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| Yakima |
"Finally, I always go to sea as a sailor, because of the wholesome exercise and pure air of the forecastle deck. For as in this world, head winds are far more prevalent than winds from astern (that is, if you never violate the Pythagorean maxim), so for the most part the Commodore on the quarter-deck gets his atmosphere at second hand from the sailors on the forecastle. He thinks he breathes it first; but not so. In much the same way do the commonalty lead their leaders in many other things, at the same time that the leaders little suspect it."
Herman Melville - from "Moby-Dick; or, The Whale"
Texts
Live
May 11, 2024
Good Day Sunshine - A Tribute to The Beatles
The Seasons, Yakima
This five-piece band did pretty well, performing the entirety of Revolver and Rubber Soul plus a few singles. Karen and I appeared to be among the younger attendees.
Recorded
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| Yakima |
Alma Redemptoris Mater - Hildegard Von Bingen - Sequentia, Barbara Thornton [from Canticles of Ecstasy]
melodic arches
ascension
hang
downward waft
Si Gioioso Mi Fanno | Dolor Miei - Carlo Gesualdo - Delitiæ Musicæ, Marco Longhini
melodic mazes
made of sonority
motions
made
of
combined melodic arches
Panis sancte, panis vive - Peter Philips - The Choir of Royal Holiday, The English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble, Robert Gough [from Cantiones Sacrae Octonis Vocibus]
the heavens resound
layer within layer
opening inward
Ich bin die Auferstehung, SWV 324 - Heinrich Schütz - La Chapelle Royale, Philippe Herreweghe
reading the words of scripture aloud
in ones own tongue
memorization
through patterned imitations
ritual
Fuga, BuxWV 174 - Dieterich Buxtehude - Purcell Quartet, Suzie LeBlanc, Dame Emma Kirby, Clare Solomon
jolly
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| Kiwanis Park, Yakima |
fitting melodic arches
to dialog
intersection of music and
language
[::Wagnerian:
free-verse::]
writing recitative libretti
a particular poetic form
must allow cooperative editing
the chorus speaks slowly
enunciating each dire word
with exact
duration
weight
and pitch
does a Greek chorus
speak to itself?
does one ever stop
while listening to music
and ask oneself
how am I doing this?
what am I hearing
that I am making
music of?
an ability to hear sounds
as music
is what births music
or
is music the universal language
in the same way
that
language
is the universal music?
Sonata in D Major - Daniel Purcell - Stanislav Surin, Ratislav Suchan [from Hudba v Trnavskej Katedrale]
brass became associated with church music
because
it could be so
successfully used
as a spare organ stop
of special
brilliance
Invention in E-flat Major, BWV 576 - Johann Sebastian Bach - Edith Picht Axenfeld
a melody of misdirections and other distractions
Keyboard Sonata in C Major, Kk. 225 - Domenico Scarlatti - Pieter-Jan Belder
measuring spaces
by means of sequences of figures
music
may be the universal language
in the limited sense
that we all recognize it
or do we?
Keyboard Sonata in G Major, Wq. 65/22 - Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach - Miklós Spányi
this music looks back
to consider
what it might be doing
all insensible
gradations of introspection
pulling itself into
knots
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| Kiwanis Park, Yakima |
Symphony in E Major (#12) - Franz Joseph Haydn - Austro Hungarian Haydn Orchestra, Ádám Fischer
opens with a question
for every problem
a solution can be found
within the common framework
answers
can be lined up with
questions
based on
matching opening figures
short violin
cadenza
to mark the last cadence
of the substantial middle phrases
constructed from figuration bricks
Rondeau la Pot - Jacques Duphly - Christophe Rousset
motor figures
a baroque vibe
Concerto in D Major, K. 175 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner, Malcolm Bilson
galant concerti
designed specifically
to display the skills and
taste of the soloist
in the latest style
to please the court
and paying public
outer movements fill lots of measures
with big flashy cadential business
Sonata in E Major, Op. 14 #1 - Ludwig van Beethoven - Walter Gieseking
beyond the hinge
a new world
enter the workshop
understated
clarity
explodes into offset meters
Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 41 - Muzio Clementi - Howard Shelley
opening phrase
fast forward through some fancy material
micro-variations proliferate
loves little phrase bending games
Caprice in C minor, Op. 1 #4 - Niccolò Paganini - Salvatore Accardo
we'll play with imitative entrances
in new positions
polyphony
hiding behind the flashy bowing
String Quartet in E-flat Major, MVW R18 - Felix Mendelssohn - Emerson String Quartet
is it
that our adherence
to the past
is a symptom
of a
need
to signify relevance
of some kind?
is it possible
to be a scholar of the tradition
without being a
part of that tradition
and subject to its weaknesses
(privy to its
secrets)
((partaker in its puissance))
no generation
honors its antecedents
as sincerely as those who
rebel against it
rebellion becomes a tradition
but here
music as a diversion
a hobby
a pastime
a club
the expansiveness
is that of hospitality
these musicians are
our friends after all
a notion
that underlies the chamber music of
Schumann and Brahms as well
Bartok not so much
Beethoven had
trouble with being social
at that level of detail
that is
this magic is friendly
Beethoven's never is that
exactly
oh what fun!
a fugue
a Felixical fugue!
(Beethoven breaks his)
Mass in E-flat Major, Franz Schubert - Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Choruses, Robert Shaw, Benita Valente, Marietta Simpson, Jon Humphrey, Glenn Siebert, Myron Myers
a large scale composition
with a modest budget for resources
strings and some brass and some winds
oboe and clarinet at least
no obvious flutes
not the full Beethoven contingent
making the Ordinary extraordinary
setting:
a close reading of the text
a far cry from the theater of
Berlioz
we enter upon fugue
as our solemn duty
definitely bassoon too
and timpani
all used in the most ordinary
way
nothing up this boy's sleeves
Nocturne in F Major, Op. 15 #1 - Frédéric Chopin - Cecile Licad
each harmony is a point of view
from which we understand the key
the opening tune circles itself eternally
Albumblätter: Botschaft, Op. 124 #18 - Robert Schumann - Florian Uhlig
a stray thought worth writing down
Ich Stand in Dunkeln Traume, Op. 13 #1 - Clara Schumann - Dorothea Craxton, Hedayet Djeddikar
an art-epistle
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| Kiwanis Park, Yakima |
3 Concert Studies - Franz Liszt - Jorge Bolet
melody:
a thread of tones an ear follows
melodic:
any trace
of a thread of tones an ear follows
figure:
a group of tones an
ear recognizes
figurational:
of figures and their traces
style:
(might be)
a relation holding
between melodic
and figurational
in some music
Sonata in C Major, Op. 1 - Johannes Brahms - Julius Katchen
1
impatient with its progress
it powers on
slashing brush and
bulldozing trees
dammit
I want fame now!
2
a ballade tells its tale
in measured syllables
and
balanced stanzas
3
and in this ring
the drolleries
and daring gymnastics
of Johannes the Honest
a chameleon clown
4
we'll get there
with hard riding
through any weather
tearing across any terrain
it's struggle or nothing
thoughts
of you
pulled me through
and here we are
fame at last
the crowd goes wild
Mefistofele, Act 1 - Arrigo Boito - London Symphony Orchestra, Julius Rudel, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, John McCarthy, Norman Treigle, Plácido Domingo, Montserrat Cabeallé
bells!
cymbals!
noise!
orchestrational camera angles
long and close
flip flip
here
we are
let's have more noise!
follow the music
follow the
camera
extensive chorus work
precursing Mussorgsky?
we are down to a dark small room
feebly candled
beyond time
colossal forces
invest with a shout
and a whislle
what
fun!
a successful three martini lunch
the deal is struck!
Symphony in F minor, "Polish" (#4) - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Wiener Philharmonic, Lorin Maazel
1
the fortissimo conversational of beleaguered empire
start
anywhere
follow any thread
hang on tight
phew!
2
oboe and some plucks
perhaps we'll be all right after all
we'll sing a song
all together
we'll feel better
I'm
sure
we descend easily
from oboe and plucks
to bassoon and plucks
now to sleep
with our sweet dreams
3
worried plucks predominate
the cleanup clowns do their dance
there's this whole little scene between them
with brass
supervision
a dance with whirling skirts
and flashy boots
4
ok folks
it's showtime
everybody in line
let's make
this good
battle lines have been drawn
even the clowns are ready
the battle
joined
uh oh
there's that loud brass thing
buck up
boys
there's hope yet
a new hero has emerged
perhaps the day
will be saved
at any rate
we'll get loud
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| Kiwanis Park, Yakima |
there is a secret to these steps
the steps chosen
choose the
orientation
May 13, 2024
Symphony in D Major, "Der Titan" (#1) - Gustav Mahler - London Symphony Orchestra - Jascha Horenstein
1
timbres emerge
from pitch fantasy
woodlands
sunny
and bright
critters
about their businesses
but
in the
shadows
pitch continues to lurk
many possibilities may emerge from
it
dark
and night
walk in the sun
avoid engagement
behold the glittering palace
2
stomp dancing
starting over is becoming a habit of this music
figurational head rhymes abound
3
fourths rock
back and forth
social music flavors appear
another pitch for emerging from
4
big splash
sudden shelling
a gentle scene
graceful and earnest
the shadow
wherein lurks terror
happy ending
in the glittering palace
if we can just hold it all
together
memories emerge from pitch
plot points
we follow this music
as though we were following a story
The Liberty Bell - John Philip Sousa - Philip Jones Ensemble, Elgar Howarth
self-congratulatory strut parade
Ten Chorale Preludes: Komm Gott Schöpfer - Feruccio Busoni - Wolf Harden
firm pillars
buttressed by rectitude
Poeme in F-sharp Major, Op. 32 #1 - Alexander Scriabin - Michael Ponti
lines float over times
lines within times
any time
begins
anywhere
rinforzando
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| Kiwanis Park, Yakima |
starting here
going anywhere
strapped to your seat
keep
hands within
|Mussorgsky, Scriabin, Stravinsky: tonal visionaries|
weaving a polyphony
through a thornbush
standing hip deep
in
muck and vegetation
or
on ice skates
in mid frolicsome folly
Milanga de dos hermanos - Carlos Guastavino - Teresa Berganzo, Juan Antonio Alvarez Parejo
this music is an act
that one might peddle
on a Vaudevillian stage
selling that fiery temperament
Seven Pieces for Piano: Székely keserves, Op. 11 #2 - Zoltán Kodály - Jenő Jandó
experiments from the fringe
full clean sonority
Chamber Concerto for Piano, Violin and Winds - Alban Berg - London Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado, Peter Serkin, Isaac Stern
re-thinking tonality
was all the rage
here we attack
from a position of constant modulation
performing
oddly
in far corners
distracting attention
free floating
tonal charge
practicing for operaticisms
soloist
stand in for singer/characters
slithering to all sides
two concerti meet in a dark alley
to
plot
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| Kiwanis Park, Yakima |
An American in Paris - George Gershwin - Utah Symphony Orchestra, Maurice Abravanel
keep it moving along
clumsy charm may save the day
sightseeing
through a series of impressions and encounters
unable to see
beneath
in order to understand
what the impressions are of
beyond
the exoticism of modernity
stage spectacular
spectacles
Cello Concerto in D Major (after Monn) - Arnold Schoenberg - Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Robert Craft, Laurence Lesser
a modern sensibility
in period costume
Lenox Avenue: The Blues - William Grant Still - Mark Boozer
the blues
if they were polite
art-blues
Mando Tiro, Tiro la - Heitor Villa-Lobos - New York Chamber Symphony, Gerard Schwarz, Robert Bonfiglio
a theme today
locally popular styles
(such as 18th Century music
was in 20th Century Vienna)
dressed up for polite company
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| Kiwanis Park, Yakima |
or
polite sophistication
arising from within a locally popular
style
this music is still native to a dance hall
Klavierstück 1 - Karlheinz Stockhausen - Aloys Kontarsky
the task:
to strenuously remove
all trace of softness
these
are facts being played
Gradgrindian data-points
Hang Up My Rock And Roll Shoes - Chuck Willis [collected from Dave Marsh's The Heart of Rock & Soul]
shoop bop
do your chores
In Dreams - Roy Orbison [collected from Dave Marsh's The Heart of Rock & Soul]
creepy candy colored clown
go to sleep
brag I'm bad
and grew up bad
a bit of a plod
Watch That Man - David Bowie [from Aladdin Sane]
the engineers start to spend some resources
the money starts to show
fill the dance floor
The Prisoner - The Clash [from Nancy's Mix]
strip down the sound
dial up the attitude
Waltz Across Texas - Merle Haggard, Leona Williams [a Rescued Record]
country manners
Banned Rehearsal 128 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Anna K, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer
let's make a tape
and draw a picture
The Meysenbreyers find Keyt
squeally from the Mekosályers
both sides
say bran' new year
forgotten law
guitar goes crazy
as Keyt is found
Neal scrubs the sound
Aaron and Keith get brassy
after-the-fact telepathy
when it really doesn't matter
which space a sound was from
we
conjoin
in a celebratory singing
tongggg
we wind up our toys
and they chatter back for us
Plektó - Iannis Xenakis - ST-X Ensemble
blindfolded tones
are let loose
in an empty space
on an
empty stage
they begin to find each other
but their clinging
is troubling to them
they have their say
Minute Etudes Book I: Lonely - Emily Doolittle - Keith Eisenbrey [recorded April 13, 2022]
thinking vocally
means singing each line
Organism 4 - Christian Asplund - Tom Baker [from Sounding The Curve]
lengths of the same strings
Jesu Thy Boundless Love To Me - Keith Eisenbrey - Keith Eisenbrey [recorded March 23 and 29, 2015]
the art of discombobulating squares
With Respect to George - Benjamin Boretz - Sascia Pellegrini [from Open Space 33]
the strangeness of parallel play
Selections from Music for Wallace - Aaron Keyt - Aaron Keyt [recorded live at Seattle Composers' Salon, January 5, 2018]
specificity of attention
to each attack and release
easy to get
your fingers on
and difficult to get one's mind around
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| Kiwanis Park, Yakima |
Sonata on Themes by Thomas Commuck: III - Jeremiah Lawson - Jeremiah Lawson
canon across the strings
La Marche de Gris-vetus - François Couperin - Kenneth Gilbert
an homogenous whole
Tous Les Bourgeois de Chatre - Claude Balbastre - Marie-Claire Alain
a piece is a singularity of purpose
variety is fine
if the
singularity of purpose
is plain
in this case
the single
purpose
is to vary a melody
Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. 17 #6 - Johann Christian Bach - Bart van Oort
melodies have distinguishable parts
figurationally organized
a piece's homogeneity
is like unto the distinguishable parts
of
its figurationally organized melodies
homogeneity of structure
behind it all
is the binary format
||:I to V :||: (x) to I :||
formal homogeneity
Mosé in Egitto, Act 1 - Gioachino Rossini - Philharmonia Orchestra, Claudio Scimone
these ta das
were from a very very very very long time ago
barely
an overture
but we're in mid act
there is a story by Balzac
that features a fictionalized discussion
of the merits of this
opera
particularly extolled
was the exact perfection of his
expression
but
that's not what he's doing
he's providing a
colored background
exactly capable
of taking on
any
expression you allow it
Hollywood
in its technicolor costumery
and stagecraft
was
just another format for opera
wallowing in pictorial lushness
the cartoonishly overdrawn villain
practically twirls his mustachios
orchestration/tempo follows the point-of-view character
suddenly
we are within
and privy to
an individual's
doings
Rossini
friend of over-actors
firm scene finales
for simple re-arrangements
as required
(take the intermission
wheresoever it might be convenient)
the singer
is the character's mech-suit
part armor
part
puppet
fill the stage
so the scene can end
a gentle domestic set
for the female lead's solo
in listening to opera
I prefer to know nothing of who the singer
actually is
why?
Sonata in in G Major, Op 55 #2 - Friedrich Kuhlau - Loredana Brigandi
the sonatina
is perhaps the purest galant format
especially in the
hands of a late practitioner
such as Friedrich
the whole point of
them
seems to be politic
lessons in modest bragging
Sonata in C minor, Op. 4 #1 - Frédéric Chopin - Garrick Ohlsson
seems uncertain
whether to wake its key
out of a deep slumber
with clear determination
we will refrain
from establishing
anything firm
it isn't
that he has trouble with the large form
of the sonata
but
that he has an original concept
of
what that form is about
sincerely operatic
6 Melodies: Allegro Molto, Quasi Presto - Fanny Hensel
gets to a height
to view distant glories
of balance and rectitude
In Session at The Tintinabulary
May 5, 2024
Augusta - Keith Eisenbrey
continuing my project of arranging a shape-note tune every Sunday. I missed last week while traveling back from Yakima, so I'll try to do two of them tomorrow.
May 6, 2024
Banned Telepath 105 Tintinabulary - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer
May 7, 2024
Sinfonia 12 (midi) - Keith Eisenbrey
I made a small adjustment since I posted this a few weeks ago.
Banned Telepath 105 Tucson - Lisa, Steve Kennedy
Banned Rehearsal 1099 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Lisa, Steve Kennedy, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer
May 13, 2024
Gradus 395 - Neal Kosály-Meyer
music and verbal language
use the fact
that the human ear
is
capable
of sensing minute and rapid fluctuations
in air pressure
and
that the volumes of air
we occupy
are capable
of sustaining those fluctuations
in detail
(sub-psychic
presumably)
we perceive them
as sound
but sound
is a
psychological category
we see a piano
an object in our visual
field
in the form
that objects in our visual fields are imaged
we hear a piano
as an object
in our audial field
in
the form
that objects in audial fields are imaged
but
how
might visual forms
relate to audial forms?
objects in different
kinds of fields
if timbre
is a quality of sound
determined by its acoustic
footprint
its mix of overtones
then
of what timbre
are those overtones?
pure?
if overtones
don't have
overtones
do they
in some sense
not have timbre?
when the overtones ripen
into their own pitch
do they cease to be
part of the timbre
of their incitement?
May 14, 2024
Sinfonia 12 (clavichord) - Keith Eisenbrey - Keith Eisenbrey
and I managed a pretty good recording on clavichord hoorah!
Postscripts
Drops
Keith Eisenbrey 17: 2017-2018
Études d'exécution imminent - Illustrations
In this segment of the Études d'exécution imminent I combined existing musics with settings derived from mod-17 row forms treated as sequences of interval-classes rather than as sequences of row-classes. Ghosting is an accordion piece by Amy Denio that caught my fancy. The Chorales' melodies were extracted from the Bach-Riemenschneider volume of harmonized chorales, and Frankie and Johnny was formed from the traditional American song.
Ghosting Doubles were recorded live at The Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, Seattle, on March 24, 2018. The melody "Ghosting" is used with the kind permission of Amy Denio, (copyright by Spoot Music). "Chorales" and "Frankie and Johnny" were recorded at my home in 2021 and 2019 respectively. The words for "Frankie and Johnny" are traditional.
Prior volumes are available at keitheisenbrey.bandcamp.com
All are free for download.
Skaldmud's Doodle Gallery
listening journal doodles from 2022
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