"Is it that by its indefiniteness it shadows forth the heartless voids and immensities of the universe, and thus stabs us from behind with the thought of annihilation, when beholding the white depths of the milky way? Or is it, that as in essence whiteness is not so much a color as the visible absence of color, and at the same time the concrete of all colors; is it for these reasons that there is such a dumb blankness, full of meaning, in a wide landscape of snows - a colorless, all-color atheism from which we shrink? And when we consider that other theory of the natural philosophers, that all other earthly hues, - every stately or lovely emblazoning - the sweet tinges of sunset skies and woods; yea, the gilded velvets of butterflies, and the butterfly cheeks of young girls all these are laid on from without; so that all deified Nature absolutely paints like the harlot, whose allurements cover nothing but the charnel-house within; and when we proceed further, and consider that the mystical cosmetic which produces every one of her hues, the great principle of light, for ever remains white or colorless in itself, and if operating without medium upon matter, would touch all objects, even tulips and roses, with its own blank tinge - pondering all this, the palsied universe lies before us a leper; and like wilful travellers in Lapland who refuse to wear colored and coloring glasses upon their eyes, so the wretched infidel gazes himself blind at the monumental white shroud that wraps all the prospect around him. And of all these things the Albino whale was the symbol. Wonder ye then at the fiery hunt?"
Herman Melville, from "Moby-Dick; Or, The Whale."
Texts
Recorded
Still/Rapids - Joan Tower - Albany Symphony, David Alan Miller, Blair McMillen
the manners of impressionism
broadly hint
at depiction
the naming convention
confirms the hint
the course of a stream
the fickle face
of insensible waters
Preludes 17-20 - Ken Benshoof - Keith Eisenbrey [recorded live at The Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepher Center, Seattle February 24, 2018]
these pieces suit me
because
they respond to niceties of touch
Ussers of Sleep Part 1 - S. Eric Scribner [from Ussers of Sleep]
sounds emerge with patience
a region of change is encountered
the
emerged sounds persist
strengthened
we are told a tale
Cor mio, non - Claudio Monteverdi - Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Allesandrini
a poetry
in which
the lines of words and notes
are allowed
to consort
with each other
in immediacy
Johannes-Passion - Heinrich Schütz - Capella Augustana
imitative entrances of voices
models
the spread of the Word
the power of the music
is turned
to the service
of the
vernacular unveiling
of the mysteries
sung clearly
in a
public space
Praeludium in C Major, BuxWV 137 - Dieterich Buxtehude - Simone Stella
extensive self-announcement
the relative prominence
of the fugue
subject
vis-á-vis Bach's manner
is interesting
Gleichwie Der Regen Und Schnee Vom Himmel Fällt, BWV 18 - Johann Sebastian Bach - Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir, Ton Koopman
alternating
a basso solo line subject
with
tutti orchestra
treatment
Schütz sets the text
Bach sets the commentary
also
he sets
us
reading the commentators
calmly and clearly
then
sitting back
to think it over
in the chorale
Keyboard Sonata in F Major, Kk. 256 - Domenico Scarlatti - Piete-Jan Belder
always restart
as cheery as you can
you may need its light
in dark places
Sinfonia in B-flat Major, Op. 18 #2 "Overture to Lucia Stilla" - Johann Christian Bach - Failoni Orchestra, Hanspeter Gmür
effective use of the plainest devices
in the service
of
establishing patterns
for expectations to latch on to
there is no
disobedience in this music
"Vada adagio, Signorina" - Aria for "La Quakera spiritosa" (Guglielmi) - Franz Joseph Haydn - Orchestre de Chambre de Laussanne, Antal Doráti
in the very best of taste
and also fashionable
Sonata in C Major, Wq. 55/1 - Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach - Miklós Spányi
this key
is scurrying along spiderishly
this key
settles in
glumly
this key
is happy to show you its room
tell you its
secrets
Sonata in C Major, K. 330 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Lili Kraus
such a happy carefree fellow
such good company
ages well too
into a well-regulated domesticity
with serious
and
learned discussions
on serious
and learned matters
but now
back to fun and games
all tucked in
g'night
more adventures
on the morrow
Mass in D Major, Op. 123 "Missa Solemnis" - Ludwig van Beethoven - London Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Chorus, Colin Davis, Anna Tomova-Sintow, Patricia Payne, Robert Tear, Robert Lloyd
this music
moves through its prayer
across a multitude
an
awful stillness
up and down
confounded
this hedge of polyphony
each figure
a composition
of figure
parts
In der Ferne, D. 957 #6 - Franz Schubert - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Gerald Moore
alien of all
severed from home
Nocturne in G minor, Op. 15 #3 - Frédéric Chopin - Garrick Ohlsson
the order
in which a figure unfolds
problematizes the sequence
by which
both chord
and key
do so
in the standard practice
at the time of Chopin
and within that
culture
a chord
could not be understood
prior to its role
within a key
and
a key
couldn't be established
without chords
(which
don't exist
as such
before
the key is established)
in other words
a key
is an unfolding
relation
obtaining
among pitches
chords
are just one way
to look at it
Fantasie in C Major, Op. 17 - Robert Schumann - Peter Frankl
the key
can slip awry
from any of its parts
holding it all
together
is a task for heroes
post-Napoleonic
puzzling out the proper assembly
of improper parts
the rhythm of the figures
within the figures
affects the
steadiness
of the rhythm
of the figures' modulations
within
the flow
of steadiness
articulating
the
flow of phrases
from within the figures
of those phrases
the
figures
sweep
through the music's flow
Selbstgeständnis - Hugo Wolf - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Daniel Barenboim
a song of secret doubt
Sonata in F Minor, Op. 6 (#1) - Alexander Scriabin - Dmitri Alexeev
the room was packed when we got there
we squeeze our lines in
somehow
turmoil and all
so much drama
these slow chords
have lost their key
it is no
more
they mourn it
such a lively key it was too
we will
mourn slowly
in Schubertian wastes
line drawings of a music
Colonial Song - Percy Grainger - Percy Grainger [from Percy Grainger plays Percy Grainger]
for the royalists in the house
slobbering into their gs and ts
o
gawd
now they're all singing
full throated patriarchalism
they slumber into their booths
blimey
wotta sight
Xango - Heitor Villa-Lobos - Teresa Berganzo, Juan Antonio Alvarez Parejo
representative
of a culture-nation
Shrimp Man - Moses Mason [from Turn Me Loose White Man]
an advert call
from the food cart
how 'bout it?
Burma Shave
Just Because - The Lone Star Cowboys [from Turn Me Loose White Man]
citing
the just because clause
in a cause of justice
specializing in comic tavern songs
rhythms have their seasons
a true swing
is unmatchable
Four Transcriptions from Emerson (mid 1930's): No. 1 (end) - Charles Ives - Charles Ives [from Charles Ives plays Charles Ives]
a magic wobble
as though heard through a ring modulator
filtering:
making use of a technology
designed to be faithful
to make an unfaithful sound
and call it new
Sally Mae - John Lee Hooker [from The Legendary Modern Recordings]
a complaint
what troubles are:
the blues
Symphony in E minor, Op. 93 (#10) - Dmitri Shostakovich - U.S.S.R. Symphony Orchestra, Yevgeny Svetlanov
the notes are placed with care
like grave-stones
nationalism
enforced by the State
which can't see all
nor
hear all
as
it
is
not
a being
capable
of sight
or hearing
or:
the State
is
its
agents
the shrill scream of propaganda
and military parades
this can only be shared
not to be imbibed alone
news assault
on 36 screens at once
infocacophony
meanwhile
in the mean whiles
and narrow streets
of dim lamps
Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry [collected from Dave Marsh's The Heart of Rock & Soul]
tooting one's horn
in third person
Duo for Violin and Cello - Edward T. Cone - John Whitfield, Cyrus Stevens
this music
has a task to accomplish
and matters to discuss
they go at it
with a right good will
the operation
is
occasionally quite delicate
but
often
demands muscular
exertion
a story
may have unfolded
This Is My Country - The Impressions [collected from Dave Marsh's The Heart of Rock & Soul]
it was a moralistic time
so the music pulpit
figgered
statements
would sell records
Rosalyn - David Bowie [from Pin Ups]
proto punk
straight ahead
Don't Come Close - Ramones [from Road to Ruin]
urban sincerity
the back story
to be filled in
by the
listener
synth takes a solo
piano takes occasional notes
they expose each
other's weaknesses
but
work
at getting independent thought
processes
working together
notes*
are actuated ideas
{*or musical sounds in general}
the pianist
is fond of throwing wrenches into the works
piano:
its tone is plain
but its touch is intimately malleable
::
synth:
its tone is varied
but its touch is
generic
piano falls into a groove
which can't be escaped
without
assistance
from the synth
the trick
is to think
in
activity mode
rather than
making obvious sense mode
this
session
is at its best
when one turns
to the other
and
asks what the hell they're doing
but
much of it
is also
quite lovely
No One Has - Mudhoney [from Superfuzz Bigmuff]
a bass
to budge ones bowels
(with attitude)
we love being a hero
and identifying
with one being a hero
Banned Rehearsal 334 (B) - John E, Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Aaron Keyt [July 17, 1993]
it is Saturday evening
John
is pushing
a truck
across
a drum
we blow
the polyptical reed
and John
laughs
we play
the hoot hoot game
Aaron
most have gotten a
haircut
his head
looks different
Aaron's beard
(as in
the Psalm)
no John
that does not toot
and does not belong in
the mouth
negotiating
outcry
and lingual expression
the outcry
is perfectly honest
as is
the lingual
expression
the difference
is modality
fine-tuning
ones
behavior
to the prevailing
(telepathic)
norm
language socializes us
as does music
any more than language
can specify
what music does
nothing
can specify
what song does
(old magic)
human expression
is unspecifiable
by recording
or
any
other practice of inscription
we throw our thoughts
into all the uncertainties
of future
times
we are a purposeful group
milk in a tiny bottle
I want it I want it I want it
repetition
is a structural gambit
learned
or arising
in
toddlerhood
interesting
that
as language
is acquired
by our young
the rhythm
and pitch
of our language
is acquired
along with the lexicon and syntax
(does Chomsky
include that aspect in any of his writings? hm)
no choice
but
grow
the Aaronsbundler Allusion is summoned
I want apple juice
in five individually enunciated syllables
I
want X
the ursentence
apple juice blues
a dog is barking on
the tape
inscribed
in magnetized metal element fluctuations
potato potato
celery celery
broccoli and squash
and yams
yams yams
and corn
|| NB there are two Banned Rehearsals labelled 334
I plead the effect of
the decade of chaos
as to any defects in my indexing system during the
90s ||
Hans
kitty kit
cork is what I see
in the ocarina
why?
well . . .
contextualist or formalist?
who knows?
Mystery Chord!
in scratched rhythm
can you hear birds?
{journal entry of September 10, 1998:
the amplifier
is a toy
we blow up our sounds
the intentional misbalance
of the old
days
are back
we are a purposeful group
"I want it."
a
study
in non-integration
on and off
"can you hear birds?"}
Track 2 - Richard Rorex, Reid Merriman [from Mood for Richelle]
hobbyist music
is often characterized
by a sort of bland
competence
it has been taken up
as one might macramé
or
military history
nothing wrong with that
but
for me
it
fails to engage itself
[A(1), A(2)..., A(4)] (silly ellipses)
January 9, 2025
Contrapunktus XI.2 (in memoriam David Lewin) - J. K. Randall [from Open Space 22]
these notes
have to do with each other
across the board
decays don't linger here
Banned Rehearsal 834 - John Cage, Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Steve Kennedy, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer [April 1, 2013]
opening night
no doubt
what we do
transpires
within
the hurly burly
of outside life's obsessions
radio
seeks
to overlay
the immediate world
with its own
we clear that overlay out
to wheeze and toot in peace
back to the game
in fits and starts
description and
commentary
we ring our little bells
and bump our gentle drums
Blues Distended - Tom Swafford [from Violin Improvisations]
bow talk
Sinfonia 6 (piano) - Keith Eisenbrey [recorded at The Tintinabulary, Seattle, October 17, 2023]
I was immersed in the Sinfonia project for so long
it is strange now
to be looking back on it
a set of solutions
to a pitch puzzle
Premier Ordre (sol) - La Milordine, Gigue - François Couperin - Kenneth Gilbert
fine dancing
for dancing in finery
each detail orchestrated afresh
rhythm rethought anew
the atmosphere
is thick with inscrutable cross-intentions
a French opera
about Italian opera
in the sense
that the
music
of this French opera
concerns itself
with the music
of Italian opera
there is no place here
to take a break
very much
a number opera
(made up of individual pieces or numbers)
but the numbers themselves
are remarkable sophisticated
compositions
this music borrows
the drama of the words
for its own purposes
Bonita rama de Sauce - Carlos Guastavino - Teresa Berganzo, Juan Antonio Alvarez Parejo
for singing in social clubs
dining dancing drinking
part of the
establishment
Sensation Rag - Original Dixieland Jazz Band [from Turn Me Loose White Man]
sheet music publication
and the recording industry
twin poles of
the commercial music economy
as it exists today
(sheet music sales
fell behind
but were crucial at the beginning)
Traverso - Ernesto Nazareth - Marcelo Bratke
music
obsessed with its style
and national authenticity
keeps its feet in the streets
Don't Speak to Me - Lottie Kimbrough [from Turn Me Loose White Man]
radio-type dialog
as the song begins
concerned
with giving an impression
of a place
that this
singer has come to
and inhabits
The Day You Came Along - Coleman Hawkins [from That Devilin' Tune]
slinky and smooth
in a curl of smoke
When The Sun Is Setting On The Prairie - Roy Rogers [from Turn Me Loose White Man]
sentimental
for cowboy days
nostalgia
the gentleman could
sure yodel sweet though
Stardust - Roy Eldridge [from That Devilin' Tune]
sophisticated sleaze
My Old Flame - Charlie Parker [from That Devilin' Tune]
devious in its ways
I'm not sure
he ever lets on
what he's
really about
Fifth Sonata - Lockrem Johnson - Keith Eisenbrey [recorded at The Tintinabulary, Seattle, October 4, 2024]
I made one more recording of this piece a few weeks later
that's about
as well as I'll ever play it
this was close
a couple of sloppy
moments
and a noisy edit
but other than that quite fine
Before You Accuse Me - Bo Diddley [collected from Neal Kosály-Meyer's Bo & The Beat]
not the best line
with which
to open talks
of rapprochement
Cantata for Voice, Voices, and Instruments - Stepan Wolfe - Robert-Schumann-Kammerorchester, Jürgen Kussmaul, Cornelia Kallisch, Lesley Bollinger, Ulrike Kamps-Paulsen, Carola von Schmettow, Helmut Clemens, Hans Christian Ziegler
figures count to four or three
each note
unto itself
no
connections allowed
that are not composed into it
negotiating a protocol
between correctness
and musical image
a tense situation
In Session at The Tintinabulary
January 5, 2025
Antioch - Keith Eisenbrey
otherwise known as Joy to the World
this project amuses me
no end
Postscripts
Drops
recordings of my compositions (and more!) can be found at keitheisenbrey.bandcamp.com - free to download or stream
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