another
relatively precise
and relatively independent of its performance
practice
though attention to what we know of past practice
has
been shown to be illuminating on occasion
here
the model for what
music and thinking might be
is based on corporate choral multi-voiced
expression
the learned voice
is a voice that speaks in many voices
relatively impersonal
what we speak is shared by all
even
here
where one performer imitates that choral expression
Deep River - Paul Robeson [from Allen Lowe's Really The Blues]
with recordings we gain access to voice and practice
but
the goal
is still access to what is not otherwise ours
here
the model is
the sole petitioner
speaking for themself
and
we gather
for the people with which they identify
Honeysuckle Rose - Count Basie [from The First Recordings He Ever Made]
nearly a Thelonious Monk bend he gets there
keeping spirits high
New Mississippi River Blues - York Brothers [from Allen Lowe's Turn Me Loose White Man]
relaxed meter
image of lazy
and being carried along
ready to
kick back
Slippin' and Slidin' - Little Richard [from Here's Little Richard]
following the money if you can
it was all the rage
while the kids
had cash
Run Run Run - The Velvet Underground [from The Velvet Underground and Nico]
similar in vibe
in the comparison of VU to the R&R of the time
to
The Clash and the R&R of its time
the city the bites
back
at the suburbs
and
at a remove
country
tribal attitude
Peace Like a River - Paul Simon [from The Essential Paul Simon]
I guess it's riparian theme night
the voice is personal and intimate
but veers into speaking for a population
when the verse turns its
head to speak
to you
who can't outrun the history trains
rivers and trains
in American song
Now I Wanna Be A Good Boy - Ramones [from Leave Home]
urban again
a music from hard straight streets and square corners
Eminence Front - The Who [from It's Hard]
it's as though they weren't engaging with each other at all
going
through some motions
it could be danced to
but does not demand to
be
or really even invite it
a hum
and some explanation
as to what it is
I hope it's
helpful
since I have no idea
hypotheses and proving (in the sense
of testing)
1
music making
anybody can do it who wants to
2 understanding of text John 1:1-18
anyone can enter into it
and can respond uniquely
my re-interpretation
3
relationships and personality
un-stateable hypothesis
our
relationships to others
are based on Luke's
the Kingdom of God is
entos (within and/or among) you
a corporate permeation
outer and inner
created in the image of God
the Holy Spirit
music
Genesis
creativity
created in the image of
creativity
Holy Spirit
the further gift
a shade of
distinctness
but why do we want to make masterpieces
attend the
hum
know the silence
their skills in silence
attention
letting go
the will
missed the word
and there we are
back at John Cage
a witness from David M
of a performance on a NY
street of 4'33"
I believe
and I have found empirically
direction of work
work should have love (Dempster)
is
social
scores with curvy lines
can a piece be good
Stuart
Dempster our referee
a direction of love
good will
letting
go
trying to systemize the categories
listen
let go
and there's the knee jerk anechoic chamber
one can hear only one's
own
mechanically produced
self
listening for someone in
particular
for their benefit
in their direction
posture and
breathing
I find
listening myself
now
in the curious
position
of someone listening
and taking notes
on a
recording
of four people listening
but not making sounds
I
hear only a recording
of what they heard
overlain
with a hum
and subsisting within the sounds that surround me
here
in my
listening space
Wir können noch ein Dimension tiefer gehen
as the saying goes
four cunning oxen demons on the fir goon
air getting pushed around
Two Headed Fight - The Young Fresh Fellows [from It's Low Beat Time]
the guitar break after each verse
continues into the guitar solo verse
at a leisurely psychedelic tempo
largely static and narrow
Tonight's The Night - Janet Jackson [from The Velvet Rope]
such a production
to gloss over trepidation
textually
an
imagined conversation of seduction
musically
all candles and
incense
Hollywood glitz romance
Things You Say - Whitney Houston [from Just Whitney]
public private conversation
an open letter
the main vocal folds
its statement into the backup vocals
without irony
a unified
textual message
she has something to say and she's saying it
Banned Rehearsal 715 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Neal Kosály-Meyer [March 5, 2007]
repetition varied
in wandering obtusely
to the thrust of Cage's
poetic assertion
a snare taps
and small whistles warble
flatline mantra
in making such a statement
the statement
made
becomes a falsehood
a logical game
such as
I am lying and I am incapable of truth
start over
self annulling
logically
a clever falsehood
it is only at the level of textually internal reflection
that both statements must be false
for the whole to be a true statement
but
on another level
forcing a meta theory
the statement pushes outside itself
breezy gray damp day here today
air must pass through our throat pipe
long suspended cymbal roll
very quiet
some thumping
stops
Land, Love, and Liberty - Smokestack and the Foothill Fury [from River Rats and Pipelines]
addressing one's country
as an other
as a lover
a tense discussion
kitchen table between them
Postscripts
Skaldmud's Doodle Gallery
some listening journal doodles from 1990
No comments:
Post a Comment